Getting kids to follow directions can be hard sometimes. Sometimes they just don’t want to listen. And sometimes your efforts to get them to follow instructions goes in the complete opposite direction.
Sometimes they do listen. But they listen too well. They sometimes take your instructions way too literally.
And you can’t get mad at them because technically they are still right. The results are often pretty clever. And always immensely hilarious.
Here are 75 kids that take adult instructions way too literally:
This young man was told to clean his room. So he did. Well, he just moved everything onto the bed. But it looks clean.
“Keep your eye on the ball,” they told him. And he did. He literally put his eyeball on the ball.
This dad’s 1-year-old wanted to sit with him. Daddy said “Yes” but he wanted to sit exactly in dad’s spot. So he put his drink right on top of dad’s.
4) Write the Worlds in Alphabetic Order
This is the homework of an autistic sixth grader. He takes instructions literally. That’s why he put the words and letters in alphabetic order.
5) Out of the Living Room
Mom told the kids to get these toy train tracks out of the living room. And they did. But this isn’t what she meant.
He was told that he could look up puppy training tips on YouTube. Not sure that puppy can teach himself. But it looks like he’s going to try.
7) We May Have to Chop It Off
This little guy bit his tongue. Mom told him they might have to chop it off. Probably wasn’t such a good idea.
A new New Year’s tradition has been born. The adults told this little girl that you get to toast on New Year’s. So she wanted to get her toast. Now people are toasting the toast.
Mom asked him to leave his shoes outside the door. So he did. On the door knob and door hanger.
This little girl said mom gave her too many grapes. So mom told her to just eat half. Here we have half eaten grapes.
This child took her cat feeding gig pretty seriously. She picked her best fruit to give to the cat. She just didn’t know that cats don’t eat oranges.
This little girl was tasked with cleaning the table. Not the floor. She didn’t seem to know the difference.
This little boy was told that he couldn’t go outside. But this doesn’t count right? He seems to think so.
14) Put Water in Your Bowl
Mom didn’t want to scrape food off of the dinner plates. So she told the kids to put water in their bowls when they were done eating. She should have been more specific with her son.
It was a very nice day outside. Mom explained that it was far too nice to spend it inside playing games. This is what her son had in mind.
16) Take a Picture With The Tree
Mom was hoping to get a picture of her 1-year-old son in front of the tree. This is how her son positioned himself when she told him to get in front of the tree. He isn’t wrong.
Mom took her son to the art museum. She reminded him that he should really think about the art and what it’s trying to say. Her son started taking it too far.
This kid took these instructions literally to be a smart ass. Maybe he thought he could get points for being funny. Fat chance.
This kid is going places. He can do math well. And he’s creative.
What she should have told her niece was to put this stuff away in the bathroom. And not just “Put this in the bathroom.” No one wants their stuff on the floor.
Mom asked her son to grab her the
24 DVD. She meant the DVD for the TV show. Not 24 DVDs.
22) Draw Hands on the Clocks
This assignment had students draw hands on the clocks. And this student did. But he drew actually hands on the clocks instead of clock hands.
Dad explained to his son that he was working on the computer to make it go faster. His son had the perfect solution. Just Sonic the Hedgehog it.
This little kiddie grabbed a single square of toilet paper to blow her nose. Dad told her to grab a bigger piece. This is what she had in mind.
Hope had to name these shapes. She did a great job. Tedison is an incredible name.
This kid is smart. And he or she knows it. Too bad this teacher didn’t take time to point that out which she was correcting her answer.
27) Bedtime Story Adventures
It’s bedtime story adventure time with grandpa. So, this little guy had to go and get ready. But he didn’t put his pjs on. He grabbed a warm hat and a flashlight for these adventures.
This little girl must not be too sure about where hangers go. She was told to put her hangers in her room. But they go in the closet, not on the floor.
This little kid was determined to use his chopsticks at the Japanese restaurant. Even when he ate soup. This is what that ended up looking like.
Little kid tea parties are the best. This mom asked for a cup of apple juice instead of tea. This is what she got. Apparently you have to do the work yourself at this tea party.
Mom asked her son to put a jar of water in the dog’s bowl. And so here we have a jar of water in the dog’s bowl. At least he listens to his mom.
These kids asked their brother if he wanted a brownie. This is what they brought him. This joke is just mean, you shouldn’t joke about brownies like that.
His name is Warren. This is what he thinks he’ll look like in 100 years. The odds are pretty good that he’s right.
This boy was told not to throw his food on the floor. So, he didn’t. But he was still going to throw it.
35) Writing Their Letters
This first grader is really good at writing their letters. But not so much at writing letters. Santa will bring you whatever you want whether you know your alphabet or not.
