Being isolated away from their usual routines is impacting everyone. Some children are much more sensitive to things that normally wouldn't phase them.
For one mom, who related their bedtime story to her son's own experiences, the moment backfired in a way she never expected.
Reddit user "Ka1eigh" underestimated how vulnerable her son was feeling while on lockdown.
She shared in the "Dear Reddit, Today I F**ked Up" subReddit how she had upset her son during their bedtime routine, and days later, he's still getting over it.
"So last night before bed, my toddler picks his bedtime story. Same one as a few nights ago... it's called 'I Need a New Bum!' By Dawn McMillan."
"It's about a lad who realises he has a bum crack and goes on a quest to shops and magical places to replace his bum in weird and wonderful ways, until... at the end, he sees his dad bent over repairing the kitchen sink, and sees he has a bum crack too (think builders bum), and he realises it's ok."
"So I mistakenly told my 3 year old 'hey, guess what... you have a bum crack too!'"
She quickly realized this was a mistake, gauging by her son's big emotional reaction.
"Isolation is getting to him! Cue him bawling his eyes out... absolutely inconsolable, and wouldn't settle to sleep. He asked me if he could go to the shop to buy a new one, I tried to explain that it was normal and you couldn't buy bums."
She tried all kinds of things to try to calm him but seemingly to no avail.
"He was convinced this 'new' crack was hurting him whilst I tried to convince him otherwise. I even had to kiss it better. That didn't help. Like the end of the story, I'm not ashamed to say I tried to show him mine. That didn't help."
"His dad took over and explained the physical reasons we need a bum crack. To poop, to walk, to move. It took a lot of convincing and persuasion to settle him whilst he cried and cried."
He even continued to talk about it the next day, leaving the mother to wonder when this will end.
"And today he keeps reminding me of all the reasons why it is important to have a bum crack (including examples of how he would walk). But I think he's getting over it."
Her fellow Redditors responded kindly, some consoling her for what is really a minor slip.
But most took the time to share their own hilarious childhood stories about bums, which hopefully made her feel better.
"When my daughter was three she started in hysterics while in the bath and when i asked what was wrong she told me her bum was broken because it had a hole in it!!" - Bollock2681
"This is one of my sons (4) favourite books. To the point where he likes to see if people's bums are cracked and if they need a new bum." - boneabee
"This is the kind of worry that stays with you, bless him - when I was wee, my dad told me that if I unravelled my belly button, my bum would fall off - aged 21, I had laparoscopic surgery through my belly button. Apparently the first thing I asked the nurse when I came round from the anaesthetic was if my bum was still attached..." - Strawberry_Spring
"Friend of mine had three kids: 6M, 3F, and 1M. Mom was bathing 3F and 1M together and 6M came in to ask her a question, but saw his naked baby sister and stood frozen with a look of horror on his face."
This scared Mom, who was like, 'OMG, honey, what's wrong??' When 6M recovered his powers of speech, all he could squeak out was: 'She has a butt in the front!!'" - livience
Though this mom may think confiding in her son backfired, it will one day be something they can laugh about together.
Perhaps even within days, they'll be able to joke about it and move on to the next great story.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
@BadFoxGraphics/X
@HadleySheley/X
@ZPManInTheWall/X
@HaoMao2017/X
@LunaKatVT/X
@carolyn_from/X
@Timdupj/X