“You live under my roof, you follow my rules.” Many of us heard this from our parents as children. It was their way of enforcing boundaries and expectations for everyone in the home.
Sure, most of them promoted safety and encouraged responsibility. However, there were rules that were rather odd in nature, only to find out the real and, sometimes, even unsettling reasons behind them upon reaching adulthood.
This was a topic of discussion in a recent Threads post, where people shared their stories without holding back. Scroll through to see what they had to see.
#1
Not so much terrifying as sad; when I was a teenager one day my mom got really upset and told me I wasn’t allowed to check the mailbox or answer the phone. No exceptions and no explanation. Turns out my biological sister (I was adopted) had found me and was trying to connect. Years later when I found her she told me my mom wrote her a letter saying I had [passed away].
21points
#2
I was raised by my aunt, starting at age 7, until I ran away at 16.
I wasn't allowed to sit on the furniture. Couldn't drink anything except for water or have snacks unless her grandkids were over. If I had something her kids or grandkids wanted, I had to give it to them, even if it had been a gift. If I objected, I was grounded for months at a time. Once, for a year.
I didnt realize none of that was normal until I was older.
I wasn't allowed to sit on the furniture. Couldn't drink anything except for water or have snacks unless her grandkids were over. If I had something her kids or grandkids wanted, I had to give it to them, even if it had been a gift. If I objected, I was grounded for months at a time. Once, for a year.
I didnt realize none of that was normal until I was older.
21points
#3
When we were kids it would get so hot over the summer we would leave the windows wide open. Suddenly one summer our Tata swapped out our front door screen for a security door & we were forbidden to leave the windows open at night. As an adult we watched a documentary on Richard Ramirez and found out our neighborhood was one of his hunting grounds. We called our mom & she confirmed.
20points
#4
You did not talk about the family goings on outside the family. I’d say the treatment of my foster siblings was [horrible] at times but we can’t talk about that.
20points
#5
We weren't allowed to say "that's not fair" because "life isn't fair."
To this day I am preoccupied with fairness, equality, justice - to an almost obsessive extent.
Sounds like the beginning of a superhero movie but it's just crippling anxiety.
To this day I am preoccupied with fairness, equality, justice - to an almost obsessive extent.
Sounds like the beginning of a superhero movie but it's just crippling anxiety.
20points
#6
I was told to never wear high heels around a man we knew. I was a child. Didn't realize how bad that was until years later. Gross. So so gross.
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19points
#7
Growing up, my family lived in a large old house surrounded by woods. Every night at exactly 9:00 PM, my mom would make my sister and me go into the living room, close all the heavy velvet curtains, and sit on the rug until 9:15 PM. She called it "quiet quarter." We weren't allowed to talk, move, or look toward the windows, no matter what we heard outside.
We thought it was just a weird family game to get us to calm down before bed.
Last month at thanksgiving, i brought it up casually, laughing about how weird that routine was. My mom's face was completely drained of color. She leaned in and whispered, "That wasn't a game."
She told me that for the first six months after we moved in, every night at 9:05 PM, something would walk up onto our back porch, stand right against the glass door, and heavy-breathe while scratching its fingernails against the pane until 9:12 PM.
She kept us in the living room so we would never look through the window and see whatever it was looking back at us.
We thought it was just a weird family game to get us to calm down before bed.
Last month at thanksgiving, i brought it up casually, laughing about how weird that routine was. My mom's face was completely drained of color. She leaned in and whispered, "That wasn't a game."
She told me that for the first six months after we moved in, every night at 9:05 PM, something would walk up onto our back porch, stand right against the glass door, and heavy-breathe while scratching its fingernails against the pane until 9:12 PM.
She kept us in the living room so we would never look through the window and see whatever it was looking back at us.
18points
#8
The pantry was locked so I wouldn't snack. I was very thin, but apparently I needed discipline.
rena.bena.ding.dong:
No snacks allowed after 5 years old or unless you were pregnant. I was so hungry all the time omg
rena.bena.ding.dong:
No snacks allowed after 5 years old or unless you were pregnant. I was so hungry all the time omg
17points
#9
I only recently found out that locked up food isnt normal or usual. And at my grandma's i was allowed snacking as much as i wanted and curiously, i didnt snack that much, but i ate "real meals" much better there. My grandma also didn't purposefully cook stuff i hated either.
