People Break Down Which Things They Saw Or Heard As A Child That Haunt Them To This Day
Children have memories––and they're very long. That's why child development professionals stress the importance of communicating with children should they experience a traumatic event. Listening and encouraging them to share their feelings (even if you can't answer all their questions right away) is essential.
"Reassurance is the key to helping children through a traumatic time," according to a guide from the United States Department of Health and Human Services. "Very young children need a lot of cuddling, as well as verbal support. Answer questions about the event honestly, but do not dwell on frightening details or allow the subject to dominate family or classroom time indefinitely. Encourage children of all ages to express emotions through conversation, writing, or artwork and to find a way to help others who were affected by the event."
People shared their stories after Redditor bmrugger asked the online community,
"What did you witness or overhear as a child that still haunts you today as an adult?"
Warning: Some sensitive material ahead.
"From my bed..."
"From my bed, if the doors were both open, I could see my parents' bed. I heard noises and woke up one night, and saw them going at it. Made sure my door was closed EVERY NIGHT from then on."
Definitely on the more lighthearted side, but we get it, we get it.
"When my father saw me..."
"My father met my mother when she was very young in a foreign country. Due to the age difference (he was 40, she was 25) they would argue a lot. My mom, being young, wanted to go out a lot and live her life. I walked up into their room once my father trying to suffocate my mother with a pillow. I was around 6 years old.
When my father saw me he completely stopped (he loved me so much despite the problems with my mother), and jumped in to hug me, and took me to the other room. She called the police and put a restriction order on him.
To this day my mother says I saved her life, but that image has never left."
We're glad to hear your mother's alive and doing well.
"As I was walking away..."
"When I was 9 years old, my mom had a hysterectomy, so my aunt came over to babysit me for a few days while she was in the hospital. The day my mom was supposed to come home, she called the house and asked to speak to my aunt. My aunt is hard of hearing, so she put the phone on speaker.
As I was walking away, I heard my mom say "she can't hear you, right?". My aunt replied no, and my mom proceeded to tell her that there were complications with the surgery and that the night before as she had gotten up to go to the bathroom, her stitches had come undone. She bled out onto the floor and a nurse found her on the ground. She was worried she wasn't going to make it.
I'm not sure why my aunt didn't think I couldn't hear all of this while the phone was on speaker. I pretended I didn't hear anything, and ran up to my room, crying the entire night thinking my mom wouldn't come home.
Everything turned out fine and she was back home a week later. But at 9 years old, overhearing her describe that situation still haunts me."
We're sorry you had to hear that. That must have been so frightening. Happy it worked out.
"I stayed the night..."
"At 9 years old I walked in on my uncle beating my aunt."
"I stayed the night with my cousins often. They were 8 and 4. My aunt and uncle had just split because my aunt caught him cheating and found out he was addicted to drugs. My cousins were upset and my mom thought it might cheer them up if I stayed the night with them. The next morning I heard screaming from the garage. We went to see what was going on and see him hitting my aunt. My dad had a friend who lived just a couple of houses down so I told my cousins we needed to hide and we went to his house. His wife was home and I told her what was going on. She brought us inside and called 911 then my parents. My uncle was gone before the police got there but he was arrested and sent to prison. My aunt didn't have any serious physical injuries thankfully."
"When I was around 7 or 8, I was in a grocery store during an armed robbery. My family was at the check-out when 2 people came in and started yelling and shooting. They told everyone to lay down on the ground and my mom laid on top of me, but I could see when they shot one of the grocery store employees just a few yards away from me. The robbers ran outside and were confronted by the police in the parking lot and arrested. I believe the man shot ended up dying in the store, but I'm not 100% sure of it. My parents acted like nothing happened and never talked to me about it."
They should have talked to you. We're sorry for your pain.
"She doesn't work for us anymore..."
"I had a 36-year-old employee and eventually, I had to learn to approach her very carefully because if I moved quickly, she would instantly cower, then sit up and (every time) say, "Sorry. It's not you."
"After the 3rd or 4th time, I had a meeting with her and a female HR rep (I am male) and said, "I'm not trying to get into your personal business, but I have to ask. When I approach you and you react, is it because of something happening now? If it is, we can help. If you want."
