Things you thought were normal/harmless until joining mumsnet

[Antsinyourpanta]

(Lighthearted )
lots of things that I thought were quite normal /fine/harmless before I joined MM seem to be quite abhorrent to a large percentage of posters. I often find myself wondering about whether my perceived normal is actually the minority. Some examples

Home made food or cakes - I bloody love home made cakes and think they are always nicer than shop bought - my first thoughts when offered one is usually yum, a cake! I've never given a moments thought to whether the person owns cats or dogs or has a hygeine certificate.

Ensuite bathrooms - I've got an ensuite bathroom. It's used for any instance where you may need a toilet. Apparently this is very very wrong.

Eating carbs

Bayliss and Harding toiletries - I would not be offended by this as a gift unless it was from my husband

(I'm with you on Thorntons though - they are nasty)

Answering the door to someone - if I see ex criminals selling stuff door to door, I dont answer, otherwise I dont have a problem with answering the door, and i get on with all of my neighbours.

Speaking to and socialising with work colleagues - i speak to, socialise (outside of work) and am friends with most of my work colleagues. I'd count many of them as friends. We buy each other birthday cards and presents and sometimes bring in cakes. (See point 1)

What are the things you've been educated on since joining MN?

I thought it was normal to experience romantic love/affection for someone, find them attractive/gorgeous etc and everyone felt this way.
But apparently romantic love isn't real, the strongest real love is reserved for your children ( what if you don't have children? Can you not experience love?) or your partner, but only if you've known them for 20 years and they're more like your brother now.
Anyone over the age of 15 who admits to finding a person attractive is likened to a teenager.

I'd this is "real love" I'll pass, it sounds dull as ditchwater

That you are controlling and jealous witch if you’re not okay with your husband going jogging, hiking, for lunch, weekend away, with attractive female work colleague. Most of mumsnet totally coolio with that set up, nothing to see here.
Looking at / having access to a long term partners mobile, is a huge invasion of privacy. How it’s ok to shag, procreate, share finances and a home with someone, but even catching a glimpse of a flirty text exchange between dh and above work colleague and wanting to investigate further, will guarantee you pages of responses telling you that’s it’s wrong to look.

I have always kept my toothbrush out in the bathroom, even if there's a loo in the same room. I didn't know about the zillions of poo particles polluting the air.
I think it's just as reasonable to ask visitors to take their shoes off in your house as it is to let everyone keep them on. And I don't keep a basket of new "hotel slippers" by the front door, I can lend thick socks if anyone needs them.
I don't change tea towels every day.
I very often smile at babies and toddlers. I am friendly with lots of neighbours and take in parcels for them.

@Dozycuntlaters

God, where do I start

I have a hot tub
I have a loo brush
My 19 year old DS still lives with me and I love it, and still do stuff like his washing
I have tattoos
I have blue hair
we don't have personal towels, just use what's hanging in the bathroom
I have fake grass

I could go on but think it's best I stop there lol

Get thee to Net Huns.

• God, where do I start

I have a hot tub*

No you don't. You apparently gave a "sex pond". 🤷‍♂️

@PhilCornwall1

* God, where do I start

I have a hot tub*

No you don't. You apparently gave a "sex pond". 🤷‍♂️

Have a sex pond. Stupid phone!!

Omg I love our hot tub. Anyone that slags them off is just jealous.

My mum finds toilet brushes disgusting, she wears rubbers gloves and scrubs the inside of the toilet. How this is any less gross than a toilet brush I'll never know.

Joint finances. I'm always astonished at how many married people with joint mortgages and children work out percentages of each person's income to be contributed or designate certain things for each person to pay ('he pays 72% of the mortgage, the electricity bill, 25.6% of the food shopping, children's activities that fall on Mondays, and I pay 48.24563% of car repairs, gifts for birthdays in months with an R' etc. etc.), or even 'lend' each other money and expect it back If there's financial dysfunction of some kind, I can understand it, but this seems to be the case in perfectly functional relationships too.

Going to the doctor, or indeed wanting a doctor's appointment, with a health issue

Not going all out to make 'mum friends' the instant the second line comes up on the pregnancy test. Likewise not bothering with 'groups' or 'classes' for babies or toddlers. Anyone would think a baby not exposed to these opportunities would be socially hampered for life.

Introducing independence for children gradually rather than locking them in the house until they start secondary school and then turning them loose to get three buses across a busy city unaided.

Saying 'haitch'. (I don't, but I have bene really quite shocked at the number of people who are ignorant of regional variants and pronounce loftily on what is 'correct speech').

@RogersVideo

Leaving my washing out overnight/for a couple days until I can be bothered to bring it back in.

