Listen, if there’s one universal truth about parenting, it’s that your kids will absolutely throw you under the bus—usually with perfect comedic timing and in the most public setting possible. As a mom with two teenagers, I’ve had my fair share of “wait, what did you just tell your teacher?” moments.
Once, after I’d been grinding away at a new job for months after a career transition, my daughter seemingly missed the entire memo. On her Mother’s Day “All About My Mom” Q&A, she wrote “Nothing yet!” in response to “What my mom does when I’m at school.” Ouch. Thanks for the vote of confidence, kiddo.
But I’m not alone in this parental hall of shame. Just ask TikTok creator Aurora McCausland (@auroramccausland), whose recent video has parents everywhere simultaneously cringing and cackling.
Related: This viral TikTok is changing how parents teach kids to accept apologies
The bedroom video bomb
Picture this: McCausland picks up her 5-year-old son from school when his teacher pulls her aside. The teacher explains that her son had enthusiastically shared with the class what his mom does for work: “Mommy makes videos in her bedroom but only when I’m not at home.”
Cue internal screaming.
McCausland, who actually creates home and cleaning content on TikTok, found herself in that universal parental moment of wanting to both disappear into thin air and clarify things immediately. Luckily, she tells Newsweek she knows the teachers well, and another staff member correctly guessed that she makes TikTok videos—not, you know, those kinds of videos.
The kid-to-adult translation problem
What makes this story so relatable is the innocent way kids describe adult life with zero context. McCausland explained that she simply films in various rooms of their house, including her bedroom, and her son is often home—just not appearing in any of her content. In his 5-year-old brain, this translated to “Mommy makes videos in her bedroom when I’m not home.”
Technically accurate? Sort of. Wildly misleading? Absolutely.
Instead of making a big deal of it, McCausland had a casual conversation with her son about what she actually does, clarifying that she films all over the house. As she wisely notes to Newsweek, “I’ve found that making a big deal out of these sorts of misunderstandings doesn’t help the situation at all.”
The universal experience of being humiliated by your children
McCausland’s story hit a nerve, racking up over 1.7 million views with thousands of comments from parents sharing their own mortifying kid-translation fails:
“My son told everyone that we were homeless (because we don’t own our home, we rent),” shared KBR.
MM wrote: “My little cousin told his teacher his mom dances for money 😩 she’s a salsa instructor 😆”
“In kinder my son thought Red Bull was alcohol and told his teacher I liked to have beer on the way to school,” confessed Ashley Mackie.
The hits keep coming: cmac shared, “My husband works as a table games dealer at a casino. Kindergartener: ‘Daddy’s a Dealer!’ We now start every school year clearly stating he works at the casino.”
Lein offered my personal favorite: “My daughter told her teacher I was in jail—I’m a prosecutor.”
And the crown jewel from ellis.is.ellis: “My niece told her teacher her mom and dad work at the wh*re house. They work at the courthouse 😅”
Palindromeforlyfe, an elementary teacher, chimed in with wise words: “As an elementary teacher I can tell you that we take every story with a grain of salt and hope that you do the same when they come home with stories about us 🥰”
A mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do
Here’s the thing—behind the funny misunderstandings is a reality many of us face: a mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do. If that means making videos in your bedroom while your kids are at school—whether that’s TikTok content or something more adult-oriented—power to you. Last I checked, minimum wage isn’t enough to support half a human, let alone a family.
Content creation of all kinds has become a legitimate career path for many parents seeking flexible work that allows them to be present for their kids. And while the assumption in this case might have raised eyebrows, the truth is that parents deserve respect for providing for their families in whatever legal ways work best for them—without judgment or stigma. As McCausland herself noted, there would be nothing wrong with people who do film other types of content in their bedrooms, though she clarified that’s not how she makes her income.
No, it’s not the teacher’s business to ask, but McCausland clarified that “she and I know each other well! She was letting me know to clarify with him if that wasn’t the case, she was very encouraging about it either way.”
The kid-translation survival guide
If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a parent, it’s that kids are walking PR nightmares. They take our perfectly reasonable adult activities and repackage them with just enough truth to be technically correct but wildly misleading.
Some more gems from McCausland’s comment section:
Brianna Tibbitts shared: “My son said we lived in a crack house… There’s a tiny chip in the wall from the door knob.”
Aetherid confessed: “My kid told his teacher that I have a cabinet and drawer full of toys that only grown-ups can touch. It apparently took several follow-up questions to get to ‘the dolls my momma paints.“
imhereforthecatvideos wrote: “I had a student tell me his Mom cuts the cheese for work. Yup, she works at the deli counter at the grocery store.”
Kristina admitted: “My son once told someone I don’t wear clothes to work… I wear scrubs 🤦🏽♀️”
Jade Sheldon-Burnsed offered this gem: “My brother told his teacher our grandmother was in a coma… She lives in Tacoma, Washington 😳”
The parent-teacher understanding
Perhaps we should all start the school year with disclaimers: “Hello, I’m Sophia’s mom. I work in finance, NOT as a bank robber as she might tell you.” Or “Hi, I’m Jake’s dad. I’m an IT specialist, not ‘someone who plays games all day.’”
But here’s a comforting thought: teachers have heard it all. They know kids make wild interpretations of adult life. They probably have a good laugh in the break room, sharing the latest outlandish thing little Timmy said about his parents.
And honestly? Sometimes these misunderstandings give us our best parenting stories—the ones we’ll embarrass our kids with at their graduation parties and weddings.
So here’s to Aurora McCausland, who handled her son’s bedroom video bombshell with grace and humor, and to all the parents out there juggling work, life, and the constant PR disaster that is having children. May your kids’ teachers always take their stories with a grain of salt, and may you find the humor when your child inevitably throws you under the bus.
Because one day, they’ll have kids of their own. And karma doesn’t just come back around—it comes back with a bullhorn, a spotlight, and a 5-year-old who’s ready to announce to the entire class that mommy loves to drink and drive–without mentioning the fact she’s drinking coffee. Parenting: where today’s mortification is tomorrow’s revenge plot.
Related: Dad’s viral TikTok shows the result of giving kids ‘books instead of iPads’