Parenting is an extremely complicated job. You have to be loving but firm. You must be patient without being a doormat. And you have to provide structure for your children without being authoritarian. It can be difficult to strike the perfect balance, but when in doubt, rely on making sure your kiddos never question how much you love them.
Unfortunately, some parents prioritize disciplining their children over anything else, which can lead to an extremely painful childhood. Redditors have recently been recalling the most brutal punishments their mothers and fathers gave them growing up, so we’ve gathered some of their stories below. From extreme groundings to behaviors that should have had CPS on their doorsteps, we’ll warn you right now that some of these accounts might break your heart.
#1
I would get grounded a lot. And for a lot of kids I think that's pretty normal. But the catch is is my father is military. So his grounding is you go to your room for a week-long increments and everything is taken out of there that could be thought of as fun for you. No posters no books no toys definitely no electronics but I was a kid in the 80s so there wasn't much chance of that. Being grounded for 3 weeks in the summer was brutal. I do recall my best friend standing down the hill out my window so that he could entertain me silently by jumping around like an idiot just to keep me from feeling like I was going insane. Good friend.
54points
#2
When I didn't get anything to eat for dinner because there were 10 of us and not anything left after everyone else took food. If I said anything about being hungry because I got no food my mother went nuts. She would scream at me and say I am a liar. Then as punishment she would deprive me of any food and demand I stay in my room or I would get a beating. So I would go days with nothing to eat because the punishment for not getting dinner and saying something was not getting dinner for a couple more days. Having a mother that lies a lot more than me calling me a liar is pretty ridiculous. If I give her eulogy it won't be to talk about how she was a great mother.
52points
#3
I once caught a chest cold when I was about 10 or so, except after a few days, I didn't get better. I got worse. It got to the point where I could barely breathe. My mom insisted I must just be lacking in some vitamins, so she forced me to take these massive calcium and vitamin C pills. I didn't get better. Things got progressively worse until the principal at the school actually called her and said "take your daughter to the d**n doctor" and the threat of looking bad in front of someone of authority absolutely scared her so she did. Turns out I had developed asthma and my blood oxygen levels were like 86%.
They gave me a rescue inhaler but she wouldn't let me take it until we got home OH BUT FIRST though we had to order a pizza and wait for it to be ready. I still remember fading in and out of consciousness on the way home. Then she finally read the paper and I got to take that inhaler... and it was like the clouds opened up and I COULD BREATHE. It took about 6 months of serious treatment to get my lungs back to something resembling normal.
She still insists "it wasn't that bad".
They gave me a rescue inhaler but she wouldn't let me take it until we got home OH BUT FIRST though we had to order a pizza and wait for it to be ready. I still remember fading in and out of consciousness on the way home. Then she finally read the paper and I got to take that inhaler... and it was like the clouds opened up and I COULD BREATHE. It took about 6 months of serious treatment to get my lungs back to something resembling normal.
She still insists "it wasn't that bad".
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44points
To find out more about this thread, we reached out to the Reddit user who invited others to share their stories, ComprehensiveFun2054. They were kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and share what inspired them to start this conversation.
"I asked the question because one time with my friends, we opened up about our past experiences as kids," the author said. "It just turned into this debate about whether or not we deserved some of [the punishments we got]. But I noticed there were a range of punishments that I didn't think would come from any sane parent, and those were just my friends' [stories]. So I thought, 'What about the weird, traumatized Reddit community?' and they didn't disappoint."
#4
Being reminded every single day that I was adopted and I should be happy that they chose me.
RKnotofficial:
Being adopted does not make you any less worthy.
RKnotofficial:
Being adopted does not make you any less worthy.
42points
#5
Both my parents were teachers. I spent the entire four years of high school grounded for getting C's on my report card. No homecomings, no prom, no summers playing with friends. They were flabbergasted when I didn't go to college, even when they told me they would disown me on graduation day if I didn't go.
I am now a fifty-year-old man with an anxiety disorder so severe that I literally just s**t myself because I was too afraid to leave my room to go to the bathroom. Thanks, mom and dad for instilling the importance of education in me!
I am now a fifty-year-old man with an anxiety disorder so severe that I literally just s**t myself because I was too afraid to leave my room to go to the bathroom. Thanks, mom and dad for instilling the importance of education in me!
41points
#6
There are so many to choose from...
-Being made to sleep in the garage.
-Being banned from being a part of the family;
Meals in solitude after everyone was asleep, not allowed to be speak to or make eye contact with anyone, not allowed to come out of my room except school and toilet.
-Hair cutt off to chin length because I had anxiety and would chew my hair.
-Punched me in my 7 year old face " accidentally breaking my nose," because I was mucking around late at night when my cousin slept over.
