People Confess How They Thought Babies Were Made When They Were Little
Reddit user lLoveYourCat asked: 'How did you think babies were made when you were little?'
In the United States, it's no secret that sex education for minors is inconsistent at best.
But some people learned very unexpected stories about how babies were made, and those stories had a way of making a lasting impression.
Curious about other's stories, Redditor ILoveYourCat asked:
"How did you think babies were made when you were little?"
One Time's the Charm
"I knew babies came from sex as a fairly young child. My parents never sugar-coated that. But for some reason, as a kid, I thought you only had to have sex once to have multiple pregnancies. I seriously didn't fix that misunderstanding until early middle school."
- Crazey1988
"At some point, when I finally accepted that you had to have sex to have a baby, I thought the only time people have sex was to make a baby, and it only took one time to get the job done."
"Then when I figured out teenagers were having sex, I thought you had to be married and have sex to make a baby, but then when my unmarried cousin got pregnant, I was just confused."
"But I was sure my parents only had sex four times, and then when my mom got pregnant with number five, I thought, 'Wow, they did it again.'"
- Raw_Combination_438
Stealing Storks
"A stork delivered them, of course. What the f**k, lol (laughing out loud)."
- Dells51
"Storks... I thought people trained them to steal babies from a factory and you would leave special treats on your doorstep as payment and encouragement for the stork to steal one for you."
"I was scared to death of birds for the longest time and would have a tantrum at the zoo when I saw a flamingo."
- No_Finish_3144
Young Conspiracy Theorist
"The government. I used to think that we lived in a totalitarian society and that the government was in complete control of everything."
- bebotak**t
"I thought the President sent people their babies when asked by mail."
- GustavoAlex7789
Scheduled Baby Delivery
"The women in my family explained to me at the age of six that a doctor calls you sometime after reaching adulthood at the age of 18 to schedule a baby delivery date."
"The husband either pays to schedule the appointment or the government does after verifying that you have been married and financially stable for quite some time."
- Lokikat00
Marital Kissing
"When two people kissed."
- Short-Reality7353
"I thought the same thing, but I understood that when my mom gave me a kiss, there was no risk. Being someone raised in a very Christian background, I assumed that when you got married, God made kissing a reproductive act."
"Since I made this assumption, I remember questioning why teenage pregnancy could possibly be an issue."
- meuserj
The Ultimate Christmas Gift
"I thought Santa was bringing them."
- NorskoTheScorpion
"He was. I mean, Christmas comes but once a year..."
- Nouveauuuu
"I MAY NEVER ENJOY CHRISTMAS AGAIN."
- NorskoTheScorpion
A New Meaning to 'Forest Friends'
"When I used to ask my dad where I came from, he'd say he found me under a rock in the forest. Of course, I would go look for babies under rocks, too, but all I ever saw was dirt and those rolly-polly pill bug thingies."
"It was so gross thinking babies were just found THERE that I was actually relieved to find out how they were actually made!"
- melodie-artist
Pregnant By Proximity
"I thought women got pregnant by just being around a man, and I was always confused about what would happen if a woman still lived with her parents or dad after she’s an adult."
- ILoveYourCat
Coming of Age Story
"I thought it was a 'just happens once you reach a certain age' sorta thing. As a woman, I was terrified because pregnancy sounds like the most awful thing, lol (laughing out loud)."
"(I know the end result is worth it but even as a 31-year-old, I'm like, nope.)"
- BansheeShriek
Sounds Plant-Based
"I thought they grew like a seed inside the mother's belly."
- maclaglen
"Technically, that’s true."
- ManagementFresh4960
"Watermelon seeds."
- bravovice
"Well, not like that."
- ManagementFresh4960
The Power of Marriage
"My mum told me you couldn't have a baby if you weren't married. Note that she said 'couldn't', not 'shouldn't'."
"When my unmarried cousin was sleeping a lot my mum told my aunt 'she's having a baby'. I thought 'she can't be having a baby, she isn't married.'"
