13 Times Grown-Ups Got Outplayed by Mini-Masterminds

Some kids are just too smart for their own good — and when it comes to using their smarts against adults, unfortunately for the grown-ups, sometimes the children win. Here are 13 kids who made the adults in their lives question their own intelligence.

1. Magic aunty

My 3-year-old niece and I were eating together in the kitchen when she tells me that she has magic to open any door she sees. I told her to prove it and open the door to our pantry. She waves around her arms for a moment then points at the door and yells, “Boom!”

I asked why the door wasn’t opened, and she said she locked it forever, and it can never open again. I wanted to jokingly call her out on her lie, so I walked over to the door, opened it, and told her she lied to me.

Then she started laughing at me the way that 3-year-olds do when they find something really funny, I was confused for a moment, but then I realized... she made me open the door.... she made the door open....she can make doors open from all the way across the room. A 3-year-old was playing mind games with me. © Oofmastre9000 / Reddit

2. “My 7-year-old automated her chore.”

I told my 7-year-old she could get a guinea pig, like she’s been asking for for a solid 6 months, if she remembered to water her plants on her own. She has not remembered, much to her frustration, so no guinea pig.

Yesterday she comes up to her dad and asks if we have any clear tubes, “Like this,” and shows him a picture from her science magazine. He says we do and gets them from the shed for her. Later, she comes out of her room and asks if she can use push pins. He asks her what for, and she shows him the magazine again.

He takes a closer look, and it is a step-by-step illustrated guide to build a simple drip irrigation system. He goes to her room, and she has it mostly set up in there. He laughs uproariously, charmed by our daughter’s ingenuity and tickled because he knows how anti-guinea pig I am.

“Um, come look at this,” he says, “I think Emily is on her way to her guinea pig.” As anti-guinea pig as I am, the kid’s got a problem-solving initiative. © AnselmDecker / Reddit

3. Battleship bluff

A few years ago, we lived in an apartment next door to a business. We were pretty close with the owners and the staff.

One day, we walked in and saw one of the workers sitting at the end of the room playing Battleship with the owner’s daughter, probably 7 or 8 years old. I asked how it was going, and the bartender said something to the effect of, “she’s beating me bad.”

He made his next call- “B2”
“Miss”
“Another one!?”

I looked at the little girl’s board — she never placed any of the ships. © WatchTheBoom / Reddit

4. She knows.

My 5-year-old asked me a question, and I gave some made-up answer. She looked me straight in my eyes and said, “Just because I am little doesn’t mean you have to lie to me. If you don’t want to answer, just say so.” I gave her a hug and said I am sorry.

She is now 14. I haven’t lied to her since. © enterthedragynn / Reddit

5. Timeout delight

So my daughter knows if she’s misbehaving, I’ll send her to her room for a timeout. Right now, we’re really working on keeping our clothes on and not getting sweet things without asking.

So I’m puttering around the house and realize she’s been very quiet. Low and behold I find her in her room reclining in her bed without clothing and her face is absolutely covered in the Ferrero Rocher her dad got me for Valentine’s and the tin is right beside her, mostly empty.

She looks at me, shrugs and then pulls her blanket up... I realize she absolutely knew I’d send her to her room for the chocolate stealing, so she went ahead and put herself in there with the chocolate. I am both impressed and worried about what this means for our future. © OrdinaryMe345 / Reddit

6. Locked out

My niece asked to go play outside with the ball while I was watching her. I opened the door to walk out, and she dropped the ball, which started to roll down the hill. I chased.

I came back, proudly holding the ball, and realized she had locked me outside of the house. She went back to watching TV. She was about 3 at the time...

The look on her face as I pulled out my keys and let myself back in was priceless. She managed to do it again about a month later. So shame on me for not seeing it coming that time. © DoomedWil13 / Reddit

7. A child’s chip heist

Niece (2.5 years) finds a bag of chips in the living room. She starts eating the chips. Mom finds her and puts the bag on the kitchen table, walks away. Niece is now hanging with dad in the living room.

