Did an adult ever do something really petty/mean to you as a child (semi-lighthearted)

[DontKnowWhatToThink7]

Did an adult ever behave in a really petty or mean way to you when you were a child?

There was actually quite a few occasions but this one really sticks out in my mind.

when I was at school. Every year there was a dance that was performed to the parents around the time the school was breaking up for the summer holidays. Myself and another boy from my class were chosen to perform along with some other children chosen from other year groups. We each had an understudy in case we couldn't perform. Anyway, the parent of my understudy came up to me when the performance was due to begin and demanded that his daughter dance instead. I was basically told by him that his daughter was doing it and that was it. I was so taken back by it that I just said OK. I was 10.

Looking back I just think it was such odd behaviour, especially as a mum with a child in primary school.

Anyone else?

My geography teacher said in front of the class that she was glad GCSEs had taken over from O Levels because 'people like Terry' wouldn't be able to rely on exam performance any more and would fail the coursework.

Undiagnosed ADHD was the issue you awful bastard.

Support and years later, two degrees and a great job thanks. I'm fairly sure I've done better than she ever did. I assume she's long dead but this stuff sticks.

Urgh teachers.

We had one who made up line up boys/girls each side, sit on the floor till we were quiet. I was a good kid, never in trouble, I refused because my mum would kick off about a dusty uniform.

He made me wear a dunces hat in the corner. This was 1996!!!! Dickhead.

I remember practising a Chopin piece on the piano for weeks and I was so proud when I finally mastered it. It was an easier arrangement not the original. My neighbour, who was an excellent pianist and my friend, came round with her mum and she asked me to play it. Afterwards her mum said, nodding to her daughter, "let's hear how it's meant to sound". And she grinned as her daughter reluctantly played the proper version. I can remember being embarrassed but also thinking what a bitch she was. Ironically, she thought she was a brilliant artist and often invited neighbours around to see her, frankly rubbish, paintings. Before going over there, my mother would always warn us to be polite so as not to hurt her feelings!

My Uncle was getting married - Again - his new wife wanted all the girl cousins to be bridesmaids. Their were 5 or 6 of us and we were all together one day playing at my Mums house so he asked us then. I was the oldest about 11. Everybody said yes and was really excited. Then he turned round to me and said No not you. You are too ugly.
I cried and howled for hours I couldn't control myself. I couldn't explain to my Mum what was wrong and locked myself in my room.
Later he said it was just a joke and I made far too much fuss about it. Mum insisted to me that I had to do it therwise I was being rude to them. New auntie was lovely and really told him off. I felt sick the whole time and was so worried he would say something else about it.
It still affects me now and I hate him wholeheartedly 40 years later.

My brother’s friend’s mum used to occasionally cross paths with me growing up e.g. having coffee with my mum, school activities, etc.

I always got weird vibes from her then she started making little barbed comments when no one else was around. It would be things like “you give your mum such a hard time” and “you’re an odd one aren’t you”. It used to really unsettle me.

I found out in later years she didn’t let her son/friends sit on the sofas (!) at her house, and I often wonder if she was the reason behind her son having a breakdown in early adulthood and getting into drugs. Bitch.

As a small child, maybe 6 or 7 playing at a friends house.
Friends mother calls up to friend “ do you want a sandwich “ friend replied yes.
Shortly afterwards friend called down for her sandwich.
Friends mum called me down and said I had to go home as they were having lunch.
I walked home alone.
I felt like shit on the bottom of that woman’s shoe.
Loved playing with friend as she had wonderful toys and was fun.
I think that her mother didn’t like my mother so took it out on me, made me feel uncomfortable and awkward.

I remember being made to feel shit a lot by adults as a child. I was scruffy, had no nice clothes, DV and very unhappy home life.
Adults being deliberately spiteful and cruel because of my clothing, scruffy hair.
Surely they could see what a miserable little wretch I was but they made me feel worse.

Some of these seem to be not deliberately cruel ie: not having lunch at friends house:maybe the mum thought you would go home for lunch and hadn't arranged to feed you and didn't have enough and didn't realise how she made u feel, some people joke more than others and whilst a shit joke saying not you cos you're too ugly could just have been a lighthearted joke that some kids would have got and bantered back and not meant to hurt and upset you unless there was deeper and more words than that I don't see that as being intentionally cruel but can see how it could make a child feel and would never condone it but my relatives often used to say things like that and it was never meant in a horrible way more in a bantering funny way. But I get if that's how u feel that's how you feel.

