Rules are an imperative part of life, especially when we're growing up. Kids without rules is a recipe for disaster. Now when you're older, sure, rule are made to be broken. But first you have to learn the rules in order to smash them. Often many of us are saddled with some strict family guidelines. But we survived. Well, most of us.
Redditor u/ctsom wanted to hear from everyone about rules of their past by asking..... What was a house rule you had as a kid that you thought was completely normal until you grew up and realized not all households followed?
"Stranded"
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If you ever ran out of toilet paper whilst on the toilet, you had to sing the "Stranded" song or else no one else in the house would bring you a roll. kteabrown
"sugar bugs"
My parents would check my and my brother's teeth for "sugar bugs" every night after we brushed our teeth, before we got in bed. If they thought we were trying to skip brushing our teeth they would tell us they could see the sugar bugs in our teeth and would make us go brush again.
My brother and I were so convinced these sugar bugs were real we would constantly ask when we'd be able to see them, my parents always told us only people 13 and older could see them, but by the time we got to be 13 we had completely forgotten about the sugar bugs in our teeth.
I love thinking about creative parenting tactics like this, I've even used that one while babysitting a fussy kid who doesn't want to brush their teeth/get ready for bed and it helps a lot. batman1227
Power Off.
My mom freaks out about hearing commercials on TV. The second it goes to commercial break it has to be muted. She also mutes it if she thinks it's about to go to commercial, even though sometimes she's wrong. And she doesn't really pay attention, so she doesn't notice a lot of the time when the commercials are over so she leaves it on mute when the show is back on. It's very difficult to watch TV with her. code_name_jellyfish
Show me the $$$$.....
My mum used to pay me to be my own babysitter between the ages of 10-14 or so. The rule was that as long as I didn't make a mess and I'd put myself to bed by the time she got home then I got $10 in the morning. anxiousjellybean
Only I have two younger brothers, and the rule was that we would ALL get paid, but only if we got along and didn't burn the place down.
It was very effective... Even if we fought while they were away, we'd all be on our best behavior by the time they got back. Didn't want to miss out on that payday. :D tomkel5
Punch Buggie....
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If you couldn't find something, and you asked someone for help (sibling or parent) and they found it for you, they got to punch you in the arm. dahaoab
Me: Muuuum, where's the whatever?
Mum: If I find it first, I get to smack you.
Me: Nevermind... RandomlyPrecise
Unfair Labors.
I had to wash the dishes every night, even if I wasn't home for the meal. There were times I'd get home from an away basketball game (I was in the team) after 10pm and the dishes had sat since they finished reading around 6:30pm.
My older brother's nightly chore? Take out the garbage.
He'd be done in 2 minutes. I'd have 30+ minutes of washing, drying, putting away, and cleaning up the kitchen. MyBroPoohBear
Off to visit...
We weren't allowed to get into the fridge or the cabinets without asking permission. My family was very poor and we had a limited food budget, so eating something without permission very possibly meant eating one ingredient of a meal my step mother was planning on cooking within the next few days.
I went to friend's houses and they just ate whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. badhairguy
Be Early.
If I told my parents I was leaving at a certain time, I had to leave at that time.
Let's say I told my parents I would leave a party at 9. I couldn't leave at 8:50, or I'd get yelled at/grounded. I couldn't leave at 9:10, or I would get yelled/grounded.
Same thing went for when I was leaving my house to go somewhere. 6lesbianlover9
Doors Open.
My door could only be closed if I was changing clothes.
If my parents suspected that I was hiding anything, they could (and did) go through anything to make sure. Dresser and desk drawers, bags, closet, car, whatever they felt was necessary. Even my mail was fair game. As a result, I got really good at hiding things. DonNatalie
befuddled reasoning....
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Not a rule, but still to this day I am befuddled at my mothers reasoning. When I was a boy we lived in a pretty rural part of Mexico, horrible infrastructure. Power would often go out in the middle of the night. She would proceed to wake my brother and I up, simply to wait until the power came back on.
