It’s a jungle out there.
Hell, it’s a jungle in here. Any parent will tell you that. In the course of a day, our kids can take many forms of wildlife: Docile as a fawn. Prickly as a porcupine. Lazy as a panda. And this is all before they have breakfast.
And we haven’t even gotten to the sounds and smells.
Every month, I compile a post called 6 Words. Hemingway inspired it when he said any story can be told in a six-word sentence. I ask bloggers, friends, strangers, and a few strange blogger friends to respond to a prompt.
July is National Wild About Wildlife Month. In six words, tell what wildlife your kids best resemble, and how.
The results were … wild.
What would your six words be?
1. My kids scream like insane wildebeests!
Janine H., from Confessions of a Mommyaholic blog
2. Like wild monkeys, they scale everything.
Tricia M., from Raising Humans blog
3. Wild monkeys. No cage. My house.
Meredith S., from The Mom of the Year blog
4. more food on floor than mouths.
Rory, from Time Out for Mom blog
5. Kids are like birds, always chirping.
Cynthia, from You Signed Up For What?! blog
6. offspring laugh like hyenas on gas.
beth k., from i didn’t have my glasses on … blog
7. My kids lie around like sloths.
Rebecca G., from Frugalista blog
8. My girls, flitting, fluttering social Butterflies.
Megan L., from Meaningful Mommy blog
9. Boys are monkeys, shrieking over toys.
Kim, from Protean Mom blog
10. Wildlife? This place is a ZOO!
Rabia L., from The Liebers blog
11. My daughters’ rooms would scare rattlesnakes.
Debbie, from Heartbeats ~ Soulstains blog
12. With toys, as territorial as lions.
Gina T., from Full of It blog
13. Night owls with equal parts vulture.
Kim S., from Co-pilot Mom blog
14. Kids to devices: Moths to flames.
Mel, from According to Mags blog
15. My girls cling like baby monkeys.
Kerri, from Undiagnosed but OK blog
16. Like parrots attempting to sing opera.
Nicola Y., from Nikki Young Writes blog
17. Potty training means pissing in yards.
Shay, from Trashy Blog
18. Toddler want a cracker? He parrots.
Katie, from Pick Any Two blog
19. My boy: Boogie-boarding like a dolphin.
Norine M., from Science of Parenthood blog
20. She sleeps like a hibernating bear.
21. He’s as loyal as a Labrador.
Michele P. from Old Dog, New Tits blog
22. Bedtime brings opossum looking children (fakers!)
Rosie M., from Mail 4 Rosey blog
23. Like fish. Bubbles! Hello new friend.
Louise H., from Baby Gates Down blog
24. Pitter patter? More like elephant herd.
Joey R., from Big Teeth Clouds blog
25. My sons wrestle like bear cubs!
Marie, from Normal Everyday Life blog
26. Moods change faster than cheetahs run.
Lisa, from The Golden Spoons blog
27. Toddlers are worse than drunk monkeys!
Tarana K., from Sand in My Toes blog
28. My kids sleep more than sloths.
Dana H., from Kiss My List blog
29. My boys are dirtier than pigs.
Robin, from Masshole Mommy blog
30. Bucking broncos, laughing hyenas, screaming banshees.
Rachael, of Three Boys and a Mom blog
31. Daughters, like hippos, cute but volatile!
Georgia W., of Oatmeal Smiles blog
32. Hunter is buff like a buffalo.
Kim T., of Day with KT blog
33. Reiko hugs like a giant panda!
Rea A., of REAlity Bites blog
34. My toddler sleeps like a shark.
Caroline, of Fit Pink Mom blog
35. Dogs, kids, can’t pick up shit.
Alyson, of The Shitastrophy blog
36. Asleep, she hoots like an owl.
Tamara B., of Tamara Camera blog
37. My kids: louder than howler monkeys.
Lisa, from Notes from the Shallow End blog
38. Cantankerous, ravenous grizzlies awakening in spring.
Nicole G., of Work In Sweats Mama blog
39. My kids devour pizza like pack wolves.
Eli P., of Coach Daddy blog
Just a dad ... 
Love it so much!!!! Thanks for including me! It was an honor! 😃
Glad you like it, Rachael! Thanks for playing along. You’re in great company!
I see that! 😃
Insanity loves company.
Loves it and even needs it! 😉
Good one! So many interesting answers and can definitely attest to some. Haha. Kids can be wild!!