"Totally deadpan, she says, 'No. It's not like that, but if my father ever comes here to the office, I'll take you up on that offer'
"Get's up and walks out. Just like that."
"She doesn't work for us anymore, and I hear she and her family are doing great, but I get violent thoughts of being the instrument of that poor woman's retribution when I imagine who her father is and almost wish he had come after her at work."
"I was five."
"My brother's death. I was five; he was two. Mom tried CPR on him. She was a nurse. He had undiagnosed cystic fibrosis (he was adopted, so no family medical history was known.) Took me decades to get over that."
"I later found out..."
"I was about six at a party at my dad's secretary's house. He thought it'd be funny to throw me (fully clothed and unable to swim at the time) into the pool and laugh at me in front of everyone. I was so humiliated and embarrassed that my own father would use me as a prop to make his moron friends laugh.
I later found out he was f****** his secretary on the side and is the father of her daughters."
That was not okay. This should go without saying, but you should not have been used in such a way and certainly not by your parent.
"To get to town..."
"Don't remember my age, but it was before I was old enough to ride a 10-speed. I lived on one of the busiest two-lane US roads in my state when I was growing up, at the intersection of a county road, which had a stop sign. For context, the US road had a 50MPH (~80kph) speed limit in that area back then. One day, a motorcyclist thought he was fast enough and could turn off the county road onto the busy US road in front of a loaded semi-truck. I didn't see it because I turned away but I heard the thud and crash.
They had to wash the guy off the road with a fire hose.
To get to town I had to ride my bike on the shoulder along the side of the busy road, which for a week was covered in blood and brain matter from the hose down. Edit: added speeds."
"Then a car pulled up..."
"I was probably 7 or 8 and playing in front of my upstairs bedroom window. I liked to watch cars go by while I was playing. And there were two streets that ran parallel to each other in front of my house. They were only separated by a creek.
Then a car pulled up across the street from my house. Inside a male driver and female passenger were arguing. Then the man punches the woman right in the face over and over.
I ran past my Mom yelling "A man is hitting a woman!" And I ran outside heading for the stairs. I guess at 7 or 8 I was going to somehow save the woman. I get to the top of the stairs just as my Mom catches up to me and the car peels out and drives away.
I'm 49 now, so for at least 40 years, I've thought about that poor woman. I hope she got away from that guy."
It's difficult to grow up and carry around trauma. Thankfully, there are resources out there. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network, for example, does excellent work. SAMHSA's National Center for Trauma-Informed Care and National Center for Trauma Informed Care are just two other options. Get the help you need today.
Have some of your own stories to share? Feel free to tell us about them in the comments section below.
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With millennials now reaching their thirties and forties, many are looking back on the childhood they had compared to the ones they're witnessing now.
With technology advances and a constant need to impress, these two worlds of childhood are undeniably different.
Redditor professorf asked:
"What did your generation have that kids need more of today?"
Unstructured Playtime
"Unstructured playtime outside with others that are a variety of ages. Not under the eyes of an adult."
"This was my favorite part of being a kid. There were 10-12 kids within a six-year age range on my street and we'd all be out playing between multiple blocks, houses, and wooded areas. Our parents would just yell or whistle from the porch at dinner time, and sometimes we'd go back out again after!"
"Beyond playing and having fun, being unsupervised and big kids amongst little kids provides so much mental enrichment that kids don't get sitting in front of a screen being constantly tended to. Problem-solving, imagination, cooperation, taking care of each other, sharing, working things out, navigation, self-awareness... on and on."
- EarthCadence
Ghosts in the Graveyard
"I miss playing 'Ghosts in the Graveyard'!"
"I grew up with an actual cemetery in my backyard (once you hopped a fence, of course) and you haven't really played 'Ghosts in the Graveyard' until you played it in an actual graveyard!"
- Fred_the_skeleton
Computer Literacy
"Typing classes. Most Gen Z/Alpha kids grew up with tablets and maybe a laptop, no desktops. Teachers assume they know how to type, but they've only done it with their thumbs, they don't have the muscle memory for a traditional keyboard."