For the life of me I cannot figure that out. She wasn't afraid of the dark, she just wanted to make sure we saw the power return.
Edit: Every one keeps suggesting because if fire reasons and come to think of it, that actually makes a lot of sense. It's actually how we lost that house. Maybe my mother is clairvoyant. thedraindeimo
The Council is Heard!
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We had "family council" every Sunday night after dinner. We would sit and say good things that happened that week, share our grievances if we had any (we always did), make a dinner menu, and assign chores.
Frankly, it was stellar parenting. Though, if I mention it to my mother now, she will brag about it for a solid 20 minutes before we can move on. Illarie
No Simpsons......
I had SUPER laid back parents but there were a few certain things that they were randomly crazy strict about.
No gum. No play doh. No cereal with sugar as one of the top 3 ingredients. No Simpsons.
I had basically no rules growing up, but those four things would make them lose their goddamn minds. I still get anxious when I'm chewing gum and I'm 35. SiFiWiRi
To the Bone....
If I got hurt doing a certain activity I wasn't allowed to do that activity again.
My mother ended that rule though when I broke my wrist snowboarding when I was 16 and didn't tell her until a month later when I couldn't move my wrist at all and it required surgery with a bone graft to repair. _njhiker
I had that rule, too. My mom bought me a skateboard. I immediately ate crap on it (as I imagine just about everyone does their first time), and then she took it right back to the store. blankblank
Ask First....
We weren't allowed to eat anything without first asking. Even a glass of water, we were required to ask first. When my boyfriend and I started dating, I would ask his parents if I could eat or drink something if I was hungry or thirsty and it was a hard habit to break when his mom told me I could literally eat or drink anything (other than the alcohol).
It was so weird to just go into the fridge or pantry without permission. I sometimes have to fight the urge to ask my bf if I can eat OUR food in OUR apartment.
When I went to my parent's house over Christmas, I was reprimanded for getting an apple without asking first. It's just all so weird but it used to be so normal. bigmacnpoet
Hands Clean....
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Not mine but my mother in law and her sister will fuss at you if you wash your hands in the kitchen sink. I think that's weird. If there's a sink and some hand soap I say wash away. My wife isn't like that. singuslarity
I just burned this box.
I come from a large family. Any time we'd order pizza, we ordered a few different kinds because, obviously, there were different preferences. Any left overs were left in their respective boxes and placed in the oven.
I did that when I lived with a couple of roommates and of course their reaction was: "I just burned this box. Why was this in the damn oven?" Justgivme1
Hunters....
My Dad used to set up mine and my sister's Easter egg hunts in such a way we followed written clues from place to place, as way to help us learn to read. until I was a young adult, I assumed that was how all kids did Easter egg hunts. QueenElsaArrendelle
When I was young, my mom was big on setting up "treasure hunts" like this for birthdays. I'd have to follow the clues to find my presents. I adored it. beatrixotter
Wakey wakey time.....
Wakey wakey time. No noise annoying mum and dad until 7am. This was a really necessary one bc I was a very early riser as a kid and I loved to talk to my parents. The rule was that I could come to their bed and curl up next to them, but I couldn't talk until 7. It was actually really nice, and made sure I got enough rest myself.
Tragically, once I started rowing like 7 years later, mum and dad had to get up at 4 anyway to get me to the sheds. Sorry guys. moorehawke
Water Sports.
I wasn't allowed to take a shower if I was home alone.
I also learned at age 7 that other households closed the bathroom door when using the toilet and keeping it open was weird. I learned that by keeping the door open at a friend's house, a friend walked by the bathroom, saw me, told their mom, their mom called my mom, and all of a sudden the new house rule was we close the bathroom door when using the toilet. gothchrysallis
Permission First!
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Any of the kids (7 of us) can play with any toy that is left out. The owner of the toy can't take it back until whoever's playing with it is done. If the toy is put away in the owner's room, permission must be asked. JetScootr
I can't definitively say I've come face to face with the spirits. But I have had some unsettling feelings in the dark. Shadows are just shadows sometimes, but who can be sure.