"A couple of weeks later she had an engagement party, quickly followed by a registry office wedding. She had a baby a few months later."
- MolassesInevitable53
Baby Trees
"I thought they grew on trees. True story."
- 8inchsalvatorre
"Baby trees, lol (laughing out loud)."
- ILoveYourCat
"I was surprised when I learned how it really happened, lol. I was like, 'You mean there are no trees?' And Mom just shook her head."
- 8inchsalvatorre
They Were Just There
"I don't recall a time where I gave the matter any thought without knowing the reality of it."
"Like, literally, until the day I was first introduced to the concept of birth, I don't think I cared where babies came from."
- N_Who
"Right, the little guys just EXISTED."
- Mizar97
Educated Is Best
"I asked my mom and she told me the truth."
"Educate your kids, folks. They can handle it."
- Bite_Me_23
Spontaneous Babies
"I didn’t... They just showed up, honestly."
- badguywindow
"That’s what I thought. I was terrified as a little kid that I’d wind up being a teenage mother because I thought it just happened spontaneously."
- dinosore
"Exactly what I thought would happen. Like one day you were just, boom, six months pregnant."
- badguywindow
While these responses might be funny, it's an important reminder of an area in the educational system that's often lacking.
But in the meantime, while the system's curriculum is getting sorted out, at least we can take comfort in the fact that we weren't alone in believing these tall tales.
People Who Grew Up In The 1990s Describe What It Was Really Like
With certain trends coming back into fashion from the 1990s, as well as reboots from '90s kids' favorite TV shows and movies, some who were born since then might be wondering what all the fuss is about.
And the '90s kids were ready for a walk down memory lane.
Redditor Anitoko_chan182 asked:
"To all those who grew up in the 1990s, what was life like?"
What Homework?
"Get home from school, lie and say I had no homework, and go ride bikes or hang out in the tree house with neighborhood kids until it got dark."
"Go home, eat dinner, watch cartoons or play video games, and lay in bed with anxiety because I didn't do my homework."
"Rinse and repeat."
- Slawth_x
"Car!"
"'Car!'"
"What amazes me is the universality of this. Because there was no other phrase. And I think people think it's a reference to 'Wayne's World,' but let's be real, that was art imitating life, not the other way around."
- whatever_befall
The Sweetest of Afternoons
"Don't forget riding bikes with a group of like eight kids to 7-11, all of you leaving your bikes out in front unlocked while you went in and loaded up on candy and Slurpees, and then going back to someone's house to play cards and listen to music while we ate the junk food."
- brasslamp
Unlimited Nights and Weekends
"I remember my parents got cell phones when I was pretty young. Like early-early versions."
"My mom turned hers off unless she needed to make a call. And then one day my dad had road trouble or something and then couldn't get ahold of her because she just didn't turn her phone on."
"It was a whole thing. But it was like this light bulb moment of, 'if I have a mobile phone so I can be reached wherever I am, I need to keep it turned on.'"
- Catsdrinkingbeer
Ghost in the Graveyard
Staying out playing in the front yard until dark (yes, the cliche was true). We played 'Jurassic Park' a lot and made up dances to the Spice Girls."
"My personal favorite was Ghost in the Graveyard (Hide and Seek in the dark), but it sounds like that may be a regional thing."
- midnightlightbright
That Dial-Up Sound
"No social media, which means all my f**kups are only captured on Polaroids and the mind of people slowly approaching dementia, thank merciful Christ."
"The internet was slow as s**t, like it took 20 minutes to get online with dialup. China's economy was still dominated by Hong Kong, and Russia looked like they were going to modernize into a real democracy. The president of the US played jazz on live TV, and hair gel sold faster than crack."
"We were definitely more optimistic than we are now, but maybe that was just delusion rather than fact. It's hard to tell sometimes if things were actually better, or if I was just a kid who could enjoy the simple moments in life."