Thanks Rea. I think we covered all of the animal kingdom, short of llamas, horseshoe crabs and whooping cranes. Wildlife ain’t got nothin on our kids.
Some great six word stories here Mate. I can’t even think one up right now though.
Cheers
Laurie.
Sometimes our wild kids defy words, mate.
It’s not often that I’m short of words mate.
Sometimes you just have to settle for jungle sounds, mate.
Ooh, ooh, ooh!
Now you’ve got it!
Eli, I have loved each month being a part of so far, but I think this may very well be my favorite of them all so far! Seriously, so much fun and huge thank you again for letting me be a part of this!!! 🙂
It was wild, eh? Thanks for helping to make it that way!
yes, it’s clear these are all parents. i loved the ‘yard pissing’ and ‘room like a rattlesnake’s’ so much. thanks for including me once again )
zookeepers, we. i’m just glad ‘pissing’ and ‘rattlesnakes’ didn’t appear in the same sentence.
I’m heading over to find your blog, ksbeth, because I’m so excited that you noticed my contribution. Kinda made my morning…along with my kids sleeping in (They’re STILL ASLEEP!) and this quiet cup of coffee. 🙂
Don’t forget: I get a cheeseburger for every blogger connection that happens because of this blog. Thank you.
Fun idea and great post. Thanks for including me.
I couldn’t resist the kids-wildlife connection, because they’re kind of the same. Thanks for taking part in the madness.
Great wildlife photos strange blogger friend!
I think the howler monkey is my favorite – it’s like he’s trying to beat the stereotype all by himself.
This seriously made me laugh out loud. So glad you started with Janine’s! All I could think of “She posts such sweet pictures of her cute girls doing things like Frozen princess parties… No way they’re wildebeests!” haha… I love Katie’s as well… “I want cracker” is something I hear about 100x a day. Fabulous 🙂
Mission accomplished, then. Janine got her response in like 17 seconds. Now we know there are six degrees (or less) between Elsa and wildebeests.
It goes from wanting a cracker to wanting crab legs within 13 years, goes my experience. Be ready!
Thanks for having me, Eli! Some of these were hilarious.
Glad you came to the jungle for this one, Robin.
Perfect. Above all, makes me feel less alone in the “wildlife refuge” which has become my house…thanks, Eli and friends! Love these posts!
Wild. Parents are kind of like park rangers – hey, there’s a prompt for a post right there. Thanks Meredith!
Thank you for including me. I’m not surprised that there are many references to primates!
Thanks for joining the tribe, Tarana. If anyone here doesn’t know you yet, I hope they’ll check out your blog.
If science wants to find the ‘missing link,’ it can be found in any one of our houses, during the day, all summer.
Having spent yesterday babysitting my two-year-old granddaughter and her three and a half year old brother, I can say without a shadow of doubt that children are terrorists when it comes to toys — even when they have the identical toy. These two are a joy to look after, and ninety percent of the time, all you hear is giggles and laughter, but they know exactly how to push each other’s buttons, and when they do… 🙂
“Children are terrorists with their toys” would have been perfect, Lyn! And i think many parents here would swap their mix for your 90/10 any day of the week!
Awesome list, thanks for including me!
Thanks for sharing your zoo with us, Kerri.
Well said by everyone. Thanks for including me, Eli.
I kind of feel like Jack Hannah after this one. Thanks for pitching in, Michele.
What an awesome compilation, everyone! Another fantastic 6-word set, Eli. Thanks for hosting!
They did good, didn’t they? All I did was toss out the prompt. Same time, next month?
You know it!
Every month I think, “this’ll be tough to top.”
“A pig that never stops eating”. What can I say? I *am* a piggy – snorts. ❤ you! XOXO – Bacon
I’ve lived the life, pal!
You posted on a day when I’ve only got one at home, and it *almost* makes me miss my zoo!! LOL!!
If anyone needs a babysitter today … Rabia’s here for us.
Hilarious collection this month! 😀
Hilarious kids to inspire it all, apparently, E!
It just goes to show you that we are all part of the animal kingdom!
… at different levels of the food chain, too.
Love it! So many options…Hamster’s cage cleaner than son’s apartment? While our home can be a jungle, I like my sons’ nicknames: Little Guy is my “Snuggle Kitty” and Big Guy is my “funny bunny”! Ah…
Thanks Jenn! The hamster cage one is perfect. My oldest lives this way. Maybe I should just put down cedar chips?
