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.

@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 !

Only recently when I wore sunglasses driving back from the shops' because of the very low sun' I got some odd looks from people. It seems they can only be worn July and August, the sun's irrelevent!

@Mamette

I’m intrigued as to how the 0.5 of a creme egg was stored overnight.

Bet it was put in an egg cup to stop the insides oozing out

@bloodywhitecat

Salad and all unwrapped Pick'n'Mix type sweets had to left to stand in Milton for 30 minutes before we were allowed to eat them. I was 18 and had left home before I realised that salad did not need to taste of bleach.

This is the most nuts one of the whole thread!

@mrwalkensir

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 remember this....and if virgins used them, would they still be virgins....

No ITV in our house either but that was more due to the fact that we had no idea what was on it as the Radio Times (my parents didn’t see the need to buy the TV Times as well) only did the BBC and newspapers hadn’t started doing TV listings yet. I dreamed of watching The Six Million Dollar Man/Bionic Woman (as played in school playgrounds all over the country) but had no idea when they were on!

No eating between meals,
No eating on the street,
No new clothes, always hand me downs, new was unnecessary, except underwear.
No one could leave the table until everyone had finished,
No school friends allowed in the house ever,
Talking in the house only allowed in hushed tones. Silence preferred.
Sitting on a cold floor would give you unspecified problems!

@1forAll74

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.

I’m in my 30s. Slice them up int cubes and put them in the freezer in a box. Love a frozen Mars bar.

We were told not to drink orange juice while eating cereal with milk on because it would turn to concrete 😆🤷🏼‍♀️.
Also did the Christmas present opening as others but I do that with my children now.

@WowIlikereallyhateyou

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

Oh yes, slip on shoes would deform your foot. I’d forgotten that one.

@JudgeJ
"Only recently when I wore sunglasses driving back from the shops' because of the very low sun' I got some odd looks from people. It seems they can only be worn July and August, the sun's irrelevent!"

I need prescription glasses for driving and I have got normal ones for summer and super dark tint for bright days in winter.

My mum had a rule that when I washed my hair it absolutely had to be by 4pm.
She was convinced that if I washed it at night I would catch pneumonia at worst, or a severe cold at best.

@HelloKeith

No red shoes.

No eating outside. However picnics were OK and we were encouraged to eat meals at home outside from March to September, so there was a weird line against impromptu outdoors eating.

Hah, why no red shoes? Too eye catching and would get you in trouble?

School uniform should be worn for two or three days without being washed, I’d hate my children to go to school without freshly washed and ironed shirts.

No slip on shoes.
No sandals with cork soles.
No fashionable shoes. If they weren't frumpy, brown lace ups I wasn't allowed to have them. Even at 16.
No eating in the street
Not allowed to watch ITV because it was common.
Not allowed to eat chips from a chip shop. When I went to teacher training college I had no idea how to order chips. What system of weight did chips come in? What should I ask for ????? A pound of chips, a quarter of chips. I had no idea .Ridiculous

No eating outside of the house as it was ‘scruffy’, ie if you bought a sandwich in town you had to bring it home to eat.
We never brought a drink when we were out, ever. You just had to wait until you got back home.
No toys in the lounge, ever, bedrooms or back room were ok.

I had one white school shirt at secondary school. Worn all week. The collar was black.

I think there was a saying, red shoes no knickers, or something similar.
Like ankle chains, they were supposedly the preserve of ladies of the night.

Mine was having to share bath water at times, so instead I used to empty it, then refill but using a sponge to muffle the water running sounds,
And admitted I drink a cup tea around every 40 mins, and friend used to say that the marks it leaves with the stains in cups, would stain your stomach lining, although I know that's pickles based on the biology of the stomach acids.

No milk at the same time as orange or squash as it would “ quarrel in my tummy” 😂
Don’t sit with back to the fire as it would make me sick.
Sweets only after 2pm on sundays, I’d clock watch from the time I got up😉
No eating in the street ( it was common) my mother would be spinning in her grave to see me now 🤷🏼‍♀️
& my favourite you don’t have butter with peanut butter as it’s got butter in already.
And always phone calls after 6 and very rarely to a school friend as I’d been with them all day.

Similar to this, but we always said please may I get down... from the normal height table and chairs

Yes this is what we had to say too.

We were not allowed to watch Crossroads. I went to a birthday party aged 7. The tv was on for the mums who had stayed. Crossroads was on. I stood in front if it ,absolutely transfixed, whilst the others played musical bumps.

@Teeeefs

Not allowed to lie down on the couch.

No nightmare outside of bedrooms.

Adults controlled the tv so, no matter what you were watching, you couldn’t complain if an adult switched channels without warning.

No talking while adults were on the phone.

My DH likes to reminisce about the first time he spent Christmas at my parents house.

He was sat watching Christmas morning tv and my dad walked past and just switched the tv off without comment.

It’s only been within the last few years that my dad has started to catch on to the idea that other people might want to watch tv when there is nothing he wants to watch on.

@WowIlikereallyhateyou

I think there was a saying, red shoes no knickers, or something similar. Like ankle chains, they were supposedly the preserve of ladies of the night.

A very dear late friend was a roofer. I used to wear a red hat and he used to love shouting "Hello Mrs Red Hat no knickers!" VERY loudly off rooftops at me..!! 🤣 🤣

@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

My sisters and I weren't allowed allowed to bath or (even greater horror) wash our hair when we were on our period because - who the heck knows - we just weren't. It was bad for us, somehow.

And we weren't allowed to sit with our back to the fire because it would weaken our backs.

Bath once a week. No drinking with food. Only virgins could use tampons. Never wash your hair when having a period. All telephone calls to be made after 6 pm. Whiskey toddies if feeling ill (from age about 6 onwards).