For some reason, as we get older, it becomes harder and harder to keep up with advancements in technology. Many of the latest gadgets will be obsolete within a year or two – replaced by newer models and faster, fancier tech. While this is exciting for younger generations, our parents are often left scratching their heads, wondering how on Earth they’re meant to figure out the latest smartphones when they still haven’t mastered text messaging.
Thankfully, this technological ineptitude makes for some pretty funny moments. Better still, the kids of these hilarious parents know precisely how to screenshot and upload the crazy messages their folks send them. If you could use a good laugh, these text messages sent from parents to their kids will certainly deliver!
Birth Chart Basics
When a kid texts their parent to ask what time they were born, it usually means one thing and one thing only – they’ve met someone who’s into astrology, and that new acquaintance wants to work out their birth chart.
In this case, mom was entirely unhelpful at first. She took the question far too literally. However, we must admit, her answer was fair! We also think it’s sweet that she knew off the top of her head what time her son was born – that’s evidence of a mother’s love
A Cheeky Question
This has got to be one of the cutest messages we’ve ever seen. Mom wasn’t looking at anything too risque – just some pictures of Johnny Depp’s butt! Still, she doesn’t want to make her husband feel bad, so she’s turned to her kid for help.
Moms work hard and sacrifice so much for their families. We say they deserve to enjoy looking at a cheeky picture every now and then! Still, we hope her kid helped her erase the evidence so dad’s ego could stay intact.
Curious Cat
This mom knows how to be nosy without looking like she’s prying into her kid’s personal life. She just blames it on the cat! Mom’s not concerned at all about what was found in the laundry – it’s the family cat who has questions.
We have to admit, that cat does seem to have a judgemental look on his face. How could you stay mad at that cute little kitty, though? Mr. Whiskers always gets the information he wants in the end.
Butt Wait, There’s More
We’re not entirely sure if Elizabeth played a prank on her mom by messing with her phone or if poor mom simply doesn’t understand autocorrect. Either way, this is one of the most hilarious and adorable text message chains we’ve ever seen.
We wonder how long Elizabeth let this go on before she educated her mom on the wonders (and frustrations) of autocorrect. While it certainly is amusing, there’s only so long you can laugh at your poor mom’s expense, right?
Never Stop Learning
Some parents put so much effort into communicating with their children that they adapt to the new slang and digital trends. Though they mean well, this often results in a lot of eye-rolling or embarrassed looks from their kids. The text exchange below is a prime example.
Mom tried her best to be cool, but like many parents, she completely misunderstood the trend she tried to emulate. Still, we commend her for her valiant attempt. We hope her kid gave her some gentle guidance on what hashtagging is all about.
Fatherly Advice
Most people think it would be awful to have a police officer as a parent. However, you might be surprised at how lenient even the toughest cop can be with their own kids. If you don’t believe us, just take a look at the messages below between a young lady and her police officer father.
Dad is likely so jaded from years of time spent on the force that there’s nothing his daughter could say that would surprise him. We love that he gave her the most inappropriate fatherly advice ever, and when she called him out on it, he hit back with a statement that usually comes from teens to their parents, not the other way round. Well played, dad!
Mom the Matchmaker
As cute as this message exchange is, it would drive us crazy if our parents did something like this. Can you imagine if your mom wanted to be your personal boyfriend shopper? At a certain point, parents need to let go and allow their children to live their lives their way.
Is it possible that mom only got a dog so she could scope out the dog part for potential boyfriends for her daughter? Judging by the young lady’s reaction, she’s not that phased by her mother’s incessant boyfriend hunting.
Mom Jokes
You’ve heard of dad jokes, but what about moms? Mothers are just as capable as fathers of coming up with cringe-worthy jokes, and if you need proof, just take a look at the text messages below.
Not only did this mom come up with the excellent pun, “crackalackin” off the cuff, but she also knows how to use LOL correctly. To all the moms out there who aren’t sure, LOL stands for Laugh Out Loud, not Lots of Love.
Brutal Burn
Moms are more than capable of coming up with terrible puns and cringey jokes. However, where their real power lies is with their brutal burns. When your mom hits you with a zinger like the one below, it somehow stings more than if it came from one of your friends.
