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People Describe The Most Creative Punishment Their Parents Ever Gave Them

People Describe The Most Creative Punishment Their Parents Ever Gave Them
Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash

In days of yore, parents took what would be considered extreme methods of disciplinary action on misbehaving children.


One example is washing out the mouth with soap for children using profanity, lying, or even biting. Such a method of punishment however would be considered borderline abusive today.

But regardless of the times, not all forms of punishment are of the painful or discomforting variety.

Curious to hear about what strangers online experienced growing up, Redditor Tatey180pro1 asked:

"What's the most creative punishment your parents gave to you?"

Some punishments led to a learning opportunity.

Opening And Closing Doors

"If I slammed a door really hard when I was mad, my mom and grandparents would make me practice closing it nicely. I'd have to reopen and then close it gently about 50 times, counting each one out loud. If I closed it too hard I'd have to start over. At one point I learned to get my anger out by just slamming the door over and over and counting 'ONE, ONE, ONE, ONE!' Until I wasn't mad enough to keep slamming the door. They didn't utilize it as much when I started doing that. Lmao"

EuphorbiasOddities

Teachable Moment

"My parents always made us repair things we broke."

"One day my sister and I were rough housing and we accidentally made a hole on the wall. So my dad drove us to Home Depot and told us that we both had to figure out on our own how to fix the hole."

"We had to to talk to the employees on our own, ask our own questions, gather repair items, select paint color, and bought a home repair magazine on own. We then had to fix the hole on our own. We messed up a lot, it looked wonky and we picked the wrong paint color. We learned the value of taking care of our things, we realized how hard it was to fix things and we learned new skills."

"All this without yelling, punishment or a lecture."

aidan-fox

Taking Bad Aim

"i once misfired a nerf gun in front of my dad and he had me go through a manual on gun safety."

SPARTANTHEPLAYA

"Winning The Bid"

"One time I broke a couch while rough housing with friends."

"My punishment was having be responsible for getting it repaired- I had to provide 3 quotes from different repair shops, and include a pros and cons list to consider alongside the price, such as which company would pick the couch up and which one required it to be delivered, and then I had to cover the costs myself. My parents had some odd jobs around the house that they had been planning on paying some one to do, like doing repair work around the house or painting all the exterior doors, window frames, shed and garage, so they gave me an opportunity to put a bid in on them, which required me to make a budget for supplies, provide a time estimate, and to make a pitch presentation."

"I ended up 'winning the bid' for the painting job by undercutting the companies I knew they had already gotten quotes from. My bid was $150 below the next lowest quote they received, and $100 above the quoted cost for the repair to the couch, and included enough to pay a couple friends to help me. If the couch repair came in on budget I would also pocket a small amount, but not quite as much as I was paying my buddies."

"In the end, the couch repair ended up much below the quoted amount- it was a leather reclining couch and the original quote included replacing the reclining mechanism but in the end they were able to repair the damaged mechanism and only had to replace a single panel of leather. I was able double the rate I was paying my buddies and pay myself the same amount."

StripesMaGripes

Productive Punishment

"I was in third grade, got in trouble at school and was suspended for three days. In the past my mom would've just spanked me, put me on punishment at home, i e., no tv, extra chores, etc. But since spankings didn't really work for me she got creative and decided to have me come to work with her all three days of my suspension (she worked at a community center). While at work with her, I had to work on some math and reading workbooks, handwrite an apology letter to my teacher for being bad, which she would proof read, edit and make me rewrite correctly, and worse of all I had to practice my piano lessons in the staff lounge as her coworkers were coming in and out throughout the day getting coffee or eating lunch. It was pure torture."

LOCKN355

Making a game out of something may not always be interpreted as punishment...or sometimes, it still is.

A Worthy Distraction

"I can honestly say my parents didn't give me any creative punishments."

"But… I have a boy and a girl (now young adults) when they were little they were best friends, they also shared a bedroom and got along great. But, when they would fight and it got ugly I would send them both to their room for one hour and told them they couldn't come out until they came up with a really good secret handshake."

"They would forget that they were mad at each other and start immediately working on a handshake, I would hear them laughing their heads off while they were doing it. They would come out an hour later show me this super long fun handshake, synchronized to the minute, I would congratulate them for their hard work and then they would go back to playing. It still brings a smile to my face :-)"

"My mom pointed out to me that this wasn't really punishment, I told her I wasn't trying to punish them I just wanted them to stop fighting. And it worked every time."

Dianachick

Leaving It To Fate

"My mom created the wheel of punishment. When I would be naughty I would have to spin the repurposed board game spinner and whatever punishment it landed was the punishment I had to do."

kimkimkimmy

Best Excuses For Late Assignments That Were Actually True | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

Watching Paint Dry

"I've been dying to tell this story. It wasn't me but my best friend and her brother, when they were younger, would not stop fighting. Their parents tried everything. Taking their toys, early bedtime, grounding, can't see friends, etc. But they wouldn't stop. So one day their dad had the bright idea of putting them in the garage, sitting next to each other, while holding hands....while watching paint dry on a canvas. And everytime they said something rude to each other, he poured a little more paint over the canvas. They were there for 4 hours. But they stopped fighting so....success?"

shelbygirl1919

The Instant Silencer

"My father once gently slapped me with a loaf of ham, that was so unexpected that I just shutted up"

Frank_the_Vodoochild

The methods these parents employed were not physically painful experiences but they sure drove their point home.