"The ability to type on a physical keyboard is really important in the working world, and a lot fewer kids can do it well these days."
"We need to bring back typing classes, along with how file/folder/directory systems work in general, a lot of college students don't know how to use them!"
- cinemachick
Imaginative Play
"Toys that were just toys. Not everything had to be educational. Just let kids play and explore and discover. Let them get bored."
It Takes a Village
"Village grandparents. My parents would leave me with my grandparents for months during summer. We had a large, large yard with many old collapsing or collapsed buildings, a variety of animals roaming around, and a few gardens."
"I’d climb trees, and buildings, play with the animals, and go fishing in the small river near the house with a self-made fishing rod made out of a bottle, rope, and an old nail."
"I never caught anything. Best time of my life."
- John_McTaffy
Thinking Outside the Box
"Freedom to explore, invent, and create. Today's kids are so scheduled with activities and online all of the time. Getting out in the world without an agenda would be helpful."
"I'm now seeing college graduates who have a hard time doing anything other than following explicit instructions from their boss. They don't problem-solve. They don't innovate on their own."
"I can teach someone numbers or the structure of loops or conditional statements. I can't fix an issue with someone not understanding why they would choose a certain solution or not being able to relate what they are doing to the software module's objectives. I see perfect Leetcode problems with no understanding of the problem they're solving or even why they want to be an engineer. Or what to do if something varies slightly from what they memorized."
"AI will take over a lot of jobs if kids can't think nonlinearly or relate information. ChatGPT already writes code akin to what I'm seeing from young engineers. It doesn't have human reasoning about the problem and why you'd need to solve it a particular way, but it sure codes a variety of solutions quickly. A senior engineer can replace the junior engineers who don't think through the problem with AI."
- LilMick786
Boredom
"I feel like kids have no tolerance for 'boredom.' I try to tell the youngins to let their minds wander and allow thoughts to flow, but they feel compelled to stuff every moment with games or videos."
"They’re not even enjoying music anymore. It’s all, 'Can I play this song? It’s from a meme.' And they change the song before it’s over because there’s less appreciation for composition anymore."
- Specific-Pen-1132
Lacking Patience
"No patience. That's a side effect of the tech culture. My friend's kid is 10, and she's only known the instant gratification of TV, iPad, and Nintendo Switch all without ads. She never has to wait. If she's losing a game, she hits the reset button. Doesn't like a song, she skips."
"The rest of us grew up with limited or no tech. We had commercials on TV. Our favorite shows were only on once a day at a specific time. We were prisoners to whatever the DJ was playing on the radio. Sometimes our friends were grounded, so we'd have to play alone."
"Now I have friends with kids who place limits on the 'electronic babysitter.' These kids do have patience and they use their imagination. So there's hope."
- popcornstuffedbra
Basic Connections
"I love technology for its educational pieces. I avoid my kids on YouTube etc. They are aware of those people but not how you access it from their tablet. Coding, PBS Games, reading, writing, math, stem games."
"Kids today need time to just be kids. I believe study hall should exist after their main subjects. They can do homework, tutoring, and extracurriculars afternoon until their parents pick them up or they ride home on a bus. It should be a time of exploration, soft social skills through board games, etc."
"They are missing, and even daily living skills because the world is always on the go."
"They need access to actual food. Vegetable gardens, rabbit pens, etc. Helping others. Time to just be kids, make mistakes and get messy without it being filmed. We all f**k up that doesn't mean it needs to be filmed and posted or shamed for it."
"They need time to build resilience, kindness, and just to be with their family and friends. Access to actual public transportation. I could go on and on."
- Taterandabean
Being Held Accountable
"Accountability! Especially in schools. In my district, they think it’s unfair to the children and can hurt a child’s self-esteem if they’re held back in school. So, even if they never do a single assignment, flunk every class, and learn nothing, they advance to the next grade."
"Because of this, I have sixth graders who don’t know how to spell anything, don’t know punctuation, have no idea what to do with commas, and have no clue that they need to capitalize the first letter of a sentence. They don’t know how to write a paragraph. They are disrespectful to teachers and just don’t care because it doesn’t matter if they flunk. It is just sad."