-Grounded for 2+ weeks because parent threw a knife and it went into their new expensive couch, because they were frustrated by their unsuccessful attempts to catch and stab me.
Hit me in the back with a whole frozen chicken because I was delayed 10 minutes getting home.
-Banned from showering /bathing completely.
-Being left alone in a room for so long as punishment, my parent forgot me and went home.
-Being excluded from a 2 month international family holiday for talking back.
Guess who was the only half sibling in a family with both a resentful parent and an a*****e Step-parent?
Though I was always well dressed and made to look presentable to keep up with our wholesome middle-class life.
Years later, my mother apologised, explaining she had tried to break me with more and more extreme punishment because I didn't complain or cry when punished, I just accepted it, which she found unsatisfying.
-Being made to sleep in the garage.
-Being banned from being a part of the family;
Meals in solitude after everyone was asleep, not allowed to be speak to or make eye contact with anyone, not allowed to come out of my room except school and toilet.
-Hair cutt off to chin length because I had anxiety and would chew my hair.
-Punched me in my 7 year old face " accidentally breaking my nose," because I was mucking around late at night when my cousin slept over.
-Grounded for 2+ weeks because parent threw a knife and it went into their new expensive couch, because they were frustrated by their unsuccessful attempts to catch and stab me.
Hit me in the back with a whole frozen chicken because I was delayed 10 minutes getting home.
-Banned from showering /bathing completely.
-Being left alone in a room for so long as punishment, my parent forgot me and went home.
-Being excluded from a 2 month international family holiday for talking back.
Guess who was the only half sibling in a family with both a resentful parent and an a*****e Step-parent?
Though I was always well dressed and made to look presentable to keep up with our wholesome middle-class life.
Years later, my mother apologised, explaining she had tried to break me with more and more extreme punishment because I didn't complain or cry when punished, I just accepted it, which she found unsatisfying.
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37points
Thankfully, the OP said that they never received any particularly brutal punishments as a child. "I wasn't punished a lot as a kid, mostly time outs in my room or not going out with them," they shared.
But we were curious if they had any ideas about what the most effective way to discipline a child without traumatizing them would be. "It's different from child to child, I can't say or judge since I don't have a kid yet," the author noted. "But you need to remember that it's just a kid at the end of the day. And most of the things you could punish them for, they learn from you, at least until school. So just try to handle it whatever way you think is right, but I just hope you are a normal, sane person."
#7
Being left alone for days with no food.
34points
#8
My parents took me out of school (7th grade) for vacation. I went to all my teachers and asked for work to take with me.
When we came back after 2 weeks, I turned in my completed work.
HOWEVER, mid quarter progress reports went out just before we returned, and my grades were bad because I was missing 2 weeks of homework (which I had since turned in.)
I was grounded until my next report card (which had all As except for science.)
My dad was a jerk.
When we came back after 2 weeks, I turned in my completed work.
HOWEVER, mid quarter progress reports went out just before we returned, and my grades were bad because I was missing 2 weeks of homework (which I had since turned in.)
I was grounded until my next report card (which had all As except for science.)
My dad was a jerk.
33points
#9
I don't remember what I did, but my dad whooped me with a hardback Bible. It wasn't the regular book size either. It was a kids' Bible, which was more of a picture book. It was wide and flat. Whipped me with it, then threw it across the room while screaming at me. He was a psycho when I was a kid. Now he's nearing 70 and likes to reminisce about how good a childhood my sister and I had. I always correct him on it.
33points
Finally, we asked ComprehensiveFun2054 what they thought of the replies to their post. "A lot surprised me for bad reasons, unfortunately," they told Bored Panda. "And I just hope that everyone who got treated like that raised their kids differently."
#10
Silent treatment , being ignored by everyone in the family for a period of time, because “ you were lying and didn’t admit to doing so or so , so until you decide to speak the truth no one wants to hear you “ and after days , it turned out it was my cousin who did the “ thing “ , well i never got an apology, but ended up developing avoidant attachment issues that I have no idea how to cure .
31points
#11
My mom made us get super involved with sports to the point we didn’t do anything on weeknights but practices for those sports and weekends involved practice or traveling for competitions. If we asked to do something on a weekend we had a time slot for so many hours and it was only 1 day. So if we chose to hang with a friend on Friday night till 9:00pm that was it for the whole weekend. No wonder we all went off the deep end when we turned 18, quit every sport and I hit the bars to party. I’m fine now but man, I missed out on some fun teen years.
30points
#12
My dad gave me “taps”. He’s 6’5 and used a fraction of his strength to hit me and it hurt like hell. I will never ever raise a hand to my kids because he swears to this day it wasn’t a full smack but we simply don’t know our own strength as adults on a kids pain tolerance. I knew my boyfriend was going to be my husband when we talked about discipline and he had a similar experience, also stating he would never hit his kids because it f*s them up mentally and I agree, man.
