“That’s Torture”: 40 Children's Punishments That Only Showed How Unfit Their Parents Were

My psychotic mother broke her hand beating us once. Can't say that was the most painful, but it was definitely the most memorable.

Not from my parents but from my older sister who used to baby sit me. Drinking a cup of vinegar then being locked in the attic……she was not a nice person.

I can't even list which punishment was the worst. Too many of them left me bloody, and with scars on my skin that I can still see decades later as a grandparent.

Worst, as in lasting consequences? I was 15/16 and my dad had remarried this woman who was a horrible stepmother. I can’t really remember what led up to it, but I’m fairly certain it was because I was standing up for myself over something trivial.

At the time, I was playing in a band that was sponsored by the city I live in. As punishment, she refused to let me go to rehearsals on the regular; it got to the point where I was kicked out (despite it not being my fault) and I was told I could never play for them again. I think she knew that her usual punishments wouldn’t work on me and so that woman kept me from going to s***w me over.

I would see her again when I was 19/20, after she and my dad divorced. She tried to be nice and cordial, but I called her a fat toad and gave her the finger. Never saw her again, and I hope she just hopped off to some swamp never to be seen again.

Getting grounded for the entire summer—no TV, no going out, just chores and boredom. It felt like a lifetime back then.

Broken nose from being thrown head first into a door frame.

Being locked up in the basement and not allowed to come up to use the bathroom or to eat until my ex-stepdad thought I learned my lesson. Forgot to clean up a mess one night before I fell asleep. I was around 10. It’s happened a few times and I absolutely hate being in any type of basement now and I hate being in a room where the door can lock from the outside. I need to make sure I have a way to get out at all times.

I was locked up inside an old outhose on one of my mother's exs property, often for hours. A lot.

It was infested with spiders.

I went to a party at 15 and there was alcohol. I thought it was best if I left since I was didn’t want to get in trouble. When I got home I told my parents and they accused me of drinking/being drunk and high. I was grounded for 3months and they reported the party so all my friends and their parents got in trouble.

Safe to say I didn’t have any friends after that nor was invited to any future event.

Hard labor. Everything that my dad had to do for the day (for a period of days) I did. Way worse than grounding, spanking, or taking things away.

I was about 12yo and in the hospital. Doctor added a new medication. I soon complained of racing heart rate and chest pain. Staff wheeled me to the ER to get checked but by then it had passed.

As punishment for "lying" I was physically held down while they forcefully medicated me.

Years later I found that this medication has a warning for a common serious side effect of causing rapid heart rate and arrhythmias. In some individuals these heart issues can be permanent. And as an adult I have arrhythmias among other cardiac issues.

My mom's "I'm a martyr and you are a thankless, clueless, incapable child who doesn't appreciate me" lecture I got after the spanking. The spanking took 30 seconds. The lecture took at least five minutes. I could recite it by heart by the time I wa 10.

I was terrified of making my father mad, don't know why because he never actually raised a hand to me, but he would yell so loud that spit would come out of his mouth and it just terrified me. I think it was actually worse than getting hit.

My mom made me tell my Camp Fire Girls leader that I had to quit. It was because I didn’t set the table for supper. I was heartbroken and embarrassed.

As a kid I'd run away from my mum to try get to the bathroom and lock myself in until she'd calmed down because she grab me really hard by the arm and smack my butt and it really hurt, and sometimes she'd catch me before I made it there and she'd grab me by the hair as I was running and trap it against my arm when she grabbed my arm and pull it and then smack my butt. As an adult she would stop taking or forget to take her meds sometimes and straight up smack at me, like a teen girl cat fight body slapping, except I was 5 ft 0 95lbs and she was 5 ft 6 and obese so her arms had so much power. She claimed she was defending herself from me, but the only thing I ever did was held my arms in front of my face for self defense.

Being grabbed by my mother's partner and shoved into a freezing cold shower, fully clothed. I still don't know what I did.

Was about 11-12, sister one year younger. Family driving home from grandparents. I was promised that we would stop at the store so I could buy a certain chocolate as a little treat. My sister had fallen asleep and rested her head on my shoulder, this was quite unpleasant because I couldnt move myself into a comfortable position. When we were 2 minutes from the store and 1 hour into tour drive home I hade to adjust my shoulder. This made my sister wake up pissed of and smacked me in my face. I pushed her away, not hard, and my parents screamed at me ”THATS IT. WERE GOING DIRECTLY HOME. NO CHOCOLATE!”
I still remember the absolute injustice of being punished for doing nothing. Still boils my blood thinking of it.

Dad locked me out of the house and told me I wasn’t allowed to go to any friends houses and that I just had to live outside. Had to sneak to my friends house via the alley behind our houses and hop his fence. I wasn’t allowed back for a week, and it would’ve been longer had my mom not convinced him.

I grew up in a small pacific island (Samoa) and I got beaten in front of the entire school by the principal with a stick. The reason was because I went for a swim in the river nearby the day before. It was after school hours but since I was still wearing my uniform, someone snitched so the following day they made an example of me. Good times.

They took the batteries out of my Game Boy. Not the Game Boy itself — so I could still look at it and suffer.