Impractical Tools

"Making 7 kids shovel snow using pots and pans because we lost the snow shovels building snow forts."

dzenib

Underage Drinking

"After a late night out of underage heavy drinking, my father got me up at 5 AM. Decided it was a good time for us to clean the garage - thoroughly. I did most of the work for 3 hours. Then he took me to breakfast and discussed the error of my ways, promising more 5 AM chores any time it happened again. It didn't happen again."

decorama

Contentious Siblings

"My dad once grounded both my sister and I. We were blaming each other when he decided to separate us. He came into my room and sat down on the bed before taking a deep breath and explaining that he knew my sister was the one to blame. He asked me how long I think he should ground her for."

"I said a couple of days."

"He then went to her room and told her the same thing. It was all my fault and he knew it. Asked her how long he should ground me for, and she said a month."

"So she got grounded for a month and I got grounded for a couple of days, because that's what punishment we each thought was appropriate. She stopped being spiteful after that."

VespineWings

When Dad's Hold The Power

"When I thought I was big and tough, after getting into an argument with my father, I told him that I didn't need him anymore. He simply goes downstairs and shuts off the power to my room. After hours of being stubborn and hot headed (mind you, it was the middle of summer and I lived in the attic...) I finally caved. I've never said anything like that to him ever again."

Least_Tutor_558

The Value Of Having A Home

"Not for me but for my younger brother."

"Got suspended from school. Can't remember the exact reason but it led to a huge argument between him and my mum. He ended up shouting at her about how much he hated her and hating living here and that 'even jail would be better than this!'"

"So my parents took out every piece of furniture and every item from his room aside from his bed. He had to sit in there for five days, with nothing to entertain himself with. Was allowed out four times a day to use the toilet. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner was decided by mum and put outside his door."

"He apologised quickly but mum stuck to her decision. After the five days, he never complained about living here ever again."

NowWithMoreChocolate

Forced Truce

"When my brother and I would fight, my Mom would make us sit on the couch and hold hands for a long time."

143019

I can honestly say as an adult, I was a pain in their backside. There comes a point where warnings are not enough. That being said, I don't begrudge my parents for their punishment methods.

It's certainly an interesting topic. Most of my friends who have endured many forms of traditional punishment as kids do not employ similar methods for their children.

They are more protective of them and only issue stern warnings, but the kids remain uncooperative and unruly.

It makes me wonder what other parents' limitations are before taking a hand to a child to say, "enough."

Thoughts?

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

Reddit user Isitjustmedownhere asked: 'Give an example; how weird are you really?'

Let's get one thing straight: no one is normal. We're all weird in our own ways, and that is actually normal.

Of course, that doesn't mean we don't all have that one strange trait or quirk that outweighs all the other weirdness we possess.

For me, it's the fact that I'm almost 30 years old, and I still have an imaginary friend. Her name is Sarah, she has red hair and green eyes, and I strongly believe that, since I lived in India when I created her and there were no actual people with red hair around, she was based on Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo.

I also didn't know the name Sarah when I created her, so that came later. I know she's not really there, hence the term 'imaginary friend,' but she's kind of always been around. We all have conversations in our heads; mine are with Sarah. She keeps me on task and efficient.

My mom thinks I'm crazy that I still have an imaginary friend, and writing about her like this makes me think I may actually be crazy, but I don't mind. As I said, we're all weird, and we all have that one trait that outweighs all the other weirdness.

Redditors know this all too well and are eager to share their weird traits.

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

"Give an example; how weird are you really?"

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

"Edit: I guess i should clarify im not rich."

– Practical_Eye_3600

"Gosh the monsters can get you from any angle then."

– bikergirlr7

"At first I thought this was a flex on how big your bedroom is, but then I realized you're just a psycho 😁"

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

"I bought one of those super-powerful fans to dry a basement carpet. Afterwards, I realized that it can point straight up and that it would be amazing to use on myself post-shower. Now I squeegee my body with my hands, step out of the shower and get blasted by a wide jet of room-temp air. I barely use my towel at all. Wife thinks I'm weird."

– KingBooRadley

Remember

"In 1990 when I was 8 years old and bored on a field trip, I saw a black Oldsmobile Cutlass driving down the street on a hot day to where you could see that mirage like distortion from the heat on the road. I took a “snapshot” by blinking my eyes and told myself “I wonder how long I can remember this image” ….well."

– AquamarineCheetah

"Even before smartphones, I always take "snapshots" by blinking my eyes hoping I'll remember every detail so I can draw it when I get home. Unfortunately, I may have taken so much snapshots that I can no longer remember every detail I want to draw."

"Makes me think my "memory is full.""

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

"I have eaten the same lunch every day for the past 4 years and I'm not bored yet."

