Kid's Who Grew Up With Strict Parents Reflect On The Unhealthy Ways They Were Raised

Levels of strictness run across the board, however some are just plain odd.

Shasta

• Published in Interesting
• December 20, 2019

The truth is, strict parents are usually loaded with unhealthy ways. Let every single one of these examples below guide you through that. Typically when a parent has a request for their child, it's because somewhere among that request is their trigger to something bigger. So in a way, their attempt to prevent tripping said trigger is yes, healthy, however, sometimes the request is so far out there....

You don't even realize it until you're a fully grown adult with a whole life behind you and ahead of you. Maybe you even have to have kids first. I know it took me having children to realize the toxic behaviors that I not only carried with me from my childhood, but ones that my parents still clung tightly to. And without my intervention, there's no doubt they would rub off on my littles too.

Over my dead body would that be something I'd allow.

I think these parents take the cake for cuckoo habits though. Happy scrolling!

1. What the?

“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.”

2. Maybe I should implement this rule with my kids...Hahaha kidding!

“My parents had a eat it or wear it rule. I distinctly remember hiding under the table while my mom threw spaghetti at me.”

3. What in the world was that mother hiding 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.”

4. I mean..I don't go out of my way to purchase white clothes for my kids either but...Wow...Not letting them drive when they're older? Yeah right!

“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.”

5. My eyes are literally 😳😳😳 This is 120% COMPLETE TOXIC GASLIGHTING BEHAVIOR.

“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.”

6. Not going to lie, I think I was grounded from the library a time or two as well....

“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!).”

7. For some reason elders have such a big problem with others having interests in things they don't understand

“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 …”

8. Classic narc behavior right here

“My dad wouldn’t let me leave the house on the weekends. Guess who was upset that I didn’t have any friends?”

9. This makes me so so angry. This kind of thing is where homeschooled children get a bad rep..I feel for your inner kiddo

“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.”

10. I'm incredibly interested in this backstory...People man..

“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.”

11. This is so heartbreaking. Oh my goodness.. I wish I could give you a hug!

“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.”

12. Honestly? The more people that talked smack about my wanting/getting a tattoo...Fueled my fire to get 10+. Guess what? I love them. SO much. GET THE TATTOO!

“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).”

13. Why do some parents feel the need to force their children to live the lives THEY want them to have, instead of just embracing the child they actually have? I'll never understand.

“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.”

14. Let's keep in mind trust is crucial in any and every relationship, EVEN the ones with your kids.

“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.”

15. Ah. Real original. Child's beliefs not aligning with the parent's beliefs resulting in punishment. Smooth.

“I was once grounded for a month, like, couldn't 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.”

Shasta