Gasp, you let your washing be ‘darked’ on 😂

Hmm, as for me, I thought loo brushes were perfectly fine. I also thought it was perfectly normal to offer workmen a drink/use of the loo without starting a 1000 post angst ridden thread with may or may not have a part two (or three)

@MsTSwift

Omg I love our hot tub. Anyone that slags them off is just jealous.

I don't think that's true really. I don't believe that when people say they don't like something that automatically makes them jealous, they just don't like it. DB has one and I've never been in it because I just don't fancy it.

Veganism is a fad diet, rather than an informed decision to consume and use no animal products to protect the environment (or other reason).

Oh, here's another one - the notion of a UK holiday actually being a holiday. There are loads of people on here for whom it doesn't seem to count as a holiday unless it's abroad.

On a related theme, stripping the beds and going round with the hoover in a holiday cottage. 'I don't go on holiday to clean/strip beds' is the usual cry on here.

Putting a wash on while in a self catering holiday let seems to set everyone off. ‘Doing laundry on holiday??’ Well not really, just turning the machine to ‘start’.
They don’t know the joy of bringing no washing home from a holiday. Their loss.

@PermanentTemporary

Even as a comically typical Mumsnetter I have lots of unacceptable stuff going on. The worst probably my attitude to dogs and animals generally- I think 'kill shelters' are sensible and also most animal charities are hugely overloaded with money.

Aaaha burn at the stake! But yes, easily my most heretical opinion on MN: dogs are animals, not equivalent to human beings, and openly admitting to not liking your pet dog/leaving it alone in the house/not walking it twice a day doesn't make you a monster.

Oh yes, being fine with DC staying un the family home past their 18th birthday and doing a bit of laundry for them (TBH I've never understood why you'd make them do it separately when you've got the machine on anyway). Not seeing "kick them out" as the solution to minor irritations like an unwashed plate or towels in the floor.

@Sparklingbrook

Putting a wash on while in a self catering holiday let seems to set everyone off. ‘Doing laundry on holiday??’ Well not really, just turning the machine to ‘start’. They don’t know the joy of bringing no washing home from a holiday. Their loss.

I only ever pack for 3 days. Like you say, wonderful not to bring a week's worth of washing home.

@RunningStrong

Oh yes, being fine with DC staying un the family home past their 18th birthday and doing a bit of laundry for them (TBH I've never understood why you'd make them do it separately when you've got the machine on anyway). Not seeing "kick them out" as the solution to minor irritations like an unwashed plate or towels in the floor.

Haha my teen is the other way round! She is 17 and does all her own washing and ironing and always asks if anyone needs anything washing along with her load!

First time I was like 😲😲😲

Haha my teen is the other way round! She is 17 and does all her own washing and ironing and always asks if anyone needs anything washing along with her load!

Come on, you know better than to be so smug, you know it's only a passing phase

@RunningStrong

Haha my teen is the other way round! She is 17 and does all her own washing and ironing and always asks if anyone needs anything washing along with her load!

Come on, you know better than to be so smug, you know it's only a passing phase

Haha yep totally!!

But I'll take it while ever she keeps doing it 😂

I have learned from MN that the following opinions/actions are beyond the pale:

Loo brushes are useful
A healthy diet can include both carbs and sugar
Children attending funerals
Pooing in someone else’s lavatory
Allowing children to watch a reasonable amount of television
Allowing children to wear the occasional item of clothing with Peppa Pig/Elsa/Paw Patrol on
Sleep training your baby

I could go on…

Earning less than 60k a year

Leaving washing out at night (it’s fine in the summer and is dry by the morning)

Not having a shower before bed when I went to sleepovers at friends houses (my parents should never have let me go because of my poor hygiene apparently)

Giving teenagers/young people some slack because they’re still learning

Enjoying people playing ‘pass the parcel’ with my new baby

Ooh, I have more!

Actually enjoying spending time with one’s extended family, particularly at Christmas
Children attending weddings
Getting on with one’s MIL
Answering the door if someone knocks on it

I thought I had a really good sense of smell before I joined MN but a lot of them can walk in to a room and within a couple of breaths can ascertain

• who has worn their jeans more than once
• who has only had one shower per day
• who has only had a "strip wash " (I was not aware of this phrase before)
• who has a scented panty liner on and
• who uses fabric conditioner.

I wont even mention dry wiping (also a new phrase to me!) 🤣

@BippityBoppity87 it was a stunt pineapple I believe. I remember the thread but can't remember why they needed one. Or was it about properties for sale and a lot of them seemed to have pineapples in their fruit bowls or on the side or something?