- Cyanora
The Little Things
"No social media, or cell phones, was the absolute best. If we wanted a picture, we had to remember that the person, who in my case was a real gossip at high school, was going to see it."
"I was in high school in the mid-90s, my elementary days were spent playing hide and go seek with the neighborhood kids, and every front yard on the block was fair game; not one neighbor ever complained."
"Everyone seemed kinder, the music was awesome, and we were all so much more connected it seemed. Lots of basketball, rollerblading, and 'jacka**' type shenanigans that we would come up with."
"And Dunkaroos, Surge, and Flinstone push-ups were the ultimate treats."
- expecto_your-mom
Just Relax
"Colorful, unashamedly campy, and everything basically had that 'your lame parents trying to impress your friends' vibe... and it worked."
"I was born in 87, but I grew up in the 90s. I miss that decade immensely. It was so laid back and carefree (as a child)."
"Everything now takes itself so f**king seriously. It's depressing."
- MateriaMuncher
Before the Crash
"I was reading something about this not too long ago. Compared with much of the previous century, the 90s would have come off as amazing."
"No world wars, the cold war had just ended. The economy was doing very well. The modern tech industry was up and coming and the downsides that we're aware of today hadn't become apparent yet. 9/11 and its aftermath hadn't happened yet."
"Someone growing up in the 90s would have definitely felt pretty optimistic."
- Always_Statsing
What Health Issues?
"We all had health issues and ate the terrible 1990s all-carb diet."
"We just didn't discuss mental health, etc. Those topics were incredibly taboo. I was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid, nobody wanted that diagnosis, nobody wanted to have to be in special needs classes, etc."
"Tony Soprano being public (on tv) about taking Prozac was a HUGE deal."
- imnothereurnotthere
Entertainment on the Rise
"Pretty cool. The Internet was fresh and exciting. Video games were this really creative interactive medium that was seeing rapid development."
"3D animation became a thing and had some really creative TV shows like 'Reboot.' 'Chumbawumba' made us all feel like nothing could keep us down. 'The Simpsons' were a comedy powerhouse."
"Pokemon became an international craze and kids were obsessive about it."
- ILikeToThinkOutLoud
Living Slower
I am super grateful for my coming of age in the 90s! I’ve written about it before, but looking back, it was a great time for a childhood. It was hard to beat Friday night at the local video rental place, perusing the horror VHS movies from the 80s."
"I was born in the early 80s and remember the late 80s well and had my formative years in the 90s. It was actually really amazing, gaming on the early consoles, but having a full life outside that the digital world just didn’t really intrude upon. Playing outdoors on summer days and retiring to the Super Nintendo at night was a really great balance."
"We watched and participated in the growth of the internet, with a pretty solid delineation between a time before the net and the time after. To a middle schooler, getting the internet for the first time was damn near a magical experience."
"Things were slower. We didn’t have instantaneous gratification or access to so much information/goods/services so quickly. Even though I enjoy getting my stuff within a day or two as much as the next yak, I would be lying if I said that we didn’t sacrifice something important for the wonders of same-day shipping."
"In short, I wouldn’t trade my childhood in the ’90s for anything. While I love my awesome gaming PC, my home theater, and above all else, my iPad that I’m typing this out on, I miss the slower-paced world of the 90s and wish we could get a little of that patience back."
- The_Best_Yak_Ever
The Information Age
"Hank Green recently did a video talking about how, in an earlier video he'd joked about the internet being as big a change for society as the printing press. And while he'd originally intended that as joking hyperbole, it's become apparent that it might be an understatement."
"Us born in the 80s kids are more or less the last generation to remember life before the internet. My family had a computer early on, and I'm really nostalgic for the early days of chatrooms and message boards before everyone was online and in these walled gardens."
"It's a little helpful to realize we're still in the early days of the Information Age. It takes time for society to adjust and figure out healthy ways to live with big things like this in our lives."
"It doesn't help, though, that big things like this seem like they're happening at an increasing rate."
