It's important to have rules. Hopefully, our parents are the ones who instill this understanding of law and order into us. Mostly, it's to keep us out of trouble. Sometimes, however, they go one step too far and enter into authoritarian territory. The house becomes a prison and kids start carving their own shivs. Strict parents' impact can still be felt till this day.
Reddit user, u/BillyBobsCow, wanted to know what were you never allowed to do as a kid when they asked:
Redditors with very strict parents, what ridiculous thing did they make you do or forbid you from doing?
G-9. Go To Your Room.
I was once sent to my room for cheating at Battleship.
I had to stay on my bed for a few hours. My mother went to the store and left us kids alone. At some point, my sister got stuck in a tree. I left my room, helped her down, then returned to my bed. When Mom got home I told her, and got in trouble for leaving the room.
Eat It Or Wear It?
My parents had a eat it or wear it rule.
I distinctly remember hiding under the table while my mom threw spaghetti at me
Seriously...who is the child here?
This is toxic, children dont over eat and they eat when they are hungry. They stop when they are full. All this accomplishes is unhealthy eating habits and a high chance of obesity later. That makes me so angry. Like if its about waisted food, don't throw it just save it for later.
No Wet Kids In The House
My mom allowed me to invite friends over but they weren't allowed in the house. One day it rained and we had to sit on the porch until my friend's mom came to get her
So you mostly hung out at friend's houses, right?
Hahaha that was definitely not allowed.
Every Day Is The Day After Labor Day
I wasn't allowed to
Wear white clothes, cuz I'd never be able to keep them "truly white".
Also, drive. Everyone around me has a drivers license except for me. When asking my parents why they never taught me or sent me to driving lessons, they just said "oh, you're not good enough to drive". Without actually giving me a chance. Thanks mom and stepdad.
Get Thee To A College
I wasn't allowed to have friends at all. Wasn't allowed to go outside to play except supervised in the yard.
I had a pet snake, she was my only friend. One night she got out of her tank some how and my dad found her. She hissed at him, he killed her then he skinned her while I had to watch.
In high school I was allowed to go to someones house to play D&D with them. But it ended up being a 'test' that I failed resulting in a lot of screaming and punishment.
After HS, my father made me start college immediately, threatening to kick me out if I didn't. Literally a week out of HS I was in college doing a degree I had zero interest in. I finished and tried to do a degree that I was interested in, I was berated, screamed at and manipulated into quitting. During HS I wasn't allowed to work or get a driving license or get out in the world at all so I was 100% stupid about pretty much everything.
There are worse things... but I guess it turned out well enough.
It's The Library That Suffers
Was once grounded from the library because my parents were mad that they couldn't punish me with isolation (go to my room? Yes, please!)
I got grounded from the library too! My mom thought I was going too often and therefore must be meeting boys. For some reason she was just angrier when she found out i was just going to the library.
Dungeons & Doom
I wasn't allowed to play Dungeons and Dragons any more, got my books and materials confiscated.
1980s Satanic Panic stuff.
It particularly sucked because we weren't well off and I'd earned the money to buy the DM books without their help. Plus, losing those made friends' investment in player manuals useless ...
Why Would You Do This To Yourself?
My dad wouldn't let me leave the house on the weekends.
Guess who was upset that I didn't have any friends?
Gonna Go Hang Out With The Oldies At Church
I was taken out of school and homeschooled. I wasn't allowed to see my friends more than once every few months. So I would go weeks without seeing anybody except my parents and old church-people.
This was basically my entire time as a teenager.
Roald Dahl Is Just TOO Far
My mom raised us in a super Christian household but has relaxed as I grew up. When I was in elementary school she didn't want me to watch James and the Giant Peach for some reason (oooOoohh evil).
We watched it in my third grade class and I was too shy to speak up. Then as the credits were rolling, I raised my hand and said, "Mrs. Norris, I am not allowed to watch that movie." lol. my poor grade school self.
That'll Teach Them!
I got an "N" in handwriting in 2nd grade (it stands for Needs Improvement).
They took my toys, books, posters, art supplies, everything, and put it in the closet and nailed the closet shut. They dumped my clothes in a pile on the floor and taped my dresser shut. I had to live in a completely barren room with nothing at all to do but lay on the bed and daydream and think about what I did until the next improved report card came out. It was a very long 6 weeks.
By high school they were so wrapped up in their own addictions and petty dramas that they entirely gave up the pretense of being strict parents raising smart successful children. They didn't care if I went to school, got good grades, did homework, etc. I showed them by not graduating.
No Ink House
I understand why my mum does this but it's still annoying, but she absolutely will not let me get a tattoo. I'm 18, I don't need her permission and I'm really tempted to do it anyway cause I don't care anymore, but she's that parent who's like "my house my rules" and threatens to kick me out if I get a tattoo (Which is a total lie but I want to leave anyway so I may just do it to get kicked out on purpose)
Do Only The Girliest Of Things
My parents were very strict about "gender appropriate activities" I'm a girl so any activity deemed to masculine was off limits. Things I was interested in but banned from doing:
Skateboarding, video games, reading comic books, playing Pokemon, certain movies and books, playing most sports, watching most sports... The list goes on.
Why Invite Him In The First Place
My dad told me (F18) to invite one of my male friends (M18) with us on vacation. The friend's room was on the one side of the living room while mine was on the other. My dad proceeded to stack 5 chairs on the inside of my door so that he'll hear if my FRIEND snuck into my room
Where Is The Line? Tell Me!
When I was in 1st grade, my parents took all my toys because I was "too old" and "that stuff's for babies. You're not a baby anymore."
I was allowed to read books, but not fantasy because "none of that stuff is real."
But Harry Potter was okay.
Why Not Buy Another One?
There was one hairbrush that was shared between me, my mom, and my sister. The rule was that you had to remove every single hair from it after you used it. I failed to do so. I was in 6-7th grade at the time and did not have sufficient attention to detail, but I'd try. I was banned from using the brush and could only use a comb.
This made things harder for me because I was already having trouble managing my hair, which was way thicker and curlier than my mom or sister.
...Got Nothing...
I was once grounded for a month, like, could go out to play with my friends, watch TV, play video games, or use the phone, because I said that I believed in evolution.
I had to admit that evolution wasn't real, and I had to write "Evolution is not real." 100 times.
We didn't even go to church.
Get It All Out Now
I've mentioned it other times on reddit. I was forbidden to say the color "Magenta". So was my sibling. We don't know why.
My mom swears this wasn't a thing, but eventually recanted her denials and blamed my father. He's dead, so I'll never know why.
MAGENTA MAGENTA MAGENTA MOTHERF-CKERS! People are f-cking strange.
All Alone
Wasn't allowed to walk 5 minutes home from school at age 17 because I "might get into trouble"
Wasn't allowed to use the toaster at age 18 because "you'll just burn the house down"
Wasn't allowed to visit friends who lived in apartments even at age 18 because "that's where criminals live"
Not allowed to get less than 95% on things at school though I eventually evaded that one by just being too dumb to get those grades despite my best efforts lol
There's a lot more where that came from but I'm too tired to think of any at the moment. Just imagine the typical crazy helicopter parent. But back in the 90s before helicopter parents became a thing, so I didn't even have anyone to commiserate with :(
Gotta Teach 'Em While They're...Young?
Wasn't allowed to have male friends. Mom saw me playing with one in school when I was in third grade.
She said I was being a slut.
This is the worst case in the thread so far. Holy sh-t
What's the craziest rule your parents ever had? Tell us all about it!