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29points
#13
My step dad would make me write out whatever I did “wrong” a thousand times, or fill a notebook.
“I will not lie. I will not lie. I will not lie. I will not lie. I will not lie. I will not lie. I will not lie. I will not lie.”
Tough break when art was my passion but my dominant wrist is now cooked from it and I deal with carpal tunnel pain daily.
“I will not lie. I will not lie. I will not lie. I will not lie. I will not lie. I will not lie. I will not lie. I will not lie.”
Tough break when art was my passion but my dominant wrist is now cooked from it and I deal with carpal tunnel pain daily.
29points
#14
Smashing my Xbox to bits with a baseball bat before slashing the curtains with a knife to prove a point that leaving my shoes by the front door wasn't on. I was 8.
28points
#15
My siblings and I got sent to our rooms without Thanksgiving dinner. The reason? My mom flew off the handle at us because we weren’t cleaning the house to her liking, after we came home from church. That was the moment I realized there was something mentally wrong with my mom.
28points
#16
When I was very young my father ran a basin of water and shoved my head into it, over and over, while screaming at me. Not incredibly violent, but traumatizing. However I did go on to be a competitive swimmer! Learning to hold my breath early in life!
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27points
#17
6th grade, last concert of the year, I have a huge solo. I told my mom that I got a sheet to see the councilor the next day (moving into Jr High stuff). She completely misunderstood what I had said, thought it was for her, and beat me from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet with one of those little plastic belts that were popular at the time. Welts everywhere.
Then I had to get changed into my choir clothes and go and sing.
I begged one of the teachers to let me go to my classroom and grab my “homework” out of my desk, the obliged, and I grabbed a textbook and shoved that paper inside of it.
Came home and showed my mom the note, that it was for me and not her. All she said was that I “needed to be more clear” when I was talking to her.
All of these years later, when we were still talking, she said something along the lines of “you will never forgive me for that will you?” And I told her “nope.”.
Then I had to get changed into my choir clothes and go and sing.
I begged one of the teachers to let me go to my classroom and grab my “homework” out of my desk, the obliged, and I grabbed a textbook and shoved that paper inside of it.
Came home and showed my mom the note, that it was for me and not her. All she said was that I “needed to be more clear” when I was talking to her.
All of these years later, when we were still talking, she said something along the lines of “you will never forgive me for that will you?” And I told her “nope.”.
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26points
#18
The one that freaks people out is that I was withheld food and bathroom breaks for not understanding long division in a timely manner for my aunt.
That or being forced to clean her entire house and land from top floor to basement while on a time crunch because I broke our hamster’s enclosure while cleaning it.
That or being forced to clean her entire house and land from top floor to basement while on a time crunch because I broke our hamster’s enclosure while cleaning it.
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26points
#19
My mom would lock me in a room for hours on end. No food, water, or bathroom, and nothing for me to really do in there at all. If I cried too loudly, or god forbid had an accident because I couldn't hold it any longer, she'd come in and beat me.
Eventually as I got older I learned to brace the door so she couldn't come in. I'd often run into the room if I knew she was gonna skip the whole process and outright beat me for something. I'd sit with my back against the door, and use all my strength to push my feet against the dresser in there, which worked pretty well considering it was a 45yr old against a 10yr old. _eta: though, this started as a toddler and went on until I was 12 and she abandoned me._
Unfortunately the door was slatted, think like a closet door. A few times she would force her hands through the slats, and she would rip my hair out to get me distracted enough to break in. Of course that only taught me to lean far enough forward so she couldn't reach my head, but that led to her grabbing knives and other long sharp objects, and stabbing me where my back was touching the door. She never made me bleed (really didn't have enough leverage considering the angle) but I often had long open scrapes down my back.
Eventually as I got older I learned to brace the door so she couldn't come in. I'd often run into the room if I knew she was gonna skip the whole process and outright beat me for something. I'd sit with my back against the door, and use all my strength to push my feet against the dresser in there, which worked pretty well considering it was a 45yr old against a 10yr old. _eta: though, this started as a toddler and went on until I was 12 and she abandoned me._
Unfortunately the door was slatted, think like a closet door. A few times she would force her hands through the slats, and she would rip my hair out to get me distracted enough to break in. Of course that only taught me to lean far enough forward so she couldn't reach my head, but that led to her grabbing knives and other long sharp objects, and stabbing me where my back was touching the door. She never made me bleed (really didn't have enough leverage considering the angle) but I often had long open scrapes down my back.
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24points
#20
Anytime my dad saw me hanging out reading a book he would find a chore for me to do. I started hiding down at the creek with a book and some snacks all day. I still dislike him.
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24points