Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Military officer dad, mid-1970s. My parents threw "work" parties once a month at our house. Free flowing booze and mixed drinks served all night. Dad's single brother was hired as bartender and he'd work behind the built in bar all night long. No sitters, just all three of us kids in the downstairs bedroom with a black and white portable tv. Oldest sister was the babysitter who'd escort us to the bathroom and fetch us sodas from our uncle.

I never could go to sleep. House too smoky and loud and parties would run into the early morning hours. Coffee would begin brewing around 11 and doled out to "sober up" the drunks who'd soon be driving home. If you refused coffee, you'd be offered "one for the road."

The party was over once the last guest left and mom began dumping out ashtrays.

Oh my gosh. I am sure my parents were at your parties. I remember when my dad's entire squadron was in town. (He was a Navy pilot.) My mom would bring out the crystal, have plated dinners for 15 scotch soaked men. Cigars and cigarettes everywhere. Irish coffee at 2 am so people could drive home. What the hell?

She always hired a sitter, and one time they found me in a corner at age 6 with a black ring around my mouth. I had eaten the entire plate of caviar my mom put out.

This doesnt surprise me. My parents are in their 60s and say they used to drive drunk all the time, it wasnt "bad back then"

They didn't do it but I got drunk at one of my parents raging parties for the first time at 9 drinking wine. Dad and mom would always let me have a sip of their drink if I asked to try it, guessed I tried a lot that night. Never beat me, left me home alone a lot after age 8 during the day. I had to mow the lawn by age 9 and started working as a mothers help at age 8. Dad would let me roam free in the beach town we summered at-spent the whole summer there. No curfew and regularly left the house before the sun came up to watch the sun rise. Love these memories and I love my parents and think they are awesome.

Anonymous wrote:Parents locked us in our rooms at night. Dad installed chain sliding locks at the top of the door exterior that we couldn't reach.

I remember my younger sister's leg tied to a crib slat during nap time.

Go the F to sleep a common theme growing up.

....what

So wait, I can't leave my 8 yo in the car for a quick errand? I'm seriously asking. Will I get arrested? Say CVS to pick a filled prescription or toilet paper (not shopping just one thing) or to the ATM? What about at the gas pump to pay for gas with cash when the window doesn't work? I do this and honestly didn't think it was wrong. It's not when it's hot out and not more than a few minutes.

Anonymous wrote:Smoked and drank martinis while pregnant.

Left me to play at the beach all day at about age 5. No sunscreen. Ended up with sun poisoning.

You know, I was born in 1971. I had so many horrible sun burns and one time that I can remember, sun poisoning. I've been wondering, did they not HAVE sunscreen in like, 1980???

I also was a latch key kid, one time I had the misfortune to break my foot on St. Patrick's day. Suffice to say no adult was home and able to take me to the ER that night.

Parents locked us in our rooms at night. Dad installed chain sliding locks at the top of the door exterior that we couldn't reach.

I remember my younger sister's leg tied to a crib slat during nap time.

Go the F to sleep a common theme growing up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, my birth father told my birth mother that my twin sister and I had died during delivery and took us to the adoption agency instead. That's some pretty crazy shit!

In terms of non-abusive stuff, my adoptive parents moved us to a very small country in the Middle East that no one in the 1970s had ever heard of- Kuwait. We lived there for a good portion of our childhood and had a wonderful experience. When I think of how my parents packed up with 3 year olds to move around the world- that's crazy stuff too!

This is disturbing? Did you reconnect with them? How do you know this story?

PP here. Yes, we met them last year for the first time. It was a different country, different time, with little to no rights for women. I *think* I know why he did it, but to never have told his wife is unforgivable.

It's pretty amazing the things parents did when we were kids. My mom used to kick us out of the house until dinner time. We would ride our bikes everywhere and get into all kinds of mischief. We broke into empty houses, climbed roofs, sat by the runway to watch planes land and take off, etc. and she had no idea where we were or what we were doing.

My mom would take the phone off the hook while I was out at a friend's or at school. There were so many times I needed her, but I'd just get a busy signal for hours. I'd be stuck at school all alone without a ride home, or at a friends house awkwardly over staying my welcome because I couldn't get a hold of my mom to come get me. So strange to me that she was fine with being completely unreachable and disconnected from her kid.

From the age of 12 on my parents would leave us home alone for weekends. He had guard duty and my mom was long gone by that time.
At 12 I was 'in charge' of my siblings age 8 and 10. No family nearby.

My dad would leave a few frozen pizzas and $20.

He left Friday after work and returned Sunday night.

I remember being chased around the house with a yard stick. It just seems so crazy, outrageous to me now that I'm a parent.

Left us home alone a lot. My older brothers were in charge, but they spent a great deal of the time being abusive. Hitting, playing knuckles until my hands were swollen, sexual abuse. My mom ignored the signs.

Did crazy things when we had to preach door to door for church. Once I was allowed to get out of the car to approach a doberman that the other people in the car were afraid of. I was about 11. Took us into questionable situations, knocking on strangers doors. I had a gun pulled on me at age 13.

When I was little, before the religious conversion, my mother had parties, 70's style. At one, the guests got my four year old brother drunk.


Some of the parents in this thread were downright abusive. I am so sorry so many in my generation had to deal with this. I know my mother's parents were way worse, and it carried into her generation's parenting.

Had cases of Vienna sausages and spam and brought home a pack of hot dogs every week. It was what we lived on throughout the years until our parents came home late at night.

Let us work at their store one summer in inner city Baltimore. We were age 11/8. I knew every brand of cigarette. My parents were robbed at gunpoint several times. My dad shot at one guy (we weren't there). Got death threats for testifying against one of the robbers. My dad regularly shooed off drug deals that happened on our corner because it was bad for business. Let me and my brother walk a few blocks down by ourselves to McDonald's to grab lunch.

They both worked their asses off. Literally 365 days a year, not one holiday or weekend.

Anonymous wrote:The amount of beating and items used for beating is a bit chilling.

Yes, and people are here to tell about it, and most say they are doing things differently with their kids.

The amount of beating and items used for beating is a bit chilling.