- Krail
Knowledge in Your Pocket
"I am still impressed with the idea of literally having a repository of essentially all human knowledge in my pocket."
"Back then you couldn't remember something or wanted to know what was the primary language of a different country? Hope you know someone reliable who knows that or you own an encyclopedia or can get to the library. Good luck with the dewy decimal system in the card catalog."
"The amount of effort to obtain knowledge has become so minute that we should all be smarter than we are but when it's so accessible the value is diminished to some degree."
"I remember seeing on inspector gadget penny his niece have a book that was effectively a mobile computer and videophone and thinking it was pure insanity if that were to ever exist. I am literally typing on such a device now."
"When I saw the internet become accessible on a phone for the first time it was 2006 and my friend's sidekick and I about lost my mind. We are living in the future."
- DanielFyre
I.R.L.
"Everything felt a lot more real, and a lot more wholesome, for the most part. Mind you, I was a child back then so I'm sure I'm biased. Things felt slower. Kids used to play outside whenever they could, and no one was EVER using electronics outside, except for the occasional Walkman."
"I preferred the houses back then a lot since they still had some semblance of beauty and color. Unless you were in a big city, almost everyone had yards. There were a lot more trees everywhere. People weren't just constantly cutting down every single tree in every town for no reason."
"And the average person's language skills were MILES better than they are today."
- RebeccaETripp
Watching a Movie
"When the commercial came on, you RAN to the bathroom. Then your sibling yelled, 'it's back on!' And you RAN back to the couch!"
- chompytown
Snuggled in-between wars and economy crashes, the 1990s felt like a uniquely safe time that we may never fully see again. But it sure is fun to reminisce.
It's hard to imagine for someone who didn't live it, but not everyone grew up with a kind and loving childhood home.
So much so, Redditors were able to fill a whole Reddit thread with examples of bad parenting, some of which are startling.
Redditor FiForYourAttention asked:
"What screams 'I'm a bad parent'?"
Confidentiality Who?
"I don't know if this really screams it, but I absolutely hate when adults tell other adults their children’s shameful secrets for no reason. Even strangers! It tells me those children probably don’t feel like they can trust their parents."
- 50637
Trust Issues
"I had a pretty horrible thing happen to me during my senior year of high school. I called my mom sobbing, and the next day I found out she told her two best friends and multiple teacher friends of hers. I also found out she and my older sister were laughing about it with each other."
"I never tell her anything anymore. At least anything important."
- Training-Ad171
What Kid?
"Zero interest in the kid. Doesn’t care what they do or what happens to them as long as they don’t inconvenience them."
- JustinChristoph
Lack of Accountability
"Never saying sorry to the kid when the parents make a mistake."
- SuvenPan
Break into Teams
"Triangulation. After the divorce, one of our parents immediately weaponized our relationship against the other. I’m 32 and still unweaving all of the details in my brain."
- BugzFromZpace
Breaking Decibels
"My mother used to get up in my face and yell at me for trivial things. She would also spit on me while yelling."
"Yelling at a kid is traumatic for the kid. Don’t do it. There are better ways to communicate than yelling."
- rainbowblack79
Physically Abusive
"I volunteer at and have had student placements at a children’s hospital and we’ve had patients with serious brain injuries due to abuse (shaking, attempted drowning, etc.). So yeah I’d say those parents are pretty bad."
- Tapestry-of-Life
Desiring Fear
"Your own children being afraid of you, no child should be afraid of the person that looks after them nearly 24/7."
"I really don't think it clicks till adolescence either when you look back and realize that you really were terrified of your father 24/7 as a child."
"Or it's weird when you realize that not all children hate their fathers."
- LimitlessTVShows
The Blame Game
"Blaming your own mistakes and regrets on your kids."
"Or living vicariously through your children because of your own mistakes and regrets."
- LilKaySigs
Broken Record
"Saying the same things over and over again like, 'You're such a disappointment' and 'I wish I had a daughter instead' and 'You ruined my and you're mother's sex life.' This is stuff I heard for years."
