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.

My dad controlled the tv. We weren’t allowed to even think about wanting to watch anything else.

Once he came home the house was closed we didn’t go out and he was In Charge.

When there was a thunderstorm the tv and all lights had to be switched off. We used to sit in darkness , in total silence waiting to be blown to oblivion

Oh yes I remember this, turning off and unplugging almost everything and turning the lights off. We didn't have to sit in silence though.

I also remember the no snacks thing when out and about. If we saw an ice cream van my dad would say "we've got lollies or choc ices at home" . We weren't particularly hard up so I don't know why we were never allowed one 🤣

[quote godmum56]@Etak123
"To be fair, it’s bad for your digestion to drink when you eat, your stomach/gut can’t get all the goodies out properly lol a dietitian told me x"
"I would purely LOVE to know the research on that one. I used to work with dieticians helping people with swallowing/eating problems including people who were peg fed. Peg fed individuals had their tubes flushed with water before and after feeds and people with some swallowing issues were encouraged to drink as they ate to keep the food from collecting in their mouths....and what about soup? fruit in juice and so on?[/quote]
I would question the qualifications of a dietitian who says a glass of water with a meal has a detrimental effect on normal healthy digestion. It's a very outdated concept, I can't imagine they've kept up their CPD. Where would it leave miso soup and the like if it were true? Total nonsense.

No milk bottles on the table!

@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.

My dad ( who was born in the late 20s into extreme poverty) used to do this. He had a pen knife and used the slice the Mars bar into enough pieces for all of us 😀 bearing in mind Mars bars were much bigger when I was a kid, we always looked forward to it!!

Not allowed to use or answer the phone during a storm otherwise we'd get struck by lightning

My grandparents were the same about showers and baths. I think it was just that generation. They would roll their eyes at me and say I must be the cleanest girl in all the town and that I was self obsessed

My parents were slightly more relaxed. They were happy for me to shower every day BUT we had a 3 minute timer in there and if the shower was still on at the end of the 3 minutes I was grounded. Seems utterly ridiculous to me now. I remember having to make my case for allowing a 5 minute shower once or twice a week so I could at least have a chance at washing my hair properly. They seemed to think that washing it in the sink would suffice... I have VERY thick, curly hair, so that never really worked for me. They just couldn't understand why anyone would need to be in the shower for more than 2 minutes and 59 seconds.

@mumofEandE

We all had to go to the toilet (for number 2s) as well as washed / dressed / have breakfast before we were allowed to open our Christmas presents - it never occurred to me to lie

You had to poo before you could open your Christmas presents?!

I'm 61

Eating at the table
Using cutlery properly
Never taking the biggest slice if cake were passed around
Pastry forks and pastries (German father)
Asking to leave the table
Not eating in the street
Shaking hands firmly
Standing up straight and smiling
Always being impeccably turned out
Please may I have

Can't see any issues and my DC were brought up accordingly.

My stepfather who appeared when I was about 12 was obsessed with not having lights on. Bloody miserable. And had an issue about the hairdryer overloading the electricity supply .

My mother's only "funny" was that dates/boyfriends should always see a girl home to the door. She would never have allowed a boy/man to stay over. To this day DH and I would never dare do the deed under her roof. She's been married three times

No talking during Gardener's World.

That was the only rule.

@Squirrel26

Not allowed to watch Heartbreak High as it was 'unsuitable', or one particular episode of Casualty as it was 'disturbing'. Everything else was fine...as long as it wasn't on ITV.

We also had to say 'please may I get down' at the end of meals and for a brief (and unsuccessful) period we were supposed to speak only in French at tea time.

lol at having to speak French at tea time.

If you were ill but still felt hungry, you were well enough to go to school.

Oh and as a teenager she was happier for me to smoke in the house than be so vulgar as to smoke in the street!

@RosesAndHellebores

I'm 61

Eating at the table
Using cutlery properly
Never taking the biggest slice if cake were passed around
Pastry forks and pastries (German father)
Asking to leave the table
Not eating in the street
Shaking hands firmly
Standing up straight and smiling
Always being impeccably turned out
Please may I have

Can't see any issues and my DC were brought up accordingly.

My stepfather who appeared when I was about 12 was obsessed with not having lights on. Bloody miserable. And had an issue about the hairdryer overloading the electricity supply .

My mother's only "funny" was that dates/boyfriends should always see a girl home to the door. She would never have allowed a boy/man to stay over. To this day DH and I would never dare do the deed under her roof. She's been married three times

Those weren't rules. Those were just the things we did.

My children (now adults) do the same, but that's basically just manners and consideration, not rules.

@Fizbosshoes

When there was a thunderstorm the tv and all lights had to be switched off. We used to sit in darkness , in total silence waiting to be blown to oblivion

Oh yes I remember this, turning off and unplugging almost everything and turning the lights off. We didn't have to sit in silence though.

not sure about the TV and lights thing but its still suggested that surge protection plugs are used for computers

@The2Omicronnies

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

I’m 35 and won’t let them plugged in, incase they turn on and burn the house down when I’m at work 😂

@334bu

If you were ill but still felt hungry, you were well enough to go to school.

I'd agree with this, too.

When I was a child, the measure of illness was not being able to get out of bed. I extended this to my own DC. High temperatures and/or D&V meant no school. Otherwise, school.

@Cattoes bless