11 Disturbing Things Kids Said That Adults Still Think About Years Later

Sometimes, the things kids say stick with us forever: curious, confusing, or just plain disturbing. These moments shocked adults so much, they were almost concerned about their heart health. Here are 11 things kids said that people still can’t forget

• “My 3 yo daughter was going through the monsters under her bed phase. Lasted for weeks, and it was really wearing on her mom & me. One night after mom tried to put her to bed, she tagged me in. After 30 minutes, I grew pretty frustrated. In a last ditch attempt, I promised my daughter that there weren’t any monsters under her bed. She replied, ‘I know. Now they’re behind you.’ After that, I let her sleep with us for a week.” ©YeahLikeTheGroundhog / Reddit

• One evening, my 4-year-old daughter pointed to an old photo of my grandma and said, “She sings to me at night.” I asked, “Do you mean in your dreams?” She shook her head and said, “No, when I can’t sleep.” It caught me off guard, since she’d never met my grandma. Probably just a kid’s imagination, but we still keep the photo in her room.

• “My three year old son said, ‘Next time I’m a baby, I want to have green eyes.’ I asked him if he had been a different baby before being who he currently is, and he squinted his eyes, looked at me like I was an idiot, and said, ’Yes, papa.’” ©DecidedlyUnnecessary / Reddit

• One night, my 4-year-old son came into my room and said he couldn’t sleep. I figured he was just stalling, like usual, but then he said, “The man in the hallway keeps talking to me.” My heart dropped for a second, and we were home alone. I asked him what the man looked like, and he said, “He’s really tall and doesn’t have a face.” I tried not to panic and realized he was probably just imagining shadows.

• “My son, 4 years old, talks about how before he was born, my wife and I were his children once, and that his little sister was the mama then. It’s so odd.” ©Dravos82 / Reddit

• When my daughter was about three, she once said, “I remember when I was big like you.” I laughed and replied, “You mean when you grow up someday?” But she shook her head and said, “No, before I was your kid. I had my own house and a baby and everything.” I was caught off guard, but then I remembered I’d been watching a lot of home renovation shows around her and had shown her baby pictures of me. Most likely, she was just piecing things together the way kids do. She went right back to coloring like it was no big deal.

• “When my special needs son was 10, he had to have a very serious surgery. It was an 8 hour procedure and it was a pretty risky operation. We did not tell him these risks. Right before they wheeled him into surgery, he hugged me and said ‘Goodbye. Forever...’. He made it through and his quality of life was dramatically improved by the surgery. Scariest 8 hours of my life though.” ©Queengnpwdrgelatine / Reddit

• One morning, my son and I were flipping through an old family photo album. He pointed to a picture of my grandfather—who passed away long before he was born—and said, “That’s the man who reads me stories at night.” I asked where, and he replied, “In the dark, when I’m not really asleep yet.” It was a little eerie, especially when he described my grandfather’s voice so well. But then I remembered I’d played some old family videos where my grandfather was talking, and my son had probably picked up on his voice from there. Kids have sharp memories for things we don’t even realize they’ve noticed.

• “A few weeks ago I was getting breakfast ready for my 3 year old when he nonchalantly told me his Grandma fell down the stairs. About an hour later Grandpa calls us to tell us Grandma had fallen down the stairs. Also last weekend my 3 year old said my sister was going to visit the next day and guess who showed up for a ’surprise’ visit.” ©Skeletor***9 / Reddit

• I was tucking in my daughter when she said, “Mommy, I like this life better than my last one.” I asked her what she meant, and she said, “Before I came to you, I was in another country.” Then she whispered, “Everyone was running and I couldn’t find my mom.” She doesn’t watch scary movies. I still don’t know where she got that from.

• I was showing my daughter some old photos of me in college, road trips, all that stuff. She was about five. We got to a picture of me and an ex, someone I dated way before I met her dad. She pointed at him and said, “That’s the guy who always makes you sad.” I was completely thrown. I hadn’t said a word about him—not even his name. I asked her what she meant, and she just shrugged and said, “You look sad when you see him.” Kids pick up on so much more than we think. She must’ve seen the look on my face change without me even noticing.

Before you go, don’t miss this touching article about 10 acts of kindness that quietly and gently knit broken hearts back together, reminding us all how small gestures can make a huge difference in healing and hope.