When I was about 6 or 7, mums old friend from med school visited from abroad with her daughter who was about 15-16ish and they were staying at our house for a few weeks during the summer holidays.

One day a plan is made that she wanted to go to the local shopping centre, and as my parents were working that day, friend offered to take me along as well. No problem mum says, and hands her £50 incase I wanted food or saw something I liked whilst shopping (unknown to me at the time).

We were out for almost 6 hours, walking up and down the shops whilst THEY enjoyed shopping and eating and drinking. Sly cow pocketed the money my mum gave and I wasn’t offered one bit of food or drink. Back then I was too painfully shy to ask an adult if I needed anything and thought she’d have to pay out of her pocket for me.

When we got home she made a big fuss of how I didn’t like anything and was refusing to eat any food. Mum was too gracious a host to ask what happened with the £50. I only told her the truth a few years back and she was shocked that her friend could have acted that way with a child.

Still pisses me off when I think about it.

I was struggling with mathematics as a child.
I had a very nasty female teacher during 1 year in primary school and she kept humiliating and pressuring me once to give me the correct answer to a mathematical issue in front of the whole class. I felt so pressured and was nearly in tears but managed to give the correct answer eventually. She humiliated me after that by going into the classroom next to ours, grabbing the jar with small flags that were put on someone’s desk when it was their birthday and planted it firmly on my desk as a sarcastic ‘congratulations’ on my achievement. She also left the door between the 2 adjoining classrooms open so the other class could see as well what she did to me. She did that to a child that she knew was already being bullied. I have never forgiven her and I truly hope someone is abusing her the way she abused an innocent girl, she absolutely deserves it. I felt too ashamed to tell my mother as I felt at that time I had done something wrong but told her years later. She was furious with the teacher and wished she would have known because she would have gone to the school and tried to get this woman sacked. Which I doubt would have happened because it was well known some parents moved their children to other schools to avoid her becoming their child’s teacher.

I was in nursery or reception, can’t remember which, but I know I was still doing half days. At snack time they were offering toast with a choice of spread. I saw a brown jar and thought it was chocolate (which I wasn’t really allowed to have at home) so picked that one, only it wasn’t chocolate, it was marmite. I took one bite, didn’t like it and said I didn’t want to eat my toast. The teacher made me sit at the table until I’d agree to eat it. I did try another bite but it just confirmed that I hated the taste, and so I refused to eat another bite. Every time I tried to move away from the table she’d pull me back and make me sit back down with this shitty piece of toast. All the while pointing out to me how much fun the other children were having playing without me. At the time they were also hatching eggs in an incubator, and chicks had started to emerge, but she even closed the door to the room where the incubator was so I couldn’t watch the chicks from where I was sat. If any other children tried to engage with me she’d move them away too. It was actually really distressing and by the time my grandma arrived to collect me at lunchtime, I’d cried so much that I’d worked myself up to a point where I couldn’t even get my words out to tell her what was wrong. I eventually calmed down enough to tell her why I’d been so upset once we got home. With that she put my coat back on, marched me back down to nursery, and practically tore the teacher a new one. My parents took the day off work the next day and went in to give her another round of fury too. We lived in a small village where everybody knows each other and everybody always says hello, my parents and grandma still live there. To this day (30 years on) my mum and grandma still hold a grudge against the woman and refuse to acknowledge her or say hello 😂

@Iampicklerick

I’ve got a serious one. After my dad died we were going through his things and I asked for an ornament and was snapped at by my aunt (whilst she took all the majorly expensive items) “you can’t have everything!”

Otherwise I witnessed one done to my own child. A friends husband very delicately feed his daughter grapes in the kitchen, my son toddled over and said in his best voice “can I have one please?” and the absolute sod ignored him and carried on feeding his child. My son said again, please can I? Then when his wife walked in said in a massive performance “you have to say please and you can have one”. I watched the whole thing from the door as I’d gone to the toilet - i got our coats there and then. Not seen them since.

Please tell me you told them exactly why you were leaving? I’d have struggled to physically restrain myself.

@EveningPrimeMinister

Age 11/12 ish, last year of primary. I was doing a Girl Guides show. The rehearsals were at a school in the next town every Sunday afternoon for a couple of months. It was the middle of winter. We didn't have a car and my mum had a terminal illness so I got the bus alone which went once an hour. I needed to leave 5 minutes before the end of rehearsals to catch the bus home or have a long wait in the dark for the next one. There was a nasty leader who made a big deal of this and used to make we wait so I often missed it. No one else got the bus and I just remember standing alone at the bus stop in the dark and cold watching other girls being driven home by parents.

