11 Dads Share the Wildest Parenting Moments They Kept From Mom

When it comes to keeping secrets and breaking rules, some fathers take things to legendary levels. From sneaking snacks to accidental near-disasters covered up with a smile, these dads went all-in on their “don’t tell your mother” missions. We found some of the funniest and most outrageous stories shared by people online about the lengths their dads went to hide the truth—and honestly, we’re still giggling.

• My mom did not allow us to have video game consoles in the house. (Yes, we were deprived children.) My brother and I shared a room. He won a TV at a school party, and one day I bought an N64 and several games at a garage sale. We then snuck these items into our house, and set them up in our closet.
  We’d been playing Mario Kart, Goldeneye, and Super Smash Bros. for a couple days when my Dad walked in our room, and we weren’t fast enough to dump the pile of clothes over things to keep them hidden. There was an awkward silence, then the following conversation happened.
  Dad: Is that a Nintendo?
  Us: Yes.
  Dad: Does your Mom know you have this?
  Us: Probably not.
  Dad: Do you have another controller?
  He played with us for a while, told us not to tell mom, and to this day we’ve all kept our secret. © gorgonheap / Reddit
• I was in the car with my dad one winter when he pulls into an empty car park and starts pulling mad skids on the ice.
  When I questioned what he was doing, the look on his face made it pretty clear he forgot I was in the back of the car. It made me wonder what other random stuff he gets up to when he’s on his own. © VikramMukherjee / Reddit

• My wife is pretty overprotective, and she’s always shouting at me to keep a better eye on the kids. One day, I was out alone with my son and stopped at a truck to get us some ice cream. I took my eyes off of him for a second. When I turned around, he was gone.
  My heart dropped. He was there one second and then gone the next. I screamed his name. No answer. I set off running, calling him, but he didn’t answer.
  Finally, he deigned to respond to me. He was petting some mangy stray cat around the corner, but it could have been so much worse. I never told my wife about that moment and bribed my son with enough ice cream to last a week, not to mention it. But one thing is for sure, I took her warnings to heart after that.
• I pushed our 10ft trampoline next to the 2nd story deck and let the kids jump off the deck onto the trampoline. As a good dad should, I definitely demonstrated how to land properly! © UnofficialDad / Reddit

• When I was growing up, my dad was a private pilot and would sometimes take me along. One day, mid-flight, the engine just quit, and we found ourselves at 5,000 feet and steadily descending in a glide over some pretty forested land.
  Turns out he had forgotten to switch fuel tanks mid-flight (there were three in the plane, and you’re supposed to switch between them as you fly to ensure a constant supply of fuel and proper balancing). Luckily, he diagnosed the issue and re-started the engine with a couple thousand feet to spare, and we were fine.
  After he got sorted and chilled out a bit, he clicked on the intercom and said, “You’re not gonna tell your mom about that, are you?” © Iwantthe***** / Reddit
• My dad gave in and let me rent South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut. Told me not to tell my mom. Then my mom let me rent it again a few weeks later and told me not to tell my dad. I never told either of them I had already seen it in the theater. © Jubie1 / Reddit

• It was the night the movie Eight Below was released. Y’know, the one with Paul Walker and all those huskies? I was in my “I love princesses, ponies and puppies” stage of life and really wanted to watch it, but the only show was at midnight. I begged my mom and dad, but mom was a firm no because it would be way past my bedtime.
  So, I went to bed, sulking and crying. Then, about half an hour before the movie, I hear my bedroom door creak open and see my dad sneak in. He walks over to me in bed and says, “Go get ready, we’ve got to leave in 5 minutes if we want to make it in time.”
  We then snuck out of the house and got to the cinema so fast that we managed to watch the trailers too. I remember buying a large popcorn and being mad at my dad for finishing it before the movie even began—but I look back on it now and laugh at how apologetic he was.
  On the drive home, he said we had to make sure we didn’t make any noise so as to not wake mom up. Made me promise and everything. But when we got home, we found mom waiting on the couch with her arms crossed and an angry look on her face. She was too tired to get mad and just told us to take her with us next time. © SusheeQueen / Reddit
• I let them listen to Baby Got Back in the car a couple days in a row. Got busted by daycare when the five-year-old kept absent-mindedly singing, “I like big butts and I cannot lie!” while playing and the three-year-old asked the teacher what it meant to “get sprung.” They hear and remember everything. © NadaOmelet / Reddit

• My daughter and I are on a 10-day road trip through the American South, an Airbnb here, a campground there and one state park right outside of Jackson, Mississippi. We’d just come from New Orleans where, among other things, we had taken a “Swamp Tour” where we were within spitting distance of some massive alligators. After 6 or so hours of driving, we decided to pitch a tent for the night by a river.
  At the time, my daughter was 8 years old and couldn’t get enough swimming. The park ranger was making his rounds, so we asked him if it was cool to go swimming in the river, and he recommends a spot only a few minutes walk from where we were camped.
  So we do just that. A couple of hours of splashing around and having fun and such, and we go roast our hotdogs and retire—at which point we are treated to the most glorious lightning storm I’ve ever seen.
  The next morning, we wake up and while we’re packing up camp, two local ladies start chatting us up, and they happen to mention the family of alligators they had seen swimming in the river. Horrified, I asked where. They pointed right to where we were swimming.
  I asked if they had seen them the day before and they said yes, same spot. I literally looked at my daughter and said, “Mommy is never to hear of this.” © Bruce_NGA
• My mum put my family on a diet and my dad hated it. I was catching the bus home from school and saw him at the corner dairy. I quickly got off the bus and ran into the store so I could get a ride, expecting to see him getting a loaf of bread or some milk.
  But instead I see him at the takeaways counter with the worker saying “The usual? One chicken and chip lunch box?” He sees me staring, and we lock eyes, and he knows he’s been caught.
  Then just turns to the worker and says, “Make it 2 please.” We ate in the car and brought gum so she couldn’t smell it on our breath. © Free_The_*** / Reddit
• My kid rats me out every time I give her sugar. Lollipop at the store? First thing she says when we get home. Snitch. © clearier / Reddit

While Mom might never find out about the ice-skidding joyrides, popcorn-fueled movie missions, or late-night snack cover-ups, we’re grateful these dads left behind stories that made us laugh out loud. Their “don’t tell your mother” moments might not have been perfect parenting—but they sure were perfectly funny. Want even more feel-good father content? Check out these 10 dads who take the word “devoted” to a whole new level.