So you wanna be featured?

I am still overwhelmed by all the support and shares with @kidsaretheworst. When I first had the idea to start an Instagram account that showed the "less desirable" side of parenting in a fun way, I had hoped that parents would find the account, have a good laugh, and not feel so alone. I had no idea that it would grow and be shared as it has. Thank you for being a part of it. Big kisses to YOU!

There are a few things I have learned as the account has grown that I didn't understand before and I wanted to share them with all of you that reach out to me, share photos and videos and want to have your account/photos featured on @kidsaretheworst.

1. I am only able to see 100 of the most recent actions associated with my account. So when you @ me on a photo or in a message, if I am not on Instagram at that moment and checking the updates, I won't be able to see your message. These recent actions include likes, new follows, and all comments left on all posts. Sometimes 100 actions happen within a minute. If you have mentioned "@kidsaretheworst" and I haven't responded, this is why. There is a huge chance that I never saw it.
2. Many people write #kidsaretheworst wrong. It happens to the best of us. Hashtags are hard to write because the spellcheck will always say it is wrong and words look funny anyway when jumbled together. One easy way to make sure it is spelled right--if you want to add the hashtag to be found--is to click on the hashtag in a @kidsaretheworst post. Then Instagram notes that you have interest in this specific hashtag and will autofill it as you type. Boom!
3. If you have a private account, there is a 75% chance I cannot see your direct messages. For a while, I was messaging people back saying, "Darn, I can't see your message. Can you resend it or email it to me?" But frankly, aint nobody got time for that. Also, if you're private, there is a 100% chance that I cannot see anything on your account if you @ or # kidsaretheworst. (wink wink)
4. Tagging OLD PHOTOS on Instagram will most likely not been seen. I see them in order of date posted, most recent first. So, if I start seeing familiar photos on the hashtag, I stop looking. If you have an old photo that you'd like to be considered for featuring, please email or direct message. Mwah!
5. Sending videos is also difficult via Instagram's direct message. I don't know why this is, but it is a bizarre occurrence for me that I can receive photos from someone and then not videos via DM. Email them to me (address below) or #kidsaretheworst for best visibility.
6. Please know that once you send me photos and videos, whether via email, DM, or #, that you are giving me the rights to repost and caption your photos. Unfortunately, photos get "stolen" off my page and reused without your rights. It is stupid, for sure. But, please be aware that you are taking the chance of not being appropriately credited once I post it. This is why I put the @kidsaretheworst symbol on all photos that come from followers, so it can always be traced back to the original owner. If I do post your photo, it will have @kidsaretheworst written on it.
7. I can't post all the photos and videos I get. Love me anyway, ok? You would be surprised how many submissions that I get everyday. Often it is of the same type of thing that I recently posted. I try to post a variety of scenarios, because I think even I would tire of seeing diaper blowouts ten days in a row.
8. The best-looking photos and the most obvious will be featured the most often. If your photo is too dark or blurry or takes too long to understand what is going on, the chance of being featured is lessened. People will look for about 1.2 seconds at a photo. If they don't see what is so funny or cute in that amount of time... DONE. So, take a clear, well-lit, obvious photo for a greater chance of being featured.
9. I can't share your company, product, sister's custom pillow cases, blog, party, cause. As much as I would love to (and as much as I appreciate when people share for me), it would not be possible to share everyone who asks me to share. Once in a while I do find companies that make sense to partner with or who are an obvious fit with @kidsaretheworst. And to be fair to everyone, I have to be extremely picky. Please understand that I am rooting for you and your sister's companies. Legit. I hope everyone can find a good audience and success. I would love to chat and see if your brand works well with mine. Thanks for understanding.

Any other questions? Please ask me. Write them in the comments or email me at kidsaretheworstest@gmail.com. That's also where you can send videos and photos if you are private. Please add the name of your Instagram account in the email so I can give you proper credit.

Is there anything that you would love to see on the website here? Let me know? Know of anyone who would love to write a weekly feature on the blog? Have them email me. Are you following us on Facebook? So many questions, Anna!!

Thanks for reading all the way down. I can't wait to see what you can share with all of us. You're rad.

Meeting a new sister

When I had my second child, I was worried that the first would feel left out. Isn't that funny how we worry about potential reactions? So I bought my firstborn a gift to open for herself at the hospital when she met her new baby brother. I did the same thing for the two older kids when they came to visit my third baby, their new brother. By the time I had my fourth baby, I knew that the other kids would be getting enough treats from their grandparents at home while I labored at the hospital.

