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Original poster

Rules you had in your childhood that now seem bizarre?

999 replies

Tattted · 05/02/2022 17:20

As a child/teen living with my parents we were actively discouraged from showering/bathing everyday. It was really frowned upon and seen as unnecessary and probably a bit extravagant. I know probably as a young child I didn’t need to but as I got older and even after I turned 18 and was still living at home they would have been a bit annoyed about it if I wanted to shower everyday . I should say where we live has no water charges so it wasn’t about that. Now as an adult and a mother myself it seems so strange. I realise it’s probably because my parents both came from large families that had very little money and, back then, no hot running water. Even know my parents bath weekly but sink wash every day.

OP posts:
RoyKent · 05/02/2022 18:19

@Mossstitch

Did anyone else have the 'not allowed to wash hair when on a period' or just my weird mother (along with a lot of other weird stuff😕)?!! As a greasy haired teenager this blew my mind and eventually ignored her!
I think Maybe Carrie White might have?
wheresmyshoe · 05/02/2022 18:20

You were allowed a drink before eating but not with food or immediately after food or it would dilute your stomach acid so you wouldn't digest properly. FFS.

Yes to switching kettle off "before it made the noise" i.e. boiled. I still catch myself doing this.
Also once a week baths. That bath had to be taken at least an hour after eating or you'd get stomach cramps.
And the tv being turned over by an adult even if you were in the middle of watching something.
If you were too ill to be at school then you had to stay in bed, no tv, no radio, nothing.

I absolutely love being an adult!

Inspectorslack · 05/02/2022 18:20

Bath once a week on a Saturday night and sink wash on between. Never allowed a shower (parents had an en suite)

No one in (friends of mine) after tea. Not even when I was a young adult.

The2Omicronnies · 05/02/2022 18:22

It didn’t suffice to switch the socket for hair straighteners off at the wall, we had to physically unplug it.

mamaoffourdc · 05/02/2022 18:28

Hair wash once a week in a Sunday,
only shared water for baths,
No drinks allowed at the table as we would fill ourselves up with it
No bedside water
Not allowed to watch other tv channel than bbc

Luredbyapomegranate · 05/02/2022 18:28

@Twospaniels

At Xmas we could open our santa sack in the morning and then presents from relatives etc had to be opened at intervals throughout the day

If we had sweets or chocolate we could only eat one or one piece each day. If we had a cream egg we could only eat half and save the rest for the next day.

This was in the early 1970’s

@Twospaniels

This seems totally sensible to me!

BakedTattie · 05/02/2022 18:29

We were absolutely FORBIDDEN to touch the windows in our car when I was young. We weren’t allowed to eat in the car either. No way.

My dad now takes my children to mcdonalds drive through, they all come home happily eating their meals in the car. My kids are also allowed to breathe on the car windows and ‘draw’ with their finger in the condensation.

Talk about favouritism

mizzo · 05/02/2022 18:32

@FAQs Shock my mouth is dry at the thought!

mizzo · 05/02/2022 18:33

@The2Omicronnies

It didn’t suffice to switch the socket for hair straighteners off at the wall, we had to physically unplug it.
You could be my DD, DH is always on about this!
goodgodlemon · 05/02/2022 18:37

Can i just say I love this thread! I wasn't allowed to choose what clothes were bought for me until I was about 15 and my mum's fashion choices were dreadful. Luckily I got my cousin's hand me downs and I can still remember the joy i felt opening up that bag to see what normal children wore.

Puffalicious · 05/02/2022 18:38

Laughing at some of these- the egg one is brilliant.

We were actively discouraged from talking to other children/ teens on holiday. It was always 'Play with your brother'. I reckon it was because my parents didn't want to need to socialise with other parentsGrin. They weren't anti-social at all, I think they just thought their holiday time was precious and not to be squandered being beholden to sitting with others/ making small talk. So funny.

MissMarplesGoddaughter · 05/02/2022 18:38

Not being allowed to eat an orange and have a glass of milk together. My mother said the oj would curdle the milk in your stomach.

SoItWas · 05/02/2022 18:41

We weren't allowed to touch the rear view mirror in the car, or knock against it climbing into the front seat. My parent would go ape shit and spend 10 mind re-adjusting it. They would never ever adjust their seat either, and we weren't allowed to touch the controls.

This seemed entirely reasonable to me for a long time, until I learned to drive and got my own car/rear view mirror/drivers seat Confused

Moneypennysfreedomfund · 05/02/2022 18:44

@mizzo

If we were having soup we weren't allowed a drink, "the soup is the drink mizzo" Hmm Even now my Mum bristles if I take her out for lunch and order soup and a drink, which I do frequently to make up for all the times I thought I'd die of thirst because the soup is bloody well not the drink!