- FERRARI308GTSI
Disregarding Mental Health
"Saying 'You're too young to be depressed' and ignoring red flags from mental illnesses."
- EclecticMermaid
Invalidation Tactics
"Invalidating your child's feelings, struggles, and/or mental illness in favor of 'you don't know what struggling really is' or some form of 'back in my day' or 'you kids are so weak.'"
"You have just robbed your child of support, told them their feelings do not matter and informed them that you are not a safe person to confide in."
- Acetamnophen
Punishing Adult Children
"Punishing adult children when they don't do everything you say by silent treatment or nasty texts... and days later acting like nothing happened and saying , 'You never let go of things.'"
- kabive2044
Never Going Home Again
"Your kids never visiting once they move out or go to college."
- ashton_yaste123
Hindsight 0/20
"Ironically, never thinking you're a bad parent."
- RandomHeretic
These examples will bring back dark memories for some.
Hopefully there will be another Reddit post where people describe what positive parenting looks like.
Most of us can remember at least one food or meal that absolutely repulsed us as children.
But just the way we had to grow up, sometimes our palettes had some growing up to do, too.
Redditor leafypikmin asked:
"What are some foods that you used to hate, but love now?"
Kids and Greens Don't Mix
"I didn't like the standard 'Yuck!' kid's foods like broccoli, brussels sprouts, and asparagus."
"But I learned how to cook them myself and they are good! But also I am a less picky eater as an adult."
- just_minutes_ago
"Until I was like 20, raw broccoli would give me heartburn and an upset stomach for some reason. I ate so few vegetables, that anything green, that wasn't candy, introduced would be rejected by my body."
- bubblesort33
"I have recently developed a love for the smell of fresh leek. Where on earth did that come from?"
- ohonoops
"Peas. I don't know when things changed, but I love peas now."
- diegojones4
The Cooking Method Matters
"It's weird - my mom was a pretty good cook in general, but when it came to veggies, she always just steamed them for some reason and they were disgusting as a result. I more or less just wrote them off for like 20 years until I had a chance to try them made differently and was surprised to find how much I actually liked them."
- CQ1_GreenSmoke
"Coming here to say Brussel Sprouts. Once I had them prepared correctly they became my favorite vegetable."
- April_Morning_86
"I personally like Brussels sprouts steamed, then sautéed in a bit of sesame oil, and finally topped with a bit of balsamic glaze. It’s just so good (in my opinion)."
- JTAx1995
"I always hated cranberry sauce. Bought some actual cranberries and made homemade sauce. Much better. The sour part probably threw me off as a kid but now I love it."
- BuffaloInCahoots
"Brussels sprouts were the one for me. Mom was a good cook but would get frozen ones, boil them, and then put them in cheese sauce. We would eat what she put on our plates, but would not fight for them when we got seconds."
"I heard about frying them. So I got fresh ones, cut them in half, and fried up some bacon, then threw the Brussels sprouts away."
"No, seriously, I fried them in the bacon grease with some minced garlic, and while I don't love them, I like them enough to eat them on a more regular basis."
- Grapeape934
"Tomatoes, avocado, sweet potato, pumpkin, yams, squash, the list goes on and on. I found out once I lived on my own that I wasn't a picky eater. I just had parents who are terrible cooks."
- 2baverage
"My mother wasn’t a terrible cook, but she only had one way of making things and could not pivot to things and ways that taste better. I thought I hated asparagus; nope. I just hated it boiled until it was goop, I loved it seared and broiled with rosemary and thyme."
- theveryoldman0
"I never liked tomatoes but I would tolerate them on a sandwich. I mean why not... store bought tomatoes have no flavor anyway. But after I had a homegrown tomato I can hardly wait for each July to pick a ripe one for a BLT or a burger."
- zex_mysterion
"I went my entire childhood eating well-done steak and I never questioned it. When I was 19, in college, I decided to buy a small steak and cook it myself."
