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Original poster

What things were you not allowed as a kid that you can now do to your heart's content?

220 replies

BubblesInTheTub · 25/10/2018 09:28

I know this has been done before but I love these threads.

I'll start:

  • We never ever used to have Paracetamol in the house unless someone was actually ill with a cold or the like. I used to have horrendous period pains but pain relief was never available. Now I pick up Paracetamol whenever I'm in a shop (I think I've got about 20 boxes at the moment) and I take it whenever I need to.
  • When I was a kid drinks were like food, you got a drink, you drank it and it was finished until the next drink. I've always needed to drink quite a lot and remember always being a bit thirsty as a kid. Nowadays I have a drink constantly on the go - a water/coke/squash just on the table for whenever I need a sip.
  • When I was about 12, it suddenly became very uncool to wear a backpack. I used to walk two miles to school loaded up with really heavy shit sitting on one shoulder. Now I'm an adult and don't give a fuck what I look like, I'm happy hiking around town with all my heavy shit loaded up on my back

C'mon tell me yours!

OP posts:
HelloViroids · 25/10/2018 11:30

Reading at the table
Singing at the table Grin
Saying the words “poorly” and “bum”
Having pancakes when it’s not pancake day!
Fidgeting if restless

Redcrayons · 25/10/2018 11:30

Also having long hair. My sister has thick curly hair that took ages to dry, so we both had to have short hair, even though mine is straight and a lot thinner.

AnnabelleLecter · 25/10/2018 11:30

Nice clothes, make-up, long hair
Eating out
A warm house with more than enough space for everyone
Opinions and feelings that are acknowledged
A warm relationship with my dc

riotlady · 25/10/2018 11:34

Eating on the sofa! I love eating my tea and watching something on the telly.

WhoopiGoldbergsCat · 25/10/2018 11:35

Vending machines!
My siblings and I were never allowed to get anything from a vending machine, drinks or little toys.
I often get a coke from the vending machine now, just coz I can.

Knittedfairies · 25/10/2018 11:36

I always appreciate putting on dry clothes if caught out in the rain; we had to sit about in soggy clothes, with my mum saying ‘you’ll dry soon’. Miserable.

Tortoisecharlie · 25/10/2018 11:43

Eat a whole tub of Ben and Jerry’s.

Wear a backpack. Nice one though. Got to keep old lady mad look at bay!

Going to the doctors.

maggienolia · 25/10/2018 11:53

Saying Bum and BOLLOCKS without getting glares of disapproval.
Being able to spend a few hours on the beach and then leave - DM was glued there all day, even if it started raining ; "don't worry, it's just a shower " as Noah sailed past in the ark.
To have new clothes instead of jumble sale finds, and a new coat more than about every four years.

SadieContrary · 25/10/2018 11:54

Standing under the shower for ages. I understand my DP's didn't have a lot of money and were concerned about the bill from the electric shower but my DH is so amused by the length of time I can spend in there these days, dancing away with the radio on 

GameOldBirdz · 25/10/2018 11:54

Not watching TV

Growing up the TV was constantly on even if no-one was in the room. It was just a constant stream of low-brow drivel. Consequently, my childhood home was never quiet.

Now I absolutely love my house being silent and only having the TV on when I actually want to watch something.

I also love not having to watch the soaps Grin

pumpastrotter · 25/10/2018 12:06

Sleep when I want! Children permitted.

Not getting dressed if I don't want to

Ispatienceavirtue · 25/10/2018 12:31

Not so much for me but my children.
I always take my children somewhere for lunch when we are shopping. I remember being dragged around the shops as a child and never being allowed to stop for something to eat , we had to wait until we got home. So now my children always get to choose where to have lunch as a little reward for being dragged around shopping.
Taking my children to the cinema. I never stepped foot in a cinema until I was 15 as my parents thought it was a waste of money as the film would be shown on telly in a year or two!
Biscuits! My parents bought themselves a packet of biscuits to eat on a Sunday which were just for adults!! Biscuits in my house are for everyone.
Sunday's in pjs. Always had to be up and dressed so when we have nothing on we can all stay in our pjs if we want.
Stopping in service stations. Again we were never allowed to stop on a journey , if we were desperate we had to use the lay by for toilet breaks but never allowed food or drinks in a service station or in the car. So every long journey we stop halfway, use the toilet and grab a snack or meal.
Bubbles for their baths. My baths as a child was just water so I loved getting mine bubbles,bath toys,bath crayons etc and big fluffy bath sheets to wrap in afterwards not the thin,small scratchy towels that we had to share so also usually damp!!