- meow1983
Enjoying Nature
"The outdoors without electronics. We have nature trails that border where I work and when I see people out 'enjoying' the great outdoors, most of them have their faces buried in their phones."
"There is so much beauty in nature and being able to observe it can teach a person a lot."
- crewchief1949
Less Technology Dependence
"Growing up in the '90s/early '00s was a lot of fun. H**l, I didn’t get my first cell phone until ninth grade."
"Kids are surprised when I tell them I had to share it with my brother, had no internet access, and it only had enough memory to store 50 texts. If you reached that, you had to delete some in order to receive new ones. Oh, and I got so good at texting without looking at my phone."
- WolverineJive_Turkey
Poor Attitudes
"I'm Gen Z but I see older people being a lot more optimistic. If something fails, they try something else. A lot of young people are so fed up with life (me included), they can barely function and they either isolate themselves or indulge in obscene hedonism."
- pensiero_97
"Free time (too much homework in my opinion)."
"Privacy (social media and constant connection via a phone/laptop)."
"Downtime (time to just chill and do nothing, they feel like every moment needs to be filled or they’re missing out)."
"Ignorance (they’re introduced to world/political issues way younger)."
- Strude187
Kids Being Kids
"A youth without having to be perfectly styled and ready for social media..."
"We played. Outside. In the mud and snow and in the summer's heat. We came back with dirty clothes, freezing cold noses, and wet from jumping into the nearby lake. We didn't care about our clothes, about our "style" and happily wore the same green t-shirt and jeans every day (of course, cleaned)."
"We knew when to come home , not because we had a smartphone or a smartwatch, but because of the sunset. I'll never forget sitting on the porch, watching the sunset, eating ice cream, and being completely and undeniably unworried."
"No one captured every third step on digital videos and posted them on every single social media platform. No one needed 'likes' and 'retweets.' No one bullied you because you didn't have the iPhone 383637 S for ˘$3000..."
"We were KIDS. Just. Kids. Not miniature adults with bad manners and mobile phone addiction."
- DieDobby
For people who grew up in the early 2000s or sooner, these memories are undeniably nostalgic, and even sad, knowing that today's kids won't share in the same memories.
The biggest takeaways seemed to be the push for a full schedule and impressing the internet, when really, the point used to be to unplug and relax with friends.
People Share Their All-Time Best Travel Tips That Most People Don't Know
Now that pandemic protocols have been lifted for the most part, inexperienced travelers should take advantage of the time to visit places they've always wanted to see or dreamed of seeing in lockdown.
Unfortunately, a myriad of excuses can delay one's inclination to wanderlust–including a lack of finances and a fear of the unknown.
But thankfully, Reddit is here to prove it can be a great resource for travel information that isn't generally known to the public.
Inspired by a search for wisdom, Redditor HugeDismissal asked:
"What is your best travel tip that most people don't know?"
Know before you go.
Sharing The Journey
"Let your family back home know your travel itinerary."
– DuckFlat
Price Search Hack
"Try searching for flights in the airline’s original language. I once saved $700 booking tickets in Peru by using Spanish rather than English."
– Huge-Recognition-366
Plan B
"When flights get canceled, don’t stand in line to talk to an agent. Call the airline."
– PebbleBeach1919
For packing, it might behoove you to keep these in mind.
Packing Method
"Roll everything, fold nothing."
– ThegatiX
A Perfect Disguise
"For photo equipment or all kind of expensive stuff: put some duct tape on it. If it looks broken, nobody wants to steal it."
– SensitiveDolphin55
Once on a flight, these tips may come in handy.
Take Note
"Three things; 1.) bring an orange. If someone you are sitting next to smells bad you can open the orange up as a natural deodorizer. 2.) Bring a spare pair of socks and change socks after you are settled on your flight, train, etc. Put the sweaty socks away in a plastic bag. Dry socks after a long day of travel feel luxurious. 3.) Stupid and Cheerful. A cop stops you in a foreign country? Stupid and cheerful. Never be belligerent. A border guard says your papers aren’t in order? Stupid and cheerful. The airline says you are too late to board? Stupid and cheerful. Cheerful always works better than aggressive. And it transcends culture. I knew an elderly couple who literally drove across the whole of Africa and “stupid and cheerful” was their advice. It’s far harder to punish someone if they simply claim ignorance and are smiling."