They are remarkably absorbant! 😉
And who doesn’t love how cedar smells? Well, at least more than how hamsters/teenagers smell.
I love how there are descriptions here of kids of all ages – thanks for including me, Eli!
We cover the whole jungle, Dana. Glad you were in it!
Eli, Too funny – yes our kids are like animals at times – and my dog seems more human than they do at times, too. Thanks for the chuckle. Clay
Dogs are cleaner, I think, than most kids. Glad you stopped by, friend.
Our kids are crazy and wild 🙂 Thank you for giving me a good laugh. I love your 6 word sentences!
Glad you liked it Debbie! Sometimes at the zoo, I forget which ones should be in the cages.
This is hilarious! I had fun making up my 6 word sentence, I never would have thought of them this way! 🙂
The cool part is getting all the difference perspectives. And seeing that other people kind of said it for us. It’s a wild world.
Love all of these. I especially love the fact that some animals show up again and again…I guess we have similar beasts in our homes! Thanks so much for including me!
Not a bad herd here, eh Katie? We’re heavy on primates, Tarana points out. Glad you could join us! Probably many of my readers know you, but those who don’t … I hope they’ll check you out.
Oh those crazy monkey kids, haha!
Mine definitely fit the bill.
So great! Thank you for inviting me, Eli!
Thanks Kim. Great to have you back!
I read this over breakfast this morning. Maybe I snorted aloud or something. “Reading, she snorted like a pig.”
These are some true winners. I actually walked by the kids’ bedroom minutes ago, hoping to hear some hooting.
I did hear some purring!
There should be a snort warning on some blogs, right? we do specialize in winners around here, yours included. Purring is far from the worst noise you can hear from the kids’ room!
What fun! I can relate to the sloths, pack of wolves and cheetahs! There’s a lot of these going on over here.
Thanks Michelle! I think our kids morph, depending on the situation. I know you’ve seen it in your house.
These are hilarious! Thank you so much for inviting me to contribute. Let me know next month’s theme soon so I “can start mulling on it now.” Get it? That last part was six words…holy shit, I’m trying too hard, aren’t I? 🙂
They really bring it for this one, Shay. Glad you got in the game this time. I’ll send you an email with the next prompt … just came up with it! It’ll give you plenty of time to get at least one bad word in it.
You’re not trying too hard – you’re just become indoctrinated. You’ll start thinking in six words. That was a six-word sentence, by the way.
I love the quote at the end! And it’s oh so true. 🙂
Jane Goodall rocks. When we see the chimps at the zoo, it’s like a family reunion.
Thanks for including me, last minute! Having a crazy little monkey of my own, I love seeing all the monkey references.
We do these things in pencil, Nicole, to account for the deadline (or post deadline!) edit. The primate connection is definitely no mistake.
My kids flew from the nest.
http://www.joycelansky.blogspot.com
Good one! (More snacks for you).
Hahaha this is fun! 🙂
It’s a barrel of monkeys, Colette!
I wish my kids slept as if hibernating! Right now we’re in the territorial lion stage.
They should offer Froot Loops with a mild sedative, if you ask me.
My daughter I swear is part monkey – climbing on everything! Awesome post. I always love the ‘in 6 words’
Just part? Glad you liked it Ashley! These are a blast.
That was fun! Great idea for a list, Eli!!
Thanks Sandy – glad you liked it. The next one will be a bit more serious. Or not. Depends on how you look at it!
Love these! This was so much fun. Thanks for inviting me to join!
Thanks Lisa – I like to challenge the world with forced brevity once a month. Glad you were part of it!
Wow, great compilation!! Definitely is accurate!
Thanks Lisa! The jungle don’t lie.
OMG – I’m dying over the “drunk monkeys” and “can’t pick up shit” ones. I think that about sums it up for me. Another stellar outing everyone. Take a bow!
They’re kind of kick-ass, this batch, wouldn’t you say, Rore?
Sounds like we’d all make excellent zookeepers! At what age do the kids become civilized? I’ll probably miss it when they do. 🙂 Great post, thanks for including me!
We already are, Marie. I’m still waiting for civility to strike … and my oldest is 16. I’m 42 and still waiting for it for myself. Glad you were along for the ride!
These are all great!! I agree with most of them. 🙂
Glad you liked them April! Now I want to comb the list and find the ones you didn’t agree with …