It happens every single year. April Fool’s Day comes around and somehow 1/4 of my friends are using the same day to announce their pregnancies. They get a ton of congratulatory comments full of well-wishes and then they tell everyone “Haha, we got you! We’re not actually pregnant- calm down.” I am not saying that they mean to be hurtful or anything of the sort; they probably didn’t even think about a post like this being anything more than a good joke.
I am quite gullible and last year, I believed it when I saw one of these announcements.
I have enough trouble keeping track of what the date is, let alone remembering that a silly tradition like April Fool’s Day even exists. This year, I was prepared for all of these announcements. Sure enough, the first thing I saw when I checked Facebook was an announcement just like this one. I didn’t even pause scrolling to linger on it.
Yes, everyone has the freedom to post whatever they like, to each their own, etc. However, the very next post was an obituary posted by a friend who recently and unexpectedly lost her brother. After that, I saw a post from a couple. This couple is basically known for wanting children ever since they got married a few years ago. They are still struggling. People are going through things that are so much more important than a good prank.
April Fool’s Day Prank: Light-hearted Fun?
Even when you look up the origin behind April Fool’s Day, you read:
April Fools’ Day, sometimes called All Fools’ Day, is one of the most light-hearted days of the year. Its origins are uncertain. Some see it as a celebration related to the turn of the seasons, while others believe it stems from the adoption of a new calendar. -Infoplease
Lighthearted, sure. But, some people take these pranks to heart more than others. That is when I saw and I shared this photo.
I thought it would be interesting to see how people reacted to the photo so I went on to read the comments.
They varied between individuals talking about their own infertility stories and those mourning a loss of a child, to comments stating that people need to lighten up. If they don’t want to react badly to these pranks, then don’t read them.
Here are a few examples of the comments related to the April Fool’s Day Prank :
“Everything in the world is going to offend someone else. And this post isn’t going to stop people from doing or saying anything about it. So how about educating people to be strong and turn the other cheek and not get offended by every little thing they see or hear? I am not trying to be negative. But in all seriousness, this is a little bit of an unrealistic goal.”
“Another reason to be afraid of offending someone. Last year for Christmas my mom put a fake positive pregnancy test in a “Daddy” card for my dad. He’s 54 and she’s 48. He actually got scared and it was hilarious. Let people enjoy their fun. Everything is going to offend everyone at some point no matter what you do. Don’t like it, don’t read it.”
“I have done this to my mom. But the poor women has 8 grandkids. Six being from Me. So its funny hearing her freak. Before all the sensitive ppl freak out. I lost triplets. The way it happened was awful. But life goes on. Maybe ppl should just stop being so damn sensitive. Live and let live!”
I understand that everything will be seen as offensive to someone and it is impossible to make everyone happy.
But, since when has it been a bad thing to THINK about what you post before you post it? I am sure I have posted something that has been seen as offensive to someone. Of course, I truly apologize since it is not my intention. Just as I am sure people aren’t intentionally trying to be hurtful with these posts.
Many people may think that I am only writing about this now because I actually AM pregnant. That I am just being overly sensitive to things that involve pregnancy.
Yes, knowing I will be a Mother has changed several aspects of my life for the positive. However, these posts got my attention last year as well and I just kept my mouth shut. Now that I have been in touch with other couples/women going through their own pregnancy journeys, it made me want to be more vocal about it.
I have met so many wonderful women (and men), whether by reading their own blogs or via baby forums, who opened their hearts to discuss how painful losing a child is. Or, how frustrating it is to struggle with infertility. Until you go through it or know someone who has/is going through it, you have no idea how these posts can affect someone. It is not up to us to decide how someone will or should react to a post, but what we can do is just think a bit more before posting something.
What do you think?
Is the April Fool’s Day Prank really just a lighthearted joke and do people need to be less sensitive? Or, should the people posting such pranks take other people into consideration a bit more?
Let me know by commenting below or finding me on Facebook!
Happy April 1st Everyone!
On face value it seems totally harmless I guess – the aim being to fool people and make them think “omg she’s pregnant” before the person or the couple say “haha, it was only a joke”… but seems a bit of a fraud to me.
For me the point of April fools is to do something silly or get someone to believe something that can’t possibly be true (such as my dad leaving tubs of glitter over the front door to cover whoever walks through first, or some of the news articles you see some years (like announcing that they are creating “smell-o-vision”) – MUCH funnier & wittier!
Using pregnancy announcements is a bit too close to the bone for my liking – and the conclusion is “haha… you’re not pregnant… so….. *tumbleweed*….
That’s what I believe, too. I think I’ll start calling it the “Tumbleweed”prank 😉 I really like that. By the way, I love that your Dad did the glitter tubs- that’s hilarious!! Thank you for commenting!
I HATE the April Fools day pregnancy announcement prank. I know people do not mean to be hurtful but it is.
Exactly. After I posted this, a girl I know commented saying that she is unable to have children and it hurts when she sees so many people make a joke about it- I had no idea about her situation. I told her it just goes to show that no one knows what is going on behind closed doors- you just never know. Thank you so much for commenting!
Thank you so much for your post! I think this is something everyone should read on April 1st!
That is very sweet of you to say, thank you so much Jennie & thank you again, for commenting!
-Joanna
Unfortunately, people just don’t think before they speak and instead of apologising, they get defensive (“can’t say anything without offending someone these days” etc) and I agree, babies are a very sensitive subject and people should be more mindful because unfortunately a lot of people have fertility issues and I can imagine it’s very hurtful to them 🙁 I have a handful of friends who have either miscarried or can’t physically have children and I bare that in mind when I talk about my pregnancy and take care not to moan about the bad side effects too much because I know that those people who can’t have children, that’s everything they want and I’d feel ungrateful x x
Yes, exactly! I didn’t even think about their reactions as being defensive but you’re completely right. I almost feel bad sometimes for writing posts in which I am so overjoyed at the fact that I am pregnant and if I talk about the “not as fun”side effects, I always try to make sure that it is clear that I am NOT complaining. I understand EXACTLY what you mean. Thank you for commenting!! 🙂
I don’t see the humor in the joke even from a subjective point of view, its cliched. To me it’s equivalent to a cashier having trouble ringing something up and the customer saying, “It’s free!” It lacks all originality, so why do it.
But moving on from that point, the argument to “just not read it,” that’s the point of a prank you don’t know it’s a prank. Also the “my mom did this to my dad,” she has an intimate relationship with her husband and will know that the relief he would feel from the truth is worth the humor.
I cannot relate to infertility issues, but I would hate to think that I was insensitive to someone who is experiencing it for the purpose of a lame joke. I’m down for pranks but put some thought into it and come up with something original.
100% agree! Like another reader commented, the conclusion of the prank is “Oh we’re not actually pregnant….Okay….. *Tumbleweed*”- the outcome is so lackluster and isn’t even funny. I even appreciate how some websites/big name news sources play pranks on us by writing articles about things that COULD be true but we pray to God that they’re not. As I said, I’m gullible so I fall for those quite easily and when I see that it’s just a joke, then I sigh a breath of relief and laugh. Jokes like that I appreciate (depending on what the content is of course). Thank you for commenting!
I personally have never experienced this type of prank on my Facebook. I’m not quite sure how i would feel if i discovered one. It would probably depend how i was feeling in the moment. You cant control what other people say or do but i definitely think it cannot hurt to be mindful about everything we share in a public forum.
What I can say though is, i do see a lot of posts about miscarriage and fertility struggles. Remembering those that have lost a child etc. These posts make me feel like i am not alone and that these issues unfortunately are more common than I first perceived them to be.