A four-year-old boy recently captured the headlines when he accidentally broke a rare 3,500-year-old vase at the Hecht Museum in Haifa. The story resonated across social media, drawing numerous reactions. His mother, in an interview, expressed her embarrassment. "I was so embarrassed, the child was so scared, and the museum guard was so angry, maybe because just a moment before she had asked him not to touch."
These kinds of moments aren't uncommon and can even be amusing. For instance, when her child insisted on trendy basketball shoes, he put on a dramatic show in the store to convince everyone that any other shoes were too uncomfortable. Although she was annoyed, the salespeople found it hilarious. It often seems like our children enjoy embarrassing us, and parenthood comes with its share of such experiences. When kids make a scene, it's best to breathe deeply and remember that their embarrassing antics will one day become cherished memories. And if that doesn't help, finding solace in others' blunders might.
Consider the story of Yafit Levy from Jerusalem, a mother of two, who was shocked to find her daughter, Gaia, refusing to leave kindergarten on her first day. "This year, Gaia started municipal kindergarten," Levy explains. "I'm used to her adapting easily to new environments, but this time, it was different. On the first two days, the kids stay for only two or three hours. When I came to pick Gaia up, she didn't want to come home; she cried because she enjoyed kindergarten too much. I was so embarrassed. In the end, I resorted to bribery, whispering to her that we’d buy a surprise chocolate at the store, and it worked."
Roni Hecht from Petah Tikva, a mother of three, shares her own story: "I went for my almost daily visit to the pharmacy, escaping the house to the air conditioning. My husband wanted some quiet, so I took our child with me. I gave Omri the task of guarding the battery of the electric bike, hoping it would prevent future catastrophes – it didn’t. Omri is very independent, and within minutes he handed the battery to the cashier for safekeeping. I tried to keep him close while browsing for a new lipstick, but then I heard: 'Oh, the girl, the girl... what is she doing!' I turned to find him trying on lipstick in the demonstration chair. Meanwhile, another clerk was asking, 'Who put all the bottles on the floor?' and I realized Omri had taken down all the red bottles because he didn’t like the color."
When asked how she reacted, Roni replied, "I changed colors, grabbed him by the hand, and we went to the checkout. After we left, I realized he also left a flip-flop behind."
Gili (a pseudonym), a mother from Tel Aviv, recounts events from her family’s pantheon. "When our teenager, who was 14, was in first grade, we went on an overseas vacation. At the airport, just after passport control, she tried to pass through the last gate to duty-free by herself. When she couldn’t, she crawled underneath, setting off an ear-piercing alarm. Security guards swarmed us. We had to calm them down, explaining it was just a child thinking outside the box."
The blunders didn’t stop at the airport. In a Disney store in Italy, her daughter, then not yet two years old, threw a tantrum over a toy. "She wanted an expensive trinket she didn’t need. I refused and offered something else. She insisted, and then the show began: She threw herself on the floor, crying hysterically for half an hour. Everyone in the store watched, bewildered. No one knew how to react."
Asked what she did, Gili said, "I decided to be strong and not fall into the trap. I told her if she didn’t stop, I would leave the store. I did, and eventually, she relented. We bought her another doll, and she left smiling."
Natalie Cohen from Tel Aviv, a mother of two, recounts a particularly memorable incident involving her daughter Danielle, who is known for her clumsiness. "Danielle is the clumsiest creature in the world. She’s smart, funny and sociable, but her motor skills are lacking. She drops things, bumps into objects, and sometimes walks in a zigzag on the sidewalk. She doesn’t do it on purpose; she’s just dreamy. At least 10 times a day, I start a sentence with: ‘Danielle, pay attention...’ because she doesn’t.
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Airport security scrambled because a child crawled under a security barrier
(Photo: Yair Sagi)
"Recently, she's been trying to show focus. She insists on clearing dishes to prove she can do it without breaking anything and pouring drinks without spilling. Sometimes she succeeds, sometimes not. Let’s just say our kitchen floor has met juice often.
"Usually, these incidents end with a quick cleanup. But during a friend's birthday party in June, Danielle’s mishap was mortifying. The birthday girl wore a sparkling white dress, and her mother wore a matching white summer dress. Danielle begged to bring me a drink, and I foolishly agreed. She poured cola into a cup and walked toward me, focused on the cup to avoid spills. But she didn’t watch where she was going and collided with the hostess, drenching her dress in cola. The mother freaked out, trying not to scream, while Danielle cried. I apologized profusely and tried to clean up. The mother had no spare clothes and had to mingle in a stained dress. In all the event photos, she’s in that dirty dress. We spoke days later and she assured me it was fine, but man, what an embarrassment!"