Parents often have a hard time believing that their kids don’t always have the answers. For some, it’s pure curiosity; for others, it’s the need to stay involved in every aspect of their children’s lives. But when that curiosity crosses into obsession, things can get messy fast.
One Redditor’s mom just wouldn’t let things go. Every unanswered question led to another round of probing, and every “I don’t know” was treated like a lie.
Eventually, the exhausted child came up with a creative way to deal with the situation by giving answers so outlandish that they couldn’t possibly be true.
Except… the mom believed them, and the fallout was beyond awkward.
A mom won’t accept “I don’t know,” and an adult child answers with escalating fiction until the whole family is talking about squirrel-stuffed car trunks.
It’s a classic feedback loop, a parent’s relentless need for certainty meets a grown kid’s need for privacy, and both double down.
OP’s satire isn’t malicious; it’s defensive. But when the joke leaves the chat and lands in a sibling’s living room, it becomes a reputational mess.
Zooming out, this sits inside a wider shift in how families negotiate information, autonomy, and closeness.
Clinical psychologist Joshua Coleman notes that estrangements and near-estrangements rise when expectations collide: “Estranged parents often tell me that their adult child is rewriting the history of their childhood,” while adult children say parents ignore boundaries or minimize harm.
His Atlantic essay also flags data showing that about 11% of mothers 65–75 report being estranged from at least one adult child, and that most parent–child estrangements are initiated by the adult child, signals that privacy and agency are powerful modern norms, even within “close” families.
So what now, minus the squirrels? First, own the unintended collateral: a brief, light apology to Mom for putting her in an awkward spot lowers the temperature without conceding your boundary.
Next, change the script. Replace answers with a consistent boundary phrase and a respectful redirect. If she persists, use a broken-record technique and change topics.
Offer an alternative channel for connection, share one thing about your own week, so “less info about others” doesn’t feel like “less relationship.”
Loop in your brother, agree on a united, neutral response when Mom seeks third-hand updates. If needed, set limits on conversations.
In the end, OP’s experience reads like a boundary lesson taught with punchlines that backfired. The core message is simpler and stronger without theatrics.
Here’s what Redditors had to say:
These Redditors backed the OP with full enthusiasm, calling her prank “legendary coping.”
This group vented about sharing the same exhausting experience with nosy parents.
These commenters took a more balanced view.
These Redditors leaned more analytical, suggesting the mother’s constant questioning stems from a need for connection, not curiosity.
This story is one of those classic “play stupid games, win stupid prizes” situations, except this time, the prize was a deeply confused mom asking about squirrel-packed car trunks.
Do you think the OP’s sarcasm was justified to make a point, or did they take the joke too far? Drop your verdict below, this one’s comedy meets chaos!
