By Isabella Sorresso

Kids do a lot of things that you love, and a lot of things that can be pretty annoying. Being their parents you have to pick your battles and either shut it down or learn to tolerate it. But, there is another third option that can sometimes be much more fun — annoy them back. There are tons of things that you might already be doing that annoy your kids, and guess what? We don’t care! We’re the grown ups and we’re allowed to annoy them back every once in a while. So, here are 10 ways to mildly annoy your kids:

1. Singing loudly and off-key: Trying to keep yourself entertained in the car? Sing their favorite songs at the top of your lungs. You’re kids are gonna love it.
2. Say omg, lol and other acronyms in regular conversation: “Gosh mom, nobody says that in real life!”
3. Asking if everyone they talk about is their boyfriend or girlfriend: Project partners, friends in class, celebrities on TV, social media influencers – everyone. No one is safe.
4. Handing them things they didn’t ask for: Oh, you asked for the salt? I thought you said water bottle.
5. Lock them out of their phones: Entering a phone password incorrectly five times will lock you out of your phone for one minute. The more times you enter it wrong, the longer it locks you out. Not too long, just long enough to bother them.
6. Tell dad jokes in front of their friends: Dad jokes might be funny now that we’re adults, but kids still think they’re the worst. Tell the same ones over and over for maximum annoyance.
7. Embarrass them in the school pick-up line: Play your music on blast, honk the car horn and call out to them so they know exactly where your car is.
8. Dance to music playing in public: Sometimes the grocery store just plays really good music and you have to dance right then and there.
9. Comment on their social media posts: You might be their “friends” online, but they probably don’t want their parents commenting on their selfies.  
10. Slather them in sunscreen in front of their friends: While it may be sun safety, it’s also pretty embarrassing when all your friends are running to play at the beach and you’re waiting behind and getting coated in white sunscreen.