Mom has had enough, and she is not taking even the slightest bit of sass from her son. We are here for it! She was lightning-fast with her salty comeback. We bet her son didn’t have much to say in reply. Hopefully, it was enough for him to finally do his dishes!
Dating Advice from Dad
Some dads just don’t pull any punches. They believe in tough love and discipline, so they have no time for weakness from their kids. While there certainly are some benefits to this approach, it can feel a little harsh.
This dad created quite the visual with his first suggestion! Clearly, the kid wasn’t into it, so he came in hard with a simple yet powerful anwer. Somehow, we don’t think this was the kind of fatherly advice the kid was seeking.
Adorable Mom Message
Mothers can be brutal, but they can also be adorable. Take this mom, for example. She wanted to return the smiley face her kid sent her but didn’t know how. So, she just got super literal in her reply.
Funnily enough, mom doesn’t know how to make smiley faces, but she somehow managed to get an accent over the “a” in her message! With a little help from the younger generation, we’re sure she figured out the mystery of the smiley face in the end.
Abstract Emoticons
Here we have another mother who is baffled by the concept of smiley faces. She thinks she’s finally overcome the confusion and figured it out, but we’re with her kid on this one – that emoticon does not look like a winky face, no matter how you spin it!
We’ve been staring at that collection of characters for longer than we care to admit, and we cannot see where the face is, let alone the wink. Can you figure out this abstract emoticon puzzle?
Another Harsh Burn
If you thought the last mom joke was brutal, buckle up because this next one's a doozy. Without skipping a beat, this mom shut her kid down with one of the harshest burns we’ve ever seen. Once again, you expect this kind of thing from your friends, but from your mom? Wow!
There’s really no coming back to that. You just have to acknowledge the burn and move on. Mom has 100% won her right to make jokes whenever she pleases, no matter how cringey her kids think they are.
Automation Confusion
Most of us have experienced ridiculous or embarrassing mistakes thanks to autocorrect. It’s even funnier when this happens to our parents as they have a harder time figuring out how to fix it. Well, if you thought autocorrect was funny, wait until your parents try to automate messages.
Either dad tried to set up an automatic message to let people know he was in a meeting, or he forgot to lock his phone before putting it in his pocket. Either way, the messages that resulted are hilarious.
When Dads Overshare
We have a feeling these people are Australian – surely Aussies are the only people who would refer to being pregnant as “prego,” right? Whatever the case may be, this dad shared far too much information with his kid.
Whether you’re a teen or an adult, there’s no stage in life when you want to know anything about your parents’ sex life. This poor kid has been scarred for life, and to think it was all over a jar of cooking sauce!
A Reasonable Question
For a character designed to represent something so gross, the poop emoji is undeniably cute. Who designed this thing? And why did they decide to make it so happy and adorable? The cuteness of the poop emoji has this mom eternally confused.
As adorable as its little face may be, we all know what the poop emoji represents. So, we do not want it to enter the conversation when we’re talking about ingredients to put in a batch of cookies.
Lost in Space
We’re actually incredibly impressed that Andy’s mom was able to type out these ridiculous sentences with no spaces without autocorrect tearing them into nonsensical pieces. Mom must have a lot of patience, but what she lacks is the ability to locate the spacebar on her keyboard.
If you’ve ever tried to teach your parents even the most basic things on their smartphones or computers, you’ll understand Andy’s frustration when he says, “I don’t know how much clearer I could be.”
Hello, Twitter?
There once was a time when change came gradually, and new inventions were rare. Our parents lived in a different era, so we have to cut them some slack when they don’t understand what’s going on with the latest technology.
This mom couldn’t tell the difference between a text message to her son and a post on social media. If this is her level of technical proficiency, we can’t imagine what sorts of wild things she’s tweeting about. Does anyone know her Twitter handle?
Bowtie Man
This is another example of a sweet and loving mother being super adorable. When moms are in fine form, they are the loveliest people and the strongest defenders of their kids. They will do or say anything to ensure their family is safe. In this case, mom put all her faith in bowtie man.
It was probably hard for mom to let her kid head off to a party, knowing the amount of trouble they could get themselves into. You can see that she is concerned, but she keeps things light by adding bowtie man to her message.
