Rules you had in your childhood that now seem bizarre?

[Tattted]

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.

We weren’t allowed to watch TISWAS because it was ITV

I wasn't allowed to wear red shoes or an anklet (highly fashionable at the time) because it would make me look like "a lady if the night"

@Ducksurprise

A whole room for best. We struggled for space in the back room whilst the front room lay empty. I only ever went in there on Christmas night and the day my mothee died. It always smelt musty

My aunt had this. It was called "the front room" the only time it got used was weddings, funerals and christmas. We used to visit at christmas and sit in there and it was always chilly and damp. My parenta always made sure we had a warm cardigan or jumper on.

*of

Oh and not allowed to watch Soaps. Ever. I once got 'caught' watching Shortland Street after school and my DF walked in, turned the TV off and walked out without ever saying anything.

Also DF won't tolerate swearing, even bigger or bloody hell. I'm 32 and swore in front of him accidentally recently and got a complete dressing down

2 baths a week
Finish everything on the plate
All meals meat veg potatoes
Wrapped biscuits ie Kit Kats were only allowed at weekends
Only in charge of remote when kids tv was on
No phone calls before 6pm
No talking when dad came in from work
No driving to places on a bus route
No laying on the bed in the day
No feet on settee
Meals at the table

🙄🙄🙄

At my grans the living room was only used on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, during which time the tree was on a ledge in the corner, and the 'good' dining table was set out with Christmas dinner and then cold cuts on Boxing Day. Complete with a dish of quality street and satsumas. It felt very posh. I was allowed to play on the piano at Christmas too, which took pride of place in the living room, untouched the other 363 days a year.

@Riverlee

I’d forgotten that. Fizzy drinks were only for birthdays and Christmas for us also. I’ve wondered since if it was because they were relatively more expensive than they are today.

yes they were. My Dad got paid on a Friday and he would go to the off licence and buy us crisps and fizzy drinks and beer for himself, also a bottle of wine (spanish sauternes) to have with sunday lunch. The rest of the week it was squash or water with meals...in case anyone is wondering my Mum didnt like alcohol much so she had bitter lemon but would enjoy wine with sunday lunch

Half a piece of fruit only (for reasons of frugality) per day.

One of us always had to job each evening of rushing around to draw the curtains and make sure all the doors were shut, lights off upstairs etc.

No fizzy drinks except for birthdays and Christmas but orange squash was usually available.

We were allowed a tiny glass of home made wine with Sunday lunch though, which we often diluted or poured over our pudding, for some reason.

And my mum baked a lot so every day after school there was always cake or biscuits, pretty much always a home made pudding after dinner.

I know this is about bizarre rules but I'm also feeling quite nostalgic.

Once up and dressed in the morning there was no back going into the bedroom until bedtime.
No reading too much.
Bath only on Friday night, and only for 10 minutes.
Not allowed to wear trousers until age 13.
No tights - no explanation just verboten.
No watching ITV, terribly common.

Saying “I’m full” was vulgar. We had to say “l have had an ample sufficiency”.

In the early 80s, high up men in the Catholic Church were discussing whether virgins could be allowed to use Tampax. So sort of not surprised that some parents were anti. Remember thinking it was pervy that they'd be discussing it...

I feel very sorry for a whole generation who missed out on T-Bag because of this bizarre no ITV rule.

We were absolutely not allowed to watch Eldorado. Even if my dad wasn’t in the house, he decreed that we would not watch it.
Oddly specific.

If we went to public toilets and there was no paper my mum would carefully tear a tissue in half for me and sis to use (I can't remember if she got a whole one herself!) Money was quite tight when we were kids but I'm not sure it couldn't have stretched to a whole tissue to wipe your bum!
Some friends we used to visit regularly had a rule that they announced very frequently and loudly but no one abided by that everyone, I think they meant children, must be quiet for an hour after lunch. This was announced on picnics and at the beach but tbh no one took any notice!

Another was curtains closed (and tucked into the radiators) as soon as it was dark. However switching lights on was meant to be kept to a minimum.

We had the “no ketchup with beans” rule as my dad would say the beans are the tomato sauce

We were allowed a slice of bread with dinner but you weren’t allowed to make whatever you had for dinner in to a sandwich

No feet allowed on the sofa

We weren't allowed lollies on sticks, if we got one for someone's bday my mum would get a rolling pin and bash them up.

My dad would set the boiler temperature so it was barely luke warm, if I turned the temperature up they'd tell me it'll break the boiler and go mental, so I used to shower vv late at night, whack the temp up to normal shower temp before putting it back to the same place afterwards.

My dad always had a chair he sat on in the livingroom and no one was allowed to sit in it.

If you wanted to eat something out the fridge you needed to check it wasn't for anyone (mainly my dad). When I first got with my husband and went back to his family home he said "help yourself to food in the fridge", I'd check "is this for anyone special"? Even now married with 3 kids if my husband goes shopping I say "is this for you?" Erm no its for anyone who wants to eat it!

My showers are hot now and I dont have to sneak about in the dead of night to have one 😆, it's amazing!!! My parents still say to my husband "does she still have the shower hot?" my husband just replies we just have the boiler at a normal temp - you know hot 😆

No ITV

No eating in the streets/public transport

No choice in clothes/hair style until I was 18

No tampons - I'd no longer be a virgin if I used them (Last time I saw my mother, I was 40 and had bought a box with me when I was staying with her. She still didn't approve!)

No sanitary protection to be left in the bathroom

No discussing or even mentioning the word 'period' in front of my father and two brothers

No friends visiting after school

No hobbies after school/at weekends

No tomato sauce allowed the house - it's common and ruins food (I still don't like it)

No McDonalds/Fast food - also common

No staying out all night/going away with anyone of either sex, even after turning 18. I got bollocked for going to a 21st birthday party and coming home at 3am, a week before I got married...

We weren't allowed to watch Grange Hill but I can't remember why!

my dm used to say "i've had a sufficiency""

Strangely our ITV rule was relaxed for Tiswas. (my mum didn't like Swap Shop).

There was also the rule about the anklet, but I don't think that was my mums. We all just knew that only prostitutes or loose women wore anklets

@Katshouldnotswim

Not quite childhood but I was 17 an just passed my driving test.

It was “illegal” to drive and wear sunglasses apparently and I could be stopped by the police for doing so.

35 years later and I still do a little smug “ I don’t care “ when I drive wearing them !

Erm... what?

Don’t touch the walls.

Couldn’t watch Brookside, strange because we never did anything or went anywhere and just watched TV allllll the time, including Eastenders which is much the same so I suspect it was because it has lesbian characters (knowing what my parents are like )

Also we could never have food or drink out, so if we were out shopping or such like we had to wait til we got home for a drink. As I got older, we could share a piece of flapjack from a random health food shop. When I was much older my mum realised how hangry I got .

A lot of rules were unspoken/unwritten but you just knew never to ask as it wasn’t worth the hassle. Like I couldn’t get a lift anywhere as ‘no one else’s mother works full time’ so I basically couldn’t see any friends as a teenager.

Only eat at the table
No Tampax
No ear piercing until 16+
On pancake day we had to have a big dinner and pancakes for pudding. I always longed for just pancakes, but that was forbidden!!
No slip on school shoes
Red clothes/shoes forbidden