"I planned on cooking it until it was well done, but I accidentally dropped it onto the stove when flipping it over. There was a decent grey to it, so I decided to just eat it. That's when I found out that I love medium steak. Not medium rare, not medium well, just medium."
- Ok_Bag_9668
"Most vegetables. Growing up, everything was canned and boiled to death. Fresh and raw, roasted, or sautéed, were game changers."
- Fubai97b
Against the Grain
"Sour cream and cheesecake."
"I like cheesecake but sometimes when people make some it is so rich and sweet that it feels like a slap in the face. I can barely eat a few bites before I have to take it home and put it in the fridge to nibble on later."
- deaf_musiclover
"Cilantro. It used to taste like burnt plastic smelled to me."
"Mushrooms. They still basically taste the same to me, but I learned to appreciate it and now I love them."
"Sauerkraut. Mass-production sauerkraut is still gross, but fermented kraut is a whole different beast and tastes terrific."
"Probably something else, but that’s all I can think of now."
- felis_flatus
"I learned to like olives this year because of someone on Reddit. They said the way to teach yourself to like olives is the following: Put an olive in your mouth. Chew it and swallow it. Repeat. Repeat again. Now you like olives."
"And damned if it didn’t work. I have hated olives all my life. I’m 40 years old. Yesterday, I ordered a plate of marinated Castelvetrano olives as an appetizer at a pizzeria. They were delicious."
- nautilus_striven
"The first time I was pregnant (didn’t even know I was expecting), I was picking up something for dinner and I spotted a giant-sized jar of olives. (Normally, I was fairly indifferent to olives)."
"When my hubby got home, he found me sitting at the table with a soup bowl filled with olives, eating them with a spoon. He paused for a second, then walked to the cupboard, grabbed a bowl, and poured himself the same dinner. Never said a single word to suggest there was anything odd going on!"
"Soon after, we discovered why I was having such a strange craving, lol (laughing out loud)!"
"Also, my hubby is awesome!"
- magkrat123
It's funny how our interests, including our tastes, continue to adapt as we age. At least when it comes to food, we can try an item as many times as we want before we decide if it's a firm yes or no.
People Confess Which Terrible Things They Did As Kid That They Still Regret As An Adult
What was I thinking?
Was I even thinking?
Our pasts are haunted with regret.
When we're kids, we're still learning how to be humans.
So many of our actions are wrong or ill-conceived.
And we never know how the consequences of our choices will unfold.
But once we do know, we have to cope.
We've wronged people. Bullied. Stole.
Redditor 21078 wanted to hear from all the grown ups about what part of the past still haunts them. They asked:
"What’s a terrible thing you did as a child that you really feel bad about as an adult?"
Let's see what some people had to say.
Extreme
GIF by Steve Harvey TVGiphy"Hitting a neighbor kid with a baseball bat in the head for calling my mom fat. I was 5."
subwaysurfer1116
Unpopular
"I was friends with unpopular kids growing up. To protect my own image, I didn’t defend against their bullying when I was around. They never ever seemed to mind, but my cowardice haunts me to this day."
Nintendope760
"As someone who was bullied pretty mercilessly during my school years, I can tell you they knew exactly why you didn't defend them. They wouldn't have done any different if the tables were turned. The fact that you remained friends and gave them someone to have good interactions with was better than any defense of them you could have made."
Babiesnotbeans
Hate
"Giving a hate letter in middle school to a teacher (who btw looked quite depressed) because my, at the time friend, hated him. I feel so bad about that to this day."
gxlia
"I did the same but made a voodoo doll of her and left her to find it. Makes me feel sick now that I’m an adult and what the consequences of my actions may have done to her."
__Iridocyclitis__
Why?
"Stole and destroyed a neighbors bike then just left it out in the street and denied any knowledge when their parents knocked our door having seen us taking it. Don't know why I did it. After later reflection decided never to do anything like it again and felt like a c**t."