I hear it...
Nbc Wings GIF by HULUGiphy"I was helping my dad clean my grandma's house after she passed and I went in and was trying to find a song in my phone and before I could I heard a cough plain as day come from down the hallway where her room was. She died of lung and throat cancer it was pretty crazy."
Running Past...
"When I was 5 I remember getting home from my grandpa's birthday party. For context my mom was pregnant with my brother at the time, so my parents had already bought his crib. I woke up in the middle of the night to find a women in a white dress and long black hair standing over my brother's crib. I managed to wake up my dad so he could take me to the bathroom. When I got back it was still there. It was only until morning when it disappeared. Every now and then I see a glance of what I assume is that thing running past the backyard."
The Cat
"My best friend and his wife had moved to a new apartment. I came over to visit a few times, and each time I'd see the motion of a cat in my peripheral vision. Not the image of a cat, but a sense of how a cat moves. Anyway, one day I finally cracked some joke about the ghost cat in the place and his wife was instantly saying "See! See! I told you we had a ghost cat!"
"excuse me"
"I worked graveyard shift in a dementia ward for 4 years and it was anything but quiet. I was working with a nurse one night when we both heard a resident say "excuse me." We looked around and no-one was there. I checked on the resident in question and she was fast asleep in her own room. Many of us also experienced someone whistling in the ward late at night and one nurse even managed to catch a video of it happening. It was unnerving to say the least."
Clueless
Skeleton GIFGiphy"I once saw someone short walk by me in my house. They walked into the laundry room which only has one way in. I walked into it behind them and they where gone. I thought it was my little brother but I went to his room and he was asleep. I still have no clue what that was."
- ImBolio
Now was everyone here positive they were sober? Just asking. Those are certainly spooky moments. I'd like some video footage please. Continue...
Reflections
ghost library GIFGiphy"I was up at 3am when I was maybe 7 or 8. I looked out the window and saw a woman in a white dress run across my yard. I could see through her. She was transparent like the reflections on the window."
"you alright?"
"So, my work place is haunted. I was having a really crap day, and as a cleaner, it's normal that me and my co worker will be the only ones left at night. So I was standing on the second floor, leaning on the banister for the stair case, when I heard this male voice say in my ear "you alright?" Clear as day. I turned around so fast and nobody was there and it scared the hell out of me."
- Rex-the-
Watching Me
"I remember as a young kid I usually use to sit in my bed and watch tv with my room door open while the adjacent guest bedroom next to mine would always have the door shut. I always remember seeing that door fully open and close by itself multiple times a day very slowly and gently. Never really bothered me much now that I think about it… but there were other creepier experiences I had in the same house that made me feel uncomfortable like I was being watched."
Betsy
"I went to the Betsy Ross House as a really little kid in the early 90s. Normal house but I was confused why the tour guide never talked about the woman on the chair crying at the edge of the bed in Betsy Ross's bedroom. So I asked about it. No one else saw the woman at the edge of the bed. I figured it was just a wax museum since there was a wax statue of a man in uniform rolling bullets in the basement."
"Years later, I was looking at haunted Philadelphia tours to go on with a friend and the Betsy Ross House was on it. I was like "woah! I was there!" and looked into it some more. Turns out there is a woman at the end of the bed crying and a uniformed man in the basement that people have reported seeing. There is no way that 8 year old me would have known about either of these things."
hello kitty...
hello kitty lol GIF by Animation Domination High-DefGiphy"I had this hello kitty Balloon In my bed room, it had a string and weight on it. So it was late, I had the lights on just Sitting on my bed. The Balloon turns, faces my door, slowly floats into my hallway and turns and floats into my sister's room. To this day I am scared of balloons."
They are among us and they like Hello Kitty. I'm probably rattling the paranormal cages and they'll come for me next, but I'm ready. I feel like this thread has prepared me.
Boo!
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