Mom Pranks
If you thought mom jokes were bad, get set for mom pranks – they are the worst! When your mom pranks you, it feels like the worst betrayal because she’s meant to have your back no matter what. Still, this one is pretty funny.
The last person you’d expect to freak you out like this is your own mother. We have to admit that we’d be mad for a while. However, in the end, you have to find the humor in it. Nice one, mom!
All the Emojis
Emojis are a handy way to express how you feel without the need for words. They can soften a message that may otherwise seem harsh, ensuring that the recipient doesn’t misread your intentions. Though we love emojis, this mom took things a little too far.
When you put every emoji under the sun into a single message, they lose all meaning. Is this mom trying to say that she has a million things to do today? We’ll probably never know.
This Calls for Divorce
Some parents share far too much information with their kids, filling them in on every fight and every intimate moment from their marriage. PSA to parents: Kids don’t want (or need) to know these things! In this case, mom massively overshared, but she didn’t do it on purpose.
Thankfully, it was all a misunderstanding. We’re pretty sure mom was joking about the divorce, and as for the stiffy/Swiffer mixup, we can blame that one entirely on autocorrect.
Don’t Mention the B-Word
If you’re thinking of a different B-word, you need to get your head out of the gutter because the b-word we’re talking about is “beans.” For some reason, parents think it’s “hip” to say “cool beans.” This kid tried to put mom in her place, but mom wasn’t having it.
This hilarious mom offered some alternatives to “cool beans” that she thought her kid might prefer. We love the way she riffed on the b-word theme, but her kid clearly was not impressed.
Are You Sure?
This is another cute exchange between a mom and her child. Poor old mom is having trouble understanding whether her phone is delivering text messages. It just didn’t occur to her that if she’s getting a reply, then the texts are going through.
It can be frustrating trying to teach your parents about technology, especially when they struggle with simple things that seem obvious to you. It’s important to cut them some slack – technology is all very new to them!
The Possession of Andy’s Mom’s Phone
This is not the first strange text we’ve seen from Andy’s mom! It seems she has problem after problem with modern technology, and this time, it looks like her phone might be possessed! Either that, or she accidentally changed the keyboard to another language.
We’ve come to expect this kind of thing from Andy’s mom. However, Andy’s response is a little alarming. It seems he is genuinely concerned that something might be wrong – could it be a legitimate case of a phone being possessed by a spirit?
Autocorrect and Missing Glasses – Not a Good Mix!
Autocorrect is supposed to help us avoid mistakes by predicting what we want to type and correcting our misspellings. However, it often does us dirty, changing the words we wanted to type into ridiculous alternatives that don’t make sense in the context.
This issue only gets worse if you don’t have your glasses on and can’t see precisely which letters you’re hitting on the keyboard. We’re pretty sure Mom was saying that she can’t find her glasses so can’t text right now.
Another Autocorrect Disaster
This is not the kind of text message you want to receive from your parents. Thankfully, mom was not oversharing. Instead, it was yet another case of autocorrect doing someone dirty in the worst way possible. The funniest part is that autocorrect struck again when mom tried to type “autocorrect!”
Autocorrect has led to many embarrassing moments for people all around the world. Why are smartphone manufacturers still forcing it on us? Let us figure out what we want to say ourselves! We’re off to fondle, no Google, whether we can turn this function off!
Mom Being Extra Vicious
We’ve seen a few mom burns and mom jokes so far, but this one takes the cake. It seems her kid wasn’t even trying to be rude or rebellious. Mom just came out of nowhere with a vicious burn. Can you imagine waking up to a message like this?
We can’t help but wonder what the backstory behind this message is. Was this poor kid being bratty? Did they deserve such a nasty burn? Hopefully, brutal humor is just the way they express love in that family!
Thanks Dad
This is such a cute message. Dad wanted to let his kid know that his phone was at home, safe and sound. That’s true empathy and care. After all, how upsetting is it when you can’t find your phone and don’t know where it is?
The only problem is that by the time the kid sees the message, they’ll know precisely where their phone is because they’ll have it in their hands. Until then, they’re probably going to be low-key stressed, wondering whether they left it at home or lost it completely.