Bucket_head
Sorry
Sorry Home Alone GIF by filmeditorGiphy"Once I tied a kid to a lamppost with a jump rope and just left. I feel bad about that every couple of months."
idrawface
Wow there are some bad kids out there. I mean... woof.
Bless me Father
church pray GIF by Matt MaesonGiphy"At a church I went to, there were stacks of the boxes that you filled with goodies and gave to children in need."
"I did not know what these were, so I opened one and took a bouncy ball out of it. About a year later when it came time to do the boxes again and I learned what they really were, I realized that I had stolen some kid's bouncy ball. I felt guilty every time I saw those boxes from that point on."
Mario_hat_with_eyes
The 60s...
"Back when I was a kid in the 60s, playground safety didn't exist. We had this aluminum slide in the communal playground that was surrounded by concrete. One day, when I was about 8 or 9, I noticed a lot of commotion at the slide. There was a boy, about two or three, who was next to slide but was refusing. There was a line of kids behind him, yelling at him to go but he just wouldn't move."
"I got tired of the yelling so I made all the kids move, climbed up to him, and tried to lift him to either slide him down or carry him down, whatever would work. He refused to let me lift him, and instead, climbed over the side of the slide so that he was hanging by his hands. It was a long drop (at least 6 to 8 feet) down to the concrete below. I tried pulling him up, but he was too heavy."
"I and all the other kids panicked and ran to the other side of the playground, leaving him to his fate. Fortunately, one of the high school boys playing football beside the playground noticed the kid dangling and jumped the playground fence and caught him when the kid finally lost his grip. The high school boy yelled at us for not helping him, and I felt a mix of anger and shame that even today I still think about sometimes."
OutsideEmotion
Oh Poop!
"When I was six (in the early 80’s for clarity) I caused a clog in the toilet from pooping that backed up somehow into the furnace room and sewage came out of the drain in the furnace room, it was a total mess and plumbers galore came and my parents were so upset (not at me just the situation) but it embarrassed me so much and I was so afraid of it happening again, until I was like 12 and old enough to realize I was being dumb about it I snuck outside at night to poop in various bushes around the house."
"Years later as an adult my parents mentioned they thought they had a homeless problem in the neighborhood at one time because they kept finding dried human feces when doing yard work. I guiltily confessed and they laughed their butt off but my Mom said she (only half-jokingly) would have killed me if she’d caught me doing it at the time."
TriscuitCracker
O. M. G!
"You might wanna brace yourself for this one..."
"When I was like 5, I was playing with one of our kittens, maybe a month or two old, unsupervised. I've repressed what I was actually doing with it, but I do remember noticing it was bleeding from the nose and was obviously being too rough. I brought it to my Mum in tears, and I'll never forget the way she yelled 'What the f**k!' in that shaky, cry-scream, voice."
"I dunno what became of it, but I'm pretty sure I accidentally killed it. I don't even have the heart to ask my Mum about it to confirm or deny it, and I still cry about it every time I think about it. I wish I could erase what I did, go back and prevent what happened, but I can't, and I'll forever live with that guilt. It's one of the primary reasons I can't bring myself to believe I'm a good person, no matter how much I've grown in the 17ish years since."
"Because if I can, at my most innocent stage of life, do something like that, can I ever wash that blood from my hands, what will I say to whatever, if anything, greets me after I die? I am so terribly sorry for what I did, and honestly, wouldn't disagree with you calling me inhuman for my actions."
nailsarefingerteeth
Poor Kid
Oh No Facepalm GIF by AminéGiphy"I tricked a kid out of seconds at lunch. He looked so sad when he asked why I would do that. School bully came up and told me I was an a**hole because the kids parents didn't feed him. I think about that a lot and it was almost 40 years ago."