Mom needed someone to help her clean the house. So this girl decided she would clean the actual walls of the house. Mom was hoping she could just clean her room instead.
37) Eat Half of Your Hot Dog
Sometimes parenting is about being a good negotiator. This parent traded TV time for her son eating half of his hot dog. He ate one bun and the top of the hot dog.
38) Shoes in Front of the Door
She completely ignored where all the other shoes were. So when this little girl was told to put her shoes in front of the door, she put them directly in front of the door. She didn’t get the hint.
Here we have another picky eater. He likes his nuggies he just didn’t want to eat them all. The deal was that he had to at least eat half of them. Now these nuggies are halved.
I love that this teacher actually gave him a point. She knows he’s not wrong. Plus it shows that he is good at following directions.
Mommy was hungry and said she was going to grab a bag of chips. Her 5-year-old was happy to help and said he’d go get them for her. This is the bag of chips he came back with.
42) Don’t Take the Clothes Off the Hangers
This kid was in the store messing with the clothes on the hangers. Her mom asked her not to take the hangers down. This was her next move.
Mom asked for mozzarella sticks. I guess her son didn’t feel like making them. This is what she got instead.
44) Don’t Eat All the Strawberries
Mom buys the strawberries. The least you could do is not eat them all on her. At least her kids listen.
The kids were told to organize the shoes. They were in a messy pile. They decided to make a shoe trail.
You are supposed to apply spray deodorant at least 15cm away from your armpit. This girl got technical with it. She busted the ruler out.
These directions were overly descriptive. They could have left the word “out” out. This is what the teacher got as a result.
This kid can definitely draw a mushroom. He even says so below. He just needs you to take his word for it.
The options were greater or less than. This teacher might have left out the part about what or is. It seems as if the the children have three options instead of two.
Dad told his son that the potty is where poo goes. He just didn’t specific what kid of poo. His son was thinking Winnie the Pooh.
This mom told her she could make art out of anything. I guess this counts. But who is going to clean up.
This little kid picked up a costume while walking through the grocery store. His parents told him to put it back. He put it back in the pizza aisle.
This mom’s 6-year-old was told to put an extra roll of toilet paper in the bathroom. She said to put it under the sink. She meant under the sink in the cabinet not literally under the sink.
54) I Don’t Want To See It
This mom said she doesn’t want to see the cooler in this room again. Now you can’t see it. Mom can’t be mad.
Making cookies is serious business. This kid is taking that 3-inch apart rule very seriously. As she should.
This kid was asked to draw a plant cell. Here we have a very sad plant behind bars. The worst part about being in a plant cell is the lack of windows and iron bars.
So what ended in 1896? Well, 1895… duh! Not what the teacher had in mind.
This 10-year-old is a magic maker. Her sibling told her that she likes mustaches, guitars, and sloths. This is what she came up with an hour later.
59) What’s the Difference
What is the difference between eight and six? One is curly and the other isn’t. This is how an 8-year-old does homework.
60) Finishing Up Some Mixes
This dad told his 2-year-old he had some more mixes to finish up. His 2-year-old wanted to make sure daddy had everything he needed. So, she left this on his desk.
This parent kept telling his kids not to wear their socks in the garden. And they didn’t. These are the parent’s socks.
This 5-year-old was told he could play in this jump house. But only if he blows it up himself. Look at that determination!
This is what happens when you tell a second grader to put something in the bathroom. They do what you tell them. But only in the most literal sense.
64) Points For Creativity
This kid gets points for creativity. He was told to put away his clothes. They are away and to the side but not out of sight. This lovely hanger sculptures makes up for it.
This 4-year-old was asked to put the cookies on the dining room table. And she did. At least they are all there. Lots of 4-year-olds would just end up eating them.
These kids were told to shovel the driveway. They must not know what a driveway is. It’s not the the road.
Mom told her daughter to take her backpack upstairs. And she did, she left it at the top of the stairs. She made the least amount of effort as possible.
Here we have the handiwork of an 11-year-old. She was told to put two trays of ice cubes into the cooler. She wasn’t supposed to put the entire tray in though.
The assignment was to do half a page of writing. The teenager followed the instructions. Just a little too well.
Dad explained to his 4-year-old son that their Labrador is a gun dog. His son didn’t quite understand. So, he left the dog a gun.
Mom told her 3-year-old to put the pears in the fruit bowl. But he just plopped them on there. He could of taken them out of the container first.
Mom told Ethan to put his shorts on. Now they’re on his head. He was trying to be funny.
These kids were told to bring a fish to school. They all did. This kid’s fish just happened to be dead.
Here we have another odd interpretation. This is a child who ate half of her banana. Or really just the top of it.
75) Spread Out the Silveware
This kid was in charge of cleaning the silverware. Then he was asked to spread it out. This is how he did it.