Ispatienceavirtue · 25/10/2018 12:32

Wow! That was long - sorry!!

FoulMouthedMotherFigure · 25/10/2018 12:35

Wearing flip-flops!

My DM was convinced flip-flops "ruin your feet" and never allowed me or DB to wear them. I was 16 years old and away from home for a week on a school trip to the Devon coast, when it suddenly occurred to me that I could nip into any seaside souvenir shop I saw and buy a pair of bright yellow, size 5 flip-flops...

Wasn't I the teenage rebel?! Grin

BarbaraStressland · 25/10/2018 12:42

I don't have a "proper winter coat".

Until I left home at 19, I always had to have winter coats that were excessively padded (I looked like the Michelin Man), had a massive hood (I looked like Kenny from South Park), and came way down past my arse (I looked like a dumpy pudding). The winter coat also had to be bought from a "proper shop" like Marks or Debenhams as my mum was convinced that "proper" clothes like coats, shoes, underwear couldn't possible be good enough from a fashion shop like Topshop, Dotty Ps etc.
I had to have a new winter coat every year without fail even if I hadn't outgrown the last one.

Those days of traipsing around "old lady shops" trying to find a coat which matched my mum's exacting standards and which wouldn't get my mercilessly bullied were torture.
Then when I had said coat, I was always too fucking hot and restricted.

I still get a thrill when I buy a new jacket and it doesn't cover my bum or doesn't have a hood.

Justanothernamechange2 · 25/10/2018 12:46

Eating with knife and fork in the wrong hand. My grandma was traditional and would stand over me and i wasnt allowed to eat with them the wrong way.. took me ages to eat cause i cant cut food with the "right hands" for shit. Now i eat how i like.. sometimes i dont evwn get a knife and go all caveman

PlinkPlink · 25/10/2018 13:10

God... my grandparents were so restrictive...

I can now:

  • Watch Grange Hill (though the desire to do so has abated now I'm in my 30s)
  • Say 'Yeah' instead of 'Yes'
  • Stifle my sneezes if I want to
  • Not put Olbas Oil on my tissues if I have a cold
  • Not have a handkerchief in my pocket
  • Use all my pockets and stuff them full of shit if I want to
  • Wear my hair down
  • Use a rubber and scrub it as many times as I damn well please. I am not restricted to 5 rubs.
  • Blow said rubbings away instead of brushing them
  • Chew gum
  • Eat one thing on my plate before the other things
  • Have long nails
  • Gulp my drinks down if I so wish
  • Not take a coat with me wherever I go

There are thousands more...

toomanyjobsin1day · 25/10/2018 13:13

Eat biscuits whenever I like Grin. Get showered whenever I choose🚿 Have a dog as a pet, in fact I have two Grin

JoeElliotsMullet · 25/10/2018 13:29

@BarbaraStressland I am jealous of your annual new winter coats! I remember shivering and wishing for a new coat that had a hood and covered my bum but totally understand that you didn't get to choose or decide so it was a pain for you.
I have just bought my big coat. It is one of those padded duvet type coats with a big hood and it comes down to my mid-calves and makes me look like several tyres stacked on top of each other. DH calls it my football manager coat but I don't care, I will be WARM this winter Grin

Slatkater · 25/10/2018 13:31

Sweets

BarbaraStressland · 25/10/2018 13:33

@JoeElliotsMullet Thing is, I'm a really warm blooded person so big coats were torture for me. It's the not being listened to and not being treated as an separate, autonomous human that bothered me.

My mum would absolutely love your new coat Grin

hamabr86 · 25/10/2018 13:35

Eating more than two biscuits. A bath that is deep enough that I can submerge rather than coming halfway up my thigh. Being able to have the heating on. Bliss.

hamabr86 · 25/10/2018 13:36

Also showering everyday. It was a constant battle with my Dad to get him to let me wash...

bigKiteFlying · 25/10/2018 13:36

Watch what I want when I want on TV.

Go to bed when I want - my parnets were still on visting to my house in my 30s trying to send me to bed - IL have tried with DH.

Being able to have clothes i live in my draws and warbrobes - not one that don't fit feel awful or I hate.

Though a lot of Ispatienceavirtue for children are similar for us.

ConsumerUnitNotTraceable · 25/10/2018 13:39

Being able to spend all day in my PJs and dressing gown.

Being able to fall asleep with the TV on (cannot sleep without noise!)

Using shower gel instead of the one communal bar of soap.

Bath bombs!!