– daveescaped
The Best Travel Companion
"Who you go with is way more important than where you go."
– AliJoof
Once you reach the destination, now what?
Booking Affording Lodging
"The best room in a cheaper hotel is often better than a standard room in a more expensive hotel. When looking for luxury on a budget, don't overlook the cheaper hotels - they often have fantastic suites for what you'd pay for a standard room somewhere pricier."
– distantapplause
Not Like The Romans Do
"Nobody wakes up early. Like you can wake up before dawn and get fantastic golden hour pics when the city is empty then go back for breakfast and a nap before heading out for lunch."
"Like the best city for this is Rome. No one is around and you can get wide shots that would never happen during the day and the lighting is better."
– ActualWhiterabbit
Expert Advice
"If you're asking for an opinion, don't ask the opinion of someone who's being paid to provide it."
"Want to know where the best meal near your hotel is? The cleaner isn't getting a kickback from the nearest steakhouse, but the concierge probably is."
"Want to know the easiest way to get to the airport? The front desk clerk is going to tell you to hire the hotel preferred transfer, but the barman will probably tell you what train to catch for 1/20th of the price."
– dannyr
Now that you have these handy tips jotted down, there are no more excuses to delay travel plans.
The world is your oyster.
So why not take advantage of it?
Because trust me, once you get out of your bubble, you'll be glad you got to experience the wonder of discovery and adventure you can't find by looking at pictures or videos of the places you've been longing to visit.
Any other travel pearls? Let us know in the comments below.
History is made on a daily basis.
Indeed, there is little more exciting than having witnessed the accomplishments of people like Barack Obama, Stacey Abrams, and Greta Thunberg knowing that they have firmly reserved a space for themselves in history books.
Of course, most of the people who paved the way to make the world what it is today have long since passed away.
Not all of them, though!
It may surprise you to learn that there are people who made an indelible impression on history who are still much alive today.
Some of whom even continue to make a difference to this very day
Redditor enginearz was eager to hear about historical figures people were surprised to learn were still alive, leading them to ask:
"What famous person from history is still alive?"
Forever Leaving His Name In Science
"Yuri Oganessian."
"He's the only currently living man with an element on the periodic table named after him."- snowflake247
Quite The Story To Tell
"Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha."
"Last human to hold the title of Tsar, as leader of the Kingdom of Bulgaria."
"He was exiled along with his family when the Soviets invaded Bulgaria in 1944."
"In 1990, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Simeon returned from exile to Bulgaria and July 2001, was democratically elected prime minister."
"The private citizen is now 85."- DirectionNew5328
Making Nature Cool For Decades
"Jane Goodall."
"David Attenborough."- random_username_96
The Fought For Freedom And Justice
"John Hemingway."
"The last surviving airman of the battle of Britain."
"He is 103 years old."
"Ivan Martynushkin."
"He helped with the liberation of Auschwitz."
"He is 99 years old."
"Benjamin Ferencz."
"He was a prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials."
"He is 102 years old."- Ashtar-the-Squid
"Traute Lafrenz."
"The last living member of the german anti-nazi resistance group 'White Rose".
"Most well-known members were the sibling Sophie and Hans Scholl, who were executed by the Nazis when they were identified."- ChrisTinnef
The One Who Made One Giant Leap For Mankind
"Buzz Aldrin, and I’m not even American."- mukaltin
Opening Doors For So Many Others
"Ruby Bridges."
"She was one of the first black kids to go to an all-white school."
"There is a famous picture of that first day."- mumwifealcoholic
He Continues To Surprise Us
"Ozzy Osbourne."- CaptinDerpI
Admirably Defying So Many Odds
"Jimmy Carter."
"98 years old."- Back2Bach
We've Still Got Two Out Of Four
"Paul and Ringo"- HMKingHenryIX
Inching Close To The Big One Double Oh...