The reactions on these videos to the new siblings are priceless. Did your record your children meeting for the first time? I would love to see them.

And now I'm a puddle.

~Anna

Halloween Vlog

Thanks for sharing your Halloween costumes and photos on Instagram and by email (kidsaretheworstest@gmail.com or thingsaretheworst@gmail.com)

Here are some of my favorites in vlog form. Let me know if you like the vlog on the blog. Be gentle. 

And, for the record, I don't mean to be inappropriate, so please pretend like nothing is inappropriate if you think it might be inappropriate. (yikes. hehehe)

Happy Halloween, mas and pas.

Anna

Call your mother, college kids!

Have you seen this video of a mother sending a video message to her college-aged son? It's killing me. "I'm your mommy!" A little bit of sarcasm is always funny in my book.

Thanks, Ann McCarney for this gem!

Holy Spit

It happens to all parents at one time or another. You've burped your babies, changed them into a fresh outfit, played a little and then they spit up all over themselves and you.  Just the sound of a cough followed by the beginning gurgling of vomit can send shivers down your spine. But, spit happens. Does it ever. Enjoy:

Thanks to Shay Nugent, Alex Witson, Dana Baker, Andrea Cottrell and The Pink Poppy Shop for their contributing video clips.

Want your child to be featured on one of our next videos? Email your videos to kidsaretheworstest@gmail.com .

SPECIFICALLY, we are looking for videos of your kids' best dance moves OR record them saying any words they can't pronounce correctly (for example, my son used to say "hangerbooger" for hamburger). Thanks in advance!

a

Oh Shazaam!

This video was sitting in my Direct Message folder on Instagram and immediately I fell in love with these parents. Well, immediately I gasped at the sound of technology being destroyed. And then I heard the mother exclaim, "Oooh Shiiiiizaam" and laugh and that's when I wanted to go find them and hug them. I don't know if I would be so restrained and laugh as both of these parents did when their toddler destroyed the television.

But, I know it's just stuff. My kids don't quite get that concept yet. I am always telling them to keep their rooms clean, respect the home and car, hang up their clothes, don't spill, wipe your shoes, all that jazz. Which I think is important, because children need to respect the items that their parents worked hard to purchase and provide. But, when something breaks or spills or ruins, do I remember that ACCIDENTS HAPPEN? That the spirit of my children is more important than something that will eventually end up in a thrift store or landfill anyway? 

I asked this mother, Carrie, to email me the video so I could post it. In the subject line, she wrote "Daddy gets a new tv." You can either laugh or cry, and when it comes to little children and accidents, I hope I laugh more like these parents.

What do you think? Would you have laughed and refrained from cursing, too? Does this video make you cry or laugh just watching it?

a

DubSmash

Do you DubSmash? It is so annoying and so awesome and so dumb and so fun. I know it is one of those apps that is going to get boring and exhausting all too soon, but for now, we are having so much fun with DubSmash.

Like this one I did with my son:

Oh and then introducing my kids to Friends is great when you have DubSmash, like this one:

Currently my kids' favorite movie is School of Rock, so it was only fitting that my daughter and I did this DubSmash:

Adventure Time? We do. This one makes me laugh a lot, because my son's face gets SO red by the end. Just like LemonGrab:

Even the kids who aren't very good at memorizing little snippets and hamming it up for the phone camera love to see themselves lip syncing:

Hours and hours of fun with DubSmash. But a little word of caution for parents: There are a lot of inappropriate sounds and recordings with profanities. In each and every category and every search I have made, I have heard some profane recordings. I tried to make it a bit safer and cleaner for my kids by creating a folder in the tab on the top of the DubSmash homepage titled "My Sounds" which I named "good clean dubfun"! I search for the recordings and when I find one I think my kids will like, I push on the circle next to the star (see photo below) and a pop-up Action asks if I want to "Add to Soundboard" (yes) and then select the folder created. This way the kids don't go searching through the garbage and accidentally hear things that I prefer they don't.

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Get it? Yeah, you do. Hashtag #KATWDubSmash so we can all share our DubSmash videos on Instagram. Have a dub weekend!

a

**I was not compensated in any way to write this review. We just enjoy this app and hope you do, too.**