“We Had A Lock On The Fridge”: People Are Sharing “Kid Rules” They Thought Were Normal — Until They Grew Up
Chances are you grew up in a household with a handful of rules, and you also encountered different sets of “kids’ rules” at friends’ houses and at school. But have you ever come across a parenting rule that seemed totally bizarre, either at the time or in retrospect? Well, members of Reddit had a lot to say about the subject. Here are some of the strangest rules people experienced both in and out of their childhood homes.
1.
“My parents had a ‘sock tax.’ I wouldn’t say I liked it at the time, but in retrospect, it was smart. So, I left my dirty socks around the house. I don’t know why I would be taking socks off all over the place; I was a damn kid. I guess I was sloppy, and it just happened, and the socks had to be off right then and there. Parents got fed up with this. And so, to get my dirty socks back, I had to pay a quarter per sock. It doesn’t seem like a big deal at first, but it adds up when you’re nine.”
2.
“We were never allowed to be alone. We had to be in our parent’s sight at all times. And we weren’t allowed to go to the bathroom without asking permission, even when I was 18.”
u/Amelia_Raeee
3.
“I knew a family that ate dinner alphabetically, by course. So, for example, asparagus, then chicken, then rice.”
4.
“When he went to university, a friend of mine had to call his mother every day at 8 p.m. to tell her what he’d done that day and what he was studying. If he were even 10 minutes late, she would start calling nonstop until he picked up.”
—u/Kilen13
5.
“I know someone who at 19 was not allowed to drive on the highway; she was also not allowed to drive at night, in the rain, or anything but perfect weather.”
6.
“I overheard a family aghast because they heard me say the word ‘no.’ The kids were like ‘she said a bad word.’ Why would you teach children that ‘no’ is a bad word?”
—u/Mellymel75
7.
“My parents never let me look at people kissing on TV when I was a kid. Not sure what they were trying to teach me, but I guess I could blame them for my adult awkwardness in PDA situations, including my own.”
8.
“‘Penis’ and ‘vagina’ were bad words in my house when I was growing up. I still don’t know why. I would get punished for saying either of those words even if I was talking about my own body.”
—u/giraffemoo
9.
“I was not allowed to hang out with friends unless my parents knew their parents. Even when my parents knew their parents, I was only allowed to go out with friends if the parents would be around.”
10.
“We had to leave our bedroom doors unlocked and fully open at all times. It made puberty a difficult time…”
—u/Stroke_My_Weeenie
11.
“I knew someone in middle school whose mom had a rule that she had to place a mat thing down before sitting on their couch. Their dog was allowed to sit down on the couch, but she wasn’t.”
12.
“I was only allowed to play video games on holidays. It was the dumbest rule because my parents always got me and my brother N64 and Gameboy games for Christmas/birthdays. Still, we would hardly be able to play them… and then they would get mad at us for playing video games the entire day on Easter/Christmas/birthdays when they wanted us to ‘spend time with the family.’ We used to sneak around sometimes by stealing our Gameboys and running into the forest to play.”
13.
“Phones were turned into my parents weekly (at a random time and unknown day) unlocked, to be looked through.”
14.
“My dad was a pretty hardcore atheist. There was no religion allowed at home. I couldn’t talk about it, couldn’t play with other kids after school in case they were religious, and couldn’t read any religious books. And we couldn’t watch TV on Sundays because of religious shows.”
—u/metalic_acid
15.
“You could have an afternoon snack at 3:30 sharp; if you missed 3:30 (like 3:35), you were shit out of luck and had to wait for dinner.
16.
“In middle school, I was forbidden from wearing makeup and wasn’t allowed to shave my legs. I remember feeling so embarrassed in gym class. I was called ‘horse legs’ by ruthless kids because I couldn’t shave my legs. I don’t even care to shave my legs now, but I remember begging my mom to let me use her razor. She always said shaving was for grown folk and that I was trying to be an adult.”
17.
“I was not allowed to go anywhere alone until like 14. Not even allowed to walk to school with friends. I assumed everyone was that sheltered until I started high school and realized it was just me.”
18.
“We had a lock on the fridge and were never allowed to help ourselves to anything — you had to ask. Usually, the answer was ‘no.'”
—u/AptCasaNova
19.
“‘You eat everything you’re served.’ So if they put a whole lot of food on our plate, and we had already eaten enough and were not hungry anymore, we would have to stay on the table until we were done.”
20.
“My mom never let us whistle. She said it would attract mice. I now know she was just making stuff up because whistling annoyed her.”
—u/tzomqe
21.
“Juice always had to be watered down to 50%. It wasn’t a bad rule. After all, it saves calories and money, but it totally blew my mind when I found out that other families drink orange juice full strength.”
22.
“8:30 bedtime. My. Entire. Damned. Life. Though, I knew as a teenager that making your high schooler go to bed when it was still light out half the time was whacko.”
23.
“Only three sheets of toilet paper allowed per trip to the bathroom. This included if you went ‘number two.’ I swear my mum used to stand outside and listen, and she just knew when I used more, I would get yelled at, and she would nearly break down the door. This occurred into my teen years.”
Do you have one to add? What was a strange kids rule you experienced growing up, either in your own household or outside of your home? Tell us in the comments or in this anonymous form.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