"Kissinger."- LucyVialli
Who Could Forget About Dick Van Dyke ?!?!?!?!
"Everyone just forgetting about Dick Van Dyke, he's like 97 and still going."
"If you've never heard of him, he played in Marry Poppins, along with a bunch more movies"- Longjumping_Drag2752
And Still Stunning
"Sophia Loren is still kicking."- The_REAL_McWeasel
Continuing To Go Where No Man Has Gone Before
"William Shatner doesn't look it but that dude is in his 90s wtf."- flubberF*ck
Perhaps what's most admirable, is that even when these astonishing people do eventually pass, they will continue to live on and change the world with the remarkable work they did.
We all indulge in fast food from time to time.
Even if we know what we're eating isn't exactly healthy, sometimes the salty, fatty mass-produced food is the only thing we want.
Resulting in our making weekly, if not daily, visits to a nearby chain.
Then, of course, there are the chains that we make every effort to avoid.
We've likely tried places at least once simply because everyone is always talking about them.
But after having one bite, we have trouble seeing exactly what all the fuss was about and vow to never return.
Even if it might be the only option at a rest stop or even the only available food for miles, we instead opt to wait and be hungry.
Redditor BungOnMimosas was curious to hear what people considered to be the most overhyped fast food chains around, leading them to ask:
"What do you think are the most overrated fast-food chains? Why?"
"Food As It Should Be"... Or Not...
"I know it's not technically 'fast food', but Panera Bread pisses me off."
"Insanely expensive for extremely average food." - Reddit
"Panera."
"Their quality has decreased so much in the past few years and they’ve added weird sh*t to their menu like pizza and chicken sandwiches."
"Massive identity crisis and crap food."- asm233
Things Ain't What They Used To Be...
"All of them, now that they charge real restaurant prices."- P00pf4rt5
Golden Arches
"As much as I hate to say it, McDonald's is the only place that I can think of that the quality hasn't changed much."
"I mean, that's a pretty low bar, but it is what it is."- gnatman66
"The majority of them, especially the really big ones (McDonald's, Wendy's, BK, Pizza Hut, etc)."
"The prices are no longer fast food prices and the quality is not there like it used to be."
"Far better local options that cost roughly the same at the end of the day."- senorita_diablo
Consistency Is Key...
"Dunkin."
"You can go to the same location three separate times, have the food made by the same staff, and receive 3 wildly different results."- AndrewLampart
Not So Popular Anywhere, It seems...
"KFC in France became so bad."- SterBout
Likely Won't Go National...
"Idk how wide spread they are, but in the Buffalo NY area there is a chain called Mighty Taco."
"They were even voted best tacos a few years ago."
"It is absolutely terrible food."
"I’ve tried to like it and given them 3 chances."
"Each time I couldn’t eat more than a couple bites."
"Absolutely terrible and I’m disgusted even thinking about their sour vomit in a tortilla."- aa-2020
"Eat Fresh"...
"I think I’ve answered this question before but definitely for me, it’s Subway."
"Nothing but a giant hunk of bread."
"I’m editing this to add that part of my anger about Subway is how good it used to be."
"I can remember the days of nearly a whole can of tuna salad delicious sub."
"And a Veggie sub with Swiss cheese and piles of yummy veggies and the sweet Vidalia onion sauce."
"It’s all gone to sh*t."
"I would’ve been perfectly OK with increasing price but the big drop in quality pissed me off."
"Oh woe is me with my first world problems."- Mysterious-Region640
Quantity Doesn't Guarantee Quality...
"Starbucks is a scam."- cmkeller62
Tasty, But Not Worth It...
"I’m going to say Five Guys."
"Not because the food isn’t good, but because I’m not paying $20 for a burger meal."- 2PacTookMyLunchMoney
"Dairy queen grill and Chill for sure."
"I worked at one for a lil' while and 1 burger combo is $14.56 CAD."- lolidk13
And Not In A Good Way...
Big Kahuna Burger, it kills you."-Darklock2022
No two people have the same taste in food.
Some people know to avoid crappy food, while others eat literally nothing else.