Vorpak
Struggles
"I went to push the shopping cart in the corral and tried pushing it to make it go inside... like making a goal. Instead the shopping cart turned randomly and hit a car. I ran and hid inside the car because I was scared. They came over to the car where my mom apologized and asked me to come out and say sorry but I refused because anxiety. I still struggle with anxiety issues but I can apologize when I make a mistake now that I'm grown."
Raspberry-Additional
Saturday and Sunday mornings...
"When I was 4-9 I spent a lot of Saturday and Sunday mornings as an only child trying to entertain myself while waiting for my dad to wake up. One morning I was terrorizing the cat by chasing him around the house, not giving him any time to breath. He got so scared and tired he hid behind the dryer where he stayed for almost 2 hours. My dad asked where the cat was, and I told him I didn’t know."
"I was a d**k and it wasn’t the first time I did that kind of thing, but for some reason that one made me realize what I was actually doing to that beautiful creature. I thought I was just playing with my brother. I think about it quite often and have never treated an animal that way since. It does haunt me the way I behaved towards that animal that gave nothing but love and affection."
Trails2Tomorrow
Bad Rebellion
"In my first act of teenage attitude/rebellion I mocked my father's suicide attempt from a few months earlier. I was 12 and it felt good to be mean to someone that had hurt me emotionally in such a way. That was the last time we spoke. I didn't realize he was calling to say goodbye. He tried again and succeeded that night."
righthanddan
Whoops...
scared gingerbread man GIFGiphy"Blaming my brother for pooping in the sink when it was me."
Mr_P_scientist
Big Boned
"I used to be a real brat. One of those 'gives completely unsolicited opinions because I’m just so HONEST' type a**holes. I one time in like 4th grade went up to this group of girls, singled one of them out by name, and told her, 'Gina, you’re not fat but you’re chubby.'"
"I in no way did this to be mean. It was just my complete ignorance about how since I had a thought, she needed to hear it. I had no friends. It didn’t dawn on me til years later when I eventually pulled my head out of my a** that I realized what a horrible person I used to be and didn’t know it in the slightest."
HarrisonRyeGraham
“Who told you this?”
"So back in junior high one of my classmates Chris told me that his friend Leon asked him out. Me being young and ignorant didn’t believe this to be true so I confronted Leon and asked him are you gay? Leon replied 'Who told you this?' I told him Chris did. He turned white and I didn’t see him throughout the whole day. I heard ambulances but didn’t think much of it."
"He came back a couple of days later. Told me that the rumor wasn’t true but was noticeably hostile towards me for the rest of the school year. Fast forward 5 years I then found out through mutual friends that he was actually gay and after I confronted him he went to the top of the school building intended to jump. Thank God he didn’t. Still feel bad to this day."
GumShoos
Firestarter
"An older kid in the neighborhood wanted to light a fire, and I didn't tell anyone about it but instead joined him as he did so. Then, when the fire got a lot bigger than I thought, he convinced me to lie to the cops/firemen about what had happened & I did."
"I was in elementary school and he was in middle or high school? I don't remember exactly, but in hindsight there was an element of coercion that I only recognize now, so yeah. Arson, technically. And I shoplifted from my elementary school store. They weren't even things I needed, but like, these. Especially Lucky because it reminded me of my birth stone."
loracarol
No Reason
Parks And Recreation Donna GIFGiphy"I called my sister a 'pregnant sl*t' when I was like 11 for literally no reason. She was just trying to say goodbye before going home. Still can't find a reason for why I said it."
iammisi
Sorry, Dakota...
"For our class Halloween party in 3rd grade, I dressed up as a 'pop star.' The costume’s top was slightly cropped, showing a bit of my stomach. When we were sitting at the carpet, the girl sitting next to me said, 'You’re not supposed to wear anything that shows your stomach.'”
Without even thinking, I shot back, 'Yeah, well you’re not supposed to wear the same clothes two days in a row.' As an adult, I now realize her family was likely extremely poor and wearing the same clothes two days in a row was probably not by choice. Sorry, Dakota."
EllieD0113
We all need therapy. And prayers. And confession. Oh my...
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/