I've never forgotten how shit it made me feel (I often drive past that bus stop) and always make sure dcs friends had lifts if needed.

That’s bloody awful that not one person thought to give you a lift home, some people are utterly thoughtless & selfish.

When I was 7 I didn't wash my hands after dinner and used my grandad's computer so he locked me in the bathroom alone and turned the light off for a good few hours

He got in deep shit for that and was never left alone with me again!

@HippyMoon

When I was 7 I didn't wash my hands after dinner and used my grandad's computer so he locked me in the bathroom alone and turned the light off for a good few hours

He got in deep shit for that and was never left alone with me again!

This is truly shocking. If one of my child’s grandparents did that they would be reported to the police for child abuse and would never see my DS ever again. I can’t believe anyone could do this to a child 😧

Class trip when I was in infant school. I think we were at a park. Teacher buys herself an ice cream from van. Child comments on her getting herself an ice cream but none for us kids. Teacher responses by buying ice creams for everyone apart from that child.

I wish I hadn't read this thread. I can't stand cruelty to children no matter how much it is wrapped up as "banter" or teasing. I have a headache now and feel crap! I am not blaming you OP, or any of the other pp, I read the title yet still chose to read the thread. My heart goes out to all of you who got treated so horribly when you were children ❤

I stayed in a summer camp when I was 12. Our group (girls) had a male supervisor 😳. There was a traditional German party called "Neptunfest", where Neptune grabs people to throw them into a lake/pond/swimming pool to "baptize" them. My supervisor made sure I was grabbed and given a really nasty, name-calling name. He got into big trouble later after my dad reported him for showering with us!

I was one of very few pupils in my highly selective independent secondary school to come from a state primary, and had found going up to big school with much more privileged children quite a new world, as I was on a bursary covering most of my fees. The building was like a smaller version of Hogwarts - my old primary was a dilapidated 60s block.

For our first English homework we had to write a creative story about first impressions, so I wrote mine about the new school and how fancy it seemed, and it felt a bit dreamlike going into such a beautiful building each day. The teacher asked for volunteers to read theirs out and I proudly put my hand up. I read out my story, and everyone laughed at me. The teacher said something like "and that is what you call complete rubbish" and humiliated me further. I didn't do any public speaking after that until I was nearly 40.

About 7 or 8 I think and my friend’s dad had taken us both roller skating. There was another girl there whose Mum ran the tuck shop or something - I can’t remember exactly what she did. The other girl and her group of friends used to skate around after us and try and wind us up. Just kid stuff but, when you’re 7(ish), that annoys you. When we’d had enough, we told her that she must be a baby because she had training skates on. She went crying to her mum who came and grabbed us both by the wrists hard as we were skating around and screamed at us for bullying her child.

My friend’s dad was furious and when he told this to my parents too, they both went and complained about her. She was never there again luckily!

@AndNoneForGretchenWieners

💐 I'm so sorry that happened to you. That's absolutely dreadful.

It's so sad reading the long term implications of so many of these acts of cruelty.

Being marched back to nursery from pre-school aged 3 because I couldn’t / wouldn’t write my name. It is my first memory and set me up with low confidence throughout my schooling and beyond. Incidentally, my daughter reports children being sent back to nursery as a punishment from her reception class.

One Boxing Day when I was around age 10 at my Nan and her husbands house I was suddenly overcome with the urge to stick a piece of Puzz 3D up his nose.

Unbeknownst to me he went into the kitchen and squirted ketchup onto a tissue and came back into the living room moaning hysterically that I'd given him a nosebleed. I was absolutely mortified and terrified I would get a bollocking off my awful Stepmother.

All calmed down when he started laughing and let me in on the joke. He was always one to play pranks and I adore him to this day but I didn't half shit myself.

When I was at secondary school in
Late eighties/ early nineties there were a number of staff who were just unkind.
One Mrs C (who I really liked) used to refer to me as a ' skank' on a regular Basis When I won the book prize for English she said down the mee

Sorry cut myself off....
When I received my award she told me and anyone else in earshot that I had had the grace of an African elephant .
That's always stayed with me.

At primary school in the mid 70s. A friend and I were accused of stealing from another child. We knew who had done it. Despite denying it we weren't believed. In the end, reluctantly we told the teacher who the culprit was. She told us we were lying as said person was a bit of a teacher's pet. We were called awful names and I'll never forget it.