A Meaningful Text
The whole point of sending a text message is to convey information or ask questions that you think are important. This text achieves neither of those purposes. However, it is kind of adorable, so we’ll give Melissa’s dad a pass.
We have a feeling he might have been testing out the voice-to-text function on his new phone. If he went to the trouble of typing that text out, then we don’t know what to say. At least he’s trying to learn!
Tough Love
This mother has introduced us to a new kind of mom burn – the accidental knife twist. Mom didn’t mean to insult her kid. All she wanted to do was fill them in on the details of her dream. However, in doing so, she accidentally said something brutal.
“You have plenty of friends, sweetie – in my dreams!” Many kids struggle to find meaningful friendships during the awkward high school phase. However, it doesn’t stay that way forever, especially if you start participating in activities, clubs, and groups that match your interests.
Emoticons Are Complicated
We know emotions are complicated, but for some parents, emojis are just as confusing. Take this mom, for example, who couldn’t for the life of her figure out how to make a simple smiley face.
We have to remember that our parents didn’t grow up with technology the way we did. So, it’s going to take them some time to get used to things. If your parents are still catching up, try to be patient with them! They’re doing their best.
It’s an Emergency
This is not the kind of text you want to receive from your mom. We bet this kid had a moment of shock when they read it. It’s nice to see that they immediately asked what was wrong and offered to help.
As it turns out, mom just wanted to “know her options.” It’s time to introduce mom to the wonders of Google. That way, she can Google such questions instead of giving her kid a minor panic attack.
Coming Out
We’ve all experienced situations like this. Either you accidentally hit send before you finish typing, or you simply don’t realize that there’s a double meaning to the words you’ve sent. In this case, it was a mix of both issues.
While it turns out that this kid isn’t gay, it’s lovely to see that both of his parents would be 100% supportive if he was. They love him no matter what, and that’s just how family life should be.
Love and Ice Cream
Here is another case of an emoticon with a mistaken identity. We can actually understand the mother’s confusion here. The heart symbol does look like a lovely double-scoop ice cream.
With all this talk of ice cream cones, we’re now craving a sweet, creamy, frozen treat. Maybe we’ll message our moms and see if they want to join us for ice cream. Though she got the emoticon wrong, we think this mom was right in a deeper sense – love and ice cream go together!
Tough Love
After all the mom burns we’ve seen so far, it’s about time one of the dads out there got in on the action. This message is pretty rough. However, we have a feeling that this may be a running joke in the family. At least, we hope that’s the case!
Apparently, dad does not miss Amy at all. We have a feeling the opposite is actually true. We also think that both Amy and dad are very much aware of the reality of the situation. Some families just have their own unique love language!
YOLO Kids
When we were little, we looked up to our parents, and this was clear in the games we played. We played house, we played with toy kitchen sets and power tools, enjoying a make-believe version of what we saw adults do in their daily lives. When we hit our teen years, however, all this changed.
We start to make fun of our parents and how outdated they are. Some parents, like this mom, try their hardest to keep up. In this case, she used YOLO perfectly. However, her kid was not impressed.
Your Money or Your Life
Our parents do a lot for us, and in this case, it looks like mom helped her kid out with a loan. It seems the kid settled the debt and wanted to make sure there was absolutely nothing left owing. This is an honorable thing to do, but mom couldn’t help responding with a snappy comeback.
You may have paid back the money you owed, but you’ll always owe your parents your life! After all, you simply wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.
Life’s Too Short
This mom probably understands YOLO more than the last mom we saw using it. However, she’s applied it in precisely the wrong way. For all the parents out there, YOLO stands for You Only Live Once.
Though we can see mom’s logic here – you only live once, so don’t take risks – this is counter to the way the term is usually applied. If anything, YOLO is what you say when you’re about to leap into a risky situation!
Clever Cleaner
This mom is wickedly clever. She’s been battling to get her kid to clean their room for years, and now, she’s struck upon an unbeatable tactic for getting the job done. If the kid doesn’t clean their room, that $100 will never be found.
We don’t know about you, but $100 would be more than enough motivation for us to get cleaning. We hope mom hid it well because the moment it’s found, we’re pretty sure the cleaning efforts will come to an end.