I wasn't allowed to shave my legs until my Mum deemed me old enough, I'm early 40's and she still hasn't officially told me I can! I've been happily shaving since 11.

We had the delay between opening presents at Christmas too although I loved it as a child and have repeated for my children.
Not a rule as such parents never got up on Christmas morning to see us opening Father Christmas presents. I find that bizarre as a parent.

Lucy Mangan wrote about the soup/ drink issue… seems a common rule for those of us over 40.
Iamanicepersonreally · 05/02/2022 18:44

Not me, but my friend's mum told her she couldn't have a bath while she was on her period. I have no idea why.

craftyminer · 05/02/2022 18:47

None of us were allowed to learn the recorder at school. Me and my twin brother (in the same class) used to have to read quietly in the corner while everyone else did music.

JamSandwich0 · 05/02/2022 18:47

I would be told it's too late for a bath / shower after around 8pm not sure why!

My husband had to eat everything on his plate as a child... Including condiments 🥴 not a drop could be left.

MissAngorian · 05/02/2022 18:48

@RedskyThisNight

My parents had similar rules about bathing/showering. It was a bath once a week with sink washes in between. And no deoderant or conditioner and clothes could only be changed twice a week (except pants) to save on washing.

The most bizarre rule we had was that you were not allowed to ask anyone for help ever as you would then be "beholden" to them. This ranged from things like asking the way to somewhere to getting a lift to asking how to do something at school. It's been a massively hard rule to break as an adult, and I often catch myself struggling unnecessarily because I won't ask anyone else.

Oh my God, the Beholden Rule! I thought this was just my super-paranoid mother. Completely agree it's caused issues into my adulthood feeling like I shouldn't ask anyone for help.
Iwonderifiwonderwhy · 05/02/2022 18:51

TV only on Wednesday or at weekend.

Fruit juice only one cup each twice a week (to be fair we were broke and this was to stop me drinking it all).

Don’t bother the doctor.

CMOTDibbler · 05/02/2022 18:51

Not allowed to watch TV past 9. My mum would get up, turn everything off at the switch and that was it. Even as a visiting adult she was twitchy if I wanted to stay up like I couldn't be trusted to turn it off when I went to bed.
I also never had a doorkey, ever.
We only had a bath on a Sunday evening, but that was as there wasn't enough hot water normally and the immersion had to be ceremonially put on

Sallycinnamum · 05/02/2022 18:52

Not eating on the street or on public transport.

Even now I have to be absolutely starving to even contemplate eating something like a cereal bar in the street!

StrictlyAFemaleFemale · 05/02/2022 18:53

Saving new clothes for "best". Then I'd grow out of them so hardly got any wear out of them. Yes!

Only had pancakes on pancake day.

Tiny glass of juice at breakfast. We had special glasses for this purpose.

1forAll74 · 05/02/2022 18:53

I am an oldie, and when sweets came off being rashioned, Mars bars came in the shops,, My Late Mum took charge of a Mars Bar brought home, and put it on a bread board,and sliced it into several thinnish pieces, so i could only have on slice. maybe each day.. The Mars Bars in the oldie days though, were much longer and chunkier.

I wasn't upset about this frugality, it was just a little treat each day,for a week of small slices of Mars bar, as we rarely had any sweet treats then.

Topseyt · 05/02/2022 18:53

In our house only my parents were allowed to be known by shortened versions of their names. In fact, neither of them have ever been known by their full names.

My sister and I were to be known by only our full names and anyone who addressed us with a shortened version was to be corrected immediately. This wasn't much of an issue for me as my name doesn't easily shorten, but my sister's does and it was for her. Whenever one of her friends was heard using her shortened name they were instantly by my parents. It was embarrassing and cringeworthy to hear.

As an adult, she usually uses her short name.

As adults we have teased my parents plenty about this double standard. It hadn't even seemed to occur to them until then that that was what it was.

Darklane · 05/02/2022 18:54

No bath & no hair washing when on a period either.
Not allowed downstairs in pyjamas, had to get dressed first.
Never allowed to stay home from school just because you felt ill, even if you’d been physically sick. Had to go to school & be sent home to be believed.
Every morning was lined up with the various dogs & cats to be given a spoonful of malt & cod liver oil, off the same spoon. I wasn’t always the first in the line up [ confused]
Always had to ask “ please may I leave the table.?” before being allowed to after a meal.