Crazy shit your parents did
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Anonymous
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Now that I'm a parent, I can't believe the stuff my parents used to do. I know people say that when you have your own kids, you appreciate your parents more. Not me. Becoming a parent has made me realize the stuff my parents used to do to us was bordering on abuse. Some examples:
"Spanking" us with wire hangers, sticks, shoes, etc. Making all three children share one bath towel so that the last person to take a shower had to use a sopping wet towel. Making us all share clothes, including underwear, and wear shoes that were too small and/or full of holes. Constantly telling us that we could go ahead and kill each other whenever we fought. These are just some that stick out in my mind. We were not poor, in fact, my mom regularly bought me gold jewelry for my birthday, etc. instead of toys (and would immediately take them back for safe keeping after I opened the present). What crazy thing(s) do your parents do? |
Anonymous
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Sorry, OP. Your parents were abusive.
My parents were actually poor when I was growing up (we qualified for WIC when I was born -- we did end up firmly middle class by the time I was a teenager though) and they were excellent, attentive parents who mostly did things right. I think the main differences between their parenting and mine were products of time/environment: we played outside a lot, unsupervised (in a rural, safe town), we were allowed to ride bikes without helmets, didn't have carseats, etc. Pretty much standard parenting in the 70s. My parents weren't perfect and were probably too quick to yell when they were tired, but were overall pretty good. I'm sorry again, OP. I hope you have someone to talk to about your past so you can avoid perpetuating the same issues with your kids (I am sure you won't, you seem very self-aware!). |
Anonymous
| Throwing us in the back of the wagon in sleeping bags for long road trips. |
Anonymous
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We got spanked, sometimes with the wooden spoon. My kids have gotten the same on occcasion. I don't understand the wire hanger thing, though. Do you unravel it so it's one long piece of wire? That seems like it might cut someone.
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Anonymous
| DS's parents let him play with their electric lawnmower when he was 1. Was pretty shocked when I saw the photos! |
Anonymous
That was awesome. Made 15+ hour car trips much easier than being strapped into a car seat. I feel bad for my kids on much shorter trips, sitting still without even being able to move or readjust. |
Anonymous
We did this, too. My parents would regularly visit friends for parties and leave us sleeping in the back of the station wagon parked outside the house. |
Anonymous
| ^^^ the stuff above is awful. My parents were nudists but I don't see that as a bad thing. I definitely got the wooden spoon more so than my brother. My mom would wash my mouth out with Irish Spring soap. |
Anonymous
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My parents are loving, decent people who would never beat us but just are a little unclear on the fact that children aren't perfectly capable, rational small adults beginning around the age of 10 or so.
They bought my sister cigarettes from the time she was 13 or 14 until she could buy them legally herself. They let her sleep over at her boyfriend's house as soon as she was in high school (even though they knew they smoked lots of pot and he was older and lived on his own). And now they reminisce about the bad choices we made. "I was so upset when you chose to take up smoking. Do you know how much it tore me apart to have to go buy cigarettes for you? I was so sad you decided to do that." |
Anonymous
| Sending us to the store alone at age 5. Crossing a major road. |
Anonymous
We immigrated here from South Asia when I was 6, so lots of crazy things, but my favorite one was not allowing me to sleep over at my white friends' houses because "if there was a fire, the parents would save the white children first" WTF 
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Anonymous
| My dad loved horror movies and made us watch them as young kids. I am still petrified of the Omen and the Exorcist. I remember peeing my sleeping bag every night at Girl Guide camp because I was too afraid to use the outhouse. Again, this is not as bad as the stuff above. |
Anonymous
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My parents gave no shits about whether or not I was bored.
I'd sit for hours in my grandparents living room while the grownups visited almost every weekend. Even if I wanted to go play, there were only 2-3 leftover toys from my parents' childhood there to play with and certainly no television or video games. |
Anonymous
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My mom left me at Ben Franklin once. I was about 5 or 6, and I was looking at model car kits while she bought whatever she was there to buy. Eventually I went to find her and realized she wasn't in the store. I told the cashier, who called my house and talked to my mom. The best part is that the cashier volunteered to drive me home when her shift ended instead of my mom driving back to the store. I remember that it wasn't very long, so she was probably about to get off anyway. So I got to hang out and keep looking at model cars, and then some stranger lady drove me to my house.
I can't imagine that "happy ending" scenario happening today. My mom says she just forgot that she had brought me with her that day. If that happened now, the parent would probably be investigated, and no way some random store employee could be driving the kid home! |
Anonymous
| My mother had us go out on a small boat once (8 kids and her) without life jackets. None of us could swim. |