– OhhGoood

"How f**king big was this lunch when you started?"

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

"Had a line cook that worked for us for 6 months never said much. My sous chef once told him with no context, "Baw wit da baw daw bang daw bang diggy diggy." The guy smiled, left, and never came back."

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

"I pace around my house for hours listening to music imagining that I have done all the things I simply lack the brain capacity to do, or in some really bizarre scenarios, I can really get immersed in these imaginations sometimes I don't know if this is some form of schizophrenia or what."

– RandomSharinganUser

"I do the same exact thing, sometimes for hours. When I was young it would be a ridiculous amount of time and many years later it’s sort of trickled off into almost nothing (almost). It’s weird but I just thought it’s how my brain processes sh*t."

– Kolkeia

If Only

"Even as an adult I still think that if you are in a car that goes over a cliff; and right as you are about to hit the ground if you jump up you can avoid the damage and will land safely. I know I'm wrong. You shut up. I'm not crying."

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

"As a kid I would snack on my dog's Milkbones."

– drummerskillit

"Haha, I have a clear memory of myself doing this as well. I was around 3 y/o. Needless to say no one was supervising me."

– Isitjustmedownhere

"When I was younger, one of my responsibilities was to feed the pet fish every day. Instead, I would hide under the futon in the spare bedroom and eat the fish food."

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

"I'm autistic and have always had a thing for insects. My neurotypical best friend and I used to hang out at this local bar to talk to girls, back in the late 90s. One time he claimed that my tendency to circle conversations back to insects was hurting my game. The next time we went to that bar (with a few other friends), he turned and said sternly "No talking about bugs. Or space, or statistics or other bullsh*t but mainly no bugs." I felt like he was losing his mind over nothing."

"It was summer, the bar had its windows open. Our group hit it off with a group of young ladies, We were all chatting and having a good time. I was talking to one of these girls, my buddy was behind her facing away from me talking to a few other people."

"A cloudless sulphur flies in and lands on little thing that holds coasters."

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

"The girl notices my tension, and asks if I am looking at the leaf. "Actually, that's a lepidoptera called..." I looked at the back of my friend's head, he wasn't looking, "I mean a butterfly..." I poked it and it spread its wings the girl says "oh that's a BUG?!" and I still remember my friend turning around slowly to look at me with chastisement. The ONE thing he told me not to do."

"I was 21, and was completely not aware that I already had a rep for being an oddball. It got worse from there."

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

"That's how I am with popsicles. My wife shudders every single time."

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

"You should keep that kind of thing to yourself. Even when asked."

– We-R-Doomed

"There's some disturbing sh*t in this thread, but this one takes the cake."

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

"I can hear the television while it's on mute."

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

"Whenever I say a word and feel like I used a half of my mouth more than the other half, I have to even it out by saying the word again using the other half of my mouth more. If I don't do it correctly, that can go on forever until I feel it's ok."

"I do it silently so I don't creep people out."

– LesPaltaX

"That sounds like a symptom of OCD (I have it myself). Some people with OCD feel like certain actions have to be balanced (like counting or making sure physical movements are even). You should find a therapist who specializes in OCD, because they can help you."

– MoonlightKayla

I totally have the same need for things to be balanced! Guess I'm weird and a little OCD!

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.

Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?

But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.

It would be so great to be sure there is something else.

But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.

Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:

"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"

Sensations

Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy

"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."

PeachesnPain

Recovery

"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."

"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."

"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."

good_golly99

Take Me Back

"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."

"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."

rayrayrayray

Free

The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy

"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."

TooReDTooHigh

This is why I hate surgery.

You just never know.

Shocked

Giphy

"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."

Admirable_Buyer6528

The SOB

"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."

"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”

1-cupcake-at-a-time

Colors

"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"

Hannah_LL7

"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"

huntokarrr

The Fog

"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."

"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."

Fluffy-Hotel-5184

Through the Walls

"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."

"She's quite alive and well today."

Hot-Refrigerator6583

Well let's all be happy to be alive.

It seems to be all we have.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.

The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.

Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.

Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:

"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"

Redditors didn't see these coming.

Shiver Me Timbers

"I’m always cold now!"

– Telrom_1

"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."

– r7ndom

"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."

– mr_remy

Drawing Concern

"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."

– dee-fondy

"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"

"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."

– LizardofDeath

Unleashing Insults

"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”

"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."

– alanamablamaspama

Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight

"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."

– KeltarCentauri

"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."

– KatMagic1977

"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."

– Jaew96

These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.

Shopping

"I can buy clothes in any store I want."

– WaySavvyD

"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."

– ganache98012

No More Symptoms

"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."

– colleennicole93

Expanding Capabilities

"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."

– Ramblonius

People Change Their Tune

"How much nicer people are to you."

"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"

– LiZZygsu

"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"

"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"

– awholedamngarden

It's gonna take some getting used to.

Bones Everywhere

"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."

– Princess-Pancake-97

"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."

– bekastrange

Knee Pillow

"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."

– snic2030

"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."

– Strongbad23

More Mobility

"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."

"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."

– dma1965

People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.

But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.

That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.