Niece convinces dad to play with the tunnel, insists that dad stick his head in the tunnel. Keeps goading dad into the tunnel, dad ends up getting stuck.

Niece runs to the table, gets the chips and starts eating them, while her dad is thrashing around on the floor, head and arms pinned in this tunnel, flailing around like one of those inflatable tunnels from a used car lot shouting to his wife to come and help him. © Lioness_Circle / Reddit

8. Big stick trick

My grandma tells a story from when I was about 5 or 6 when we were on a walk together, and she asked if I wanted to race. I was apparently carrying a big stick that I’d found, so I yawned and told her, “No, I’m too tired to race.”

A few minutes later, I asked her, “Hey Grammy, would you carry my stick for me?” She took it, and I immediately bolted. Having secured the element of surprise and slowed my opponent with the old Big Stick maneuver, I easily won that race.

I do not remember this incident at all, but she thought it was hilarious. © wiltylock / Reddit

9. “My wife found our 10-year-old’s negotiations for his allowance. We should add he is 13 now and doing as expected.”

Dear [Redacted], I believe that I should be appointed more money per point of difficulty. I think you should post a board on the fridge stating worth's of chores just for a reminder, not for immediate attention. Though I would like if you could adhere to some of my thoughts of chosen payment options;

Recommended PPC (Price Per Chore):
Dishwashing: 3$ for management of washing off then storing dishes to their designated areas.
Clothes washing: 1$ per basket brought down and when told or seen, 2$ for completed laundry for a total of three dollars.
Trash out: 0.50¢ per trash taken out, and if I can manage the task, an extra 50¢ for wrapping and taking out trash.
Bonuses: An extra 50¢ for initiative of chores (no ask).
LifeLine: 10$ for serious or relatively bad harm to the body or mental state, as compensation.

This shall conclude my thoughts on payment and Lifeline for now. I want a new chore as written, and now I hope you will take notice of this and get back to me within the hour. © bismark9891075 / Reddit

10. Generosity meets business.

Back in my Star Wars figure collecting days, I found an at-the-time rare Tatooine Darth Maul on the shelf. I was gleeful and giddy...until I saw the small child looking at the figure, looking sad. So I asked said child if they already had this figure...they said no.

Now, I never want to be the kind of collector who takes a toy away from a child, so I hand it over. The child gleefully runs over to their parents, and says, “Look what I got, we can put it on eBay”. © stu-el / Reddit

11. Outsmarting dad's timer

We set a timer for our 5yo to watch 15 minutes of YouTube Kids on the iPad at bedtime. Last night I went in his room half an hour later, and he was still on it watching YouTube. I asked him how when I had clearly set a timer.

This child went to the settings menu, where you need to answer a multiplication problem to change the timer. He then went to Alexa in our bedroom and asked her what that answer was to the math problem. © Rbk_3 / Reddit

12. Smart bathroom mouth

When I was around 4 or 5 years old, I started feeling uncomfortable taking baths with my mom, and I told her so.

She said, “What are you talking about, you never get too old to bathe with your mom!!” and I apparently answered “Fine! Then take a bath with grandma!!” and my mom kept quiet real quick. © s*****afkom / Reddit

13. Surprise dessert

My wife and I were outsmarted by my son when he was 4. We would always allow him to have a small dessert — usually a small chocolate (like a Hershey kiss or something).

One day, I was home alone with him, and after dinner, and his dessert, he goes, “Okay, time for my surprise dessert!” I ask what that is, and he explains it’s a smaller dessert, that he should get for doing something good. This sounds very specific, so I assumed my wife made it up with him, so I go get him like 3 M&Ms or something. He’s happy, and I think nothing of it.

Some time later, my wife asks when I created “surprise dessert.” I tell her I didn’t, and she gives me a story very similar to the one I just explained above. That’s how my son got “surprise desserts” for like 3 months without either of his parents ever thinking twice about it. © Rhinosaur24 / Reddit

As much as these children have a knack for keeping adults on their toes, these parents have a knack for being incredibly supportive, no matter what.