17points
#10
I live on a farm in Appalachia that has been in my family since pre-revolution.
It’s got 60+ acres of woods and bumps the national park.
For GENERATIONS it’s been
- don’t whistle after the sun goes behind the ridge
-don’t answer a family member calling your name from outside the house after dark (cellphones have made this one easier)
-don’t look out the windows
-if you hear calls for help or babies crying… no you don’t.
Multiple, and I mean MULTIPLE family stories confirm these needed.
It’s got 60+ acres of woods and bumps the national park.
For GENERATIONS it’s been
- don’t whistle after the sun goes behind the ridge
-don’t answer a family member calling your name from outside the house after dark (cellphones have made this one easier)
-don’t look out the windows
-if you hear calls for help or babies crying… no you don’t.
Multiple, and I mean MULTIPLE family stories confirm these needed.
17points
#11
Not allowed in the house after school. Change clothes, do your homework on the backporch, then do your chores. After that you could do anything you wanted but couldn't go in the house until mom called us for supper. After everyone had eaten everything mom had put on our plate, dad would go set and watch TV. He picked the show and no one could speak. We were sent to bed at random times.
We were afraid of dad, his punishment was illegal to say the least. We were never touched for a hug or bedtime thing.
We were afraid of dad, his punishment was illegal to say the least. We were never touched for a hug or bedtime thing.
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17points
#12
Not being able to use the couch cushions/pillows and blankets because those were only to decorate when we had guests over.
Ends up my mom has untreated OCD and only told us years later LOL explains a lot of her behavior.
Ends up my mom has untreated OCD and only told us years later LOL explains a lot of her behavior.
17points
#13
Going to the toilet.
First I had to ask permission then I had to wait until the toilet door was unlocked. My mother would then stand by the open toilet door until I sat down I would then hand her the toilet paper mother would tear off three squares and hand them to me. That's all I was allowed if I needed more my parents took it as a sign that I was eating and drinking too much.
First I had to ask permission then I had to wait until the toilet door was unlocked. My mother would then stand by the open toilet door until I sat down I would then hand her the toilet paper mother would tear off three squares and hand them to me. That's all I was allowed if I needed more my parents took it as a sign that I was eating and drinking too much.
17points
#14
I was told to never open my blinds. The neighbor was peeping on me. Stills gives me the ick.
16points
#15
No one was allowed to sleep over at our house. This was my Mom protecting THEM.
16points
#16
When I was sick - like fever / puking / fuzzy head sick - my stepdad would make me sit crisscross applesauce under a pyramid of dowel rods with plastic tube joints holding them together.
It drew out the illness.
My mom just gave me Tylenol.
It drew out the illness.
My mom just gave me Tylenol.
16points
#17
When my brother and I had a fight, we would be locked in a dog cage in the backyard. If we fought in the car, we would get "bagged" and were forced to wear pillowcases on our heads until we reached our destination. It could be 45 minutes up to 4 hours. We laughed about it telling friends and it only dawned on us how messed up it was when we realized our friends were not laughing.
16points
#18
No sleepovers. Not anywhere, relatives, best friends, school outings… I get it now.
15points
#19
Be home when the streetlights come on. As a dad now, it blows my mind that my parents had NO IDEA where we were most of the time.
15points
#20
- You finish everything on your plate.
I was forced to eat vegetables I hated- mostly beans, but also mixed vegetables. I had to sit in my chair at the table until I ate them all. If I didn't finish by bed, I got them for breakfast the next morning. To this day I barely eat vegetables.
Also, my mom made me keep my hair short, like boy short, until I was old enough to pay for my own haircuts. I started babysitting at 12 so I could grow my hair.
I was forced to eat vegetables I hated- mostly beans, but also mixed vegetables. I had to sit in my chair at the table until I ate them all. If I didn't finish by bed, I got them for breakfast the next morning. To this day I barely eat vegetables.
Also, my mom made me keep my hair short, like boy short, until I was old enough to pay for my own haircuts. I started babysitting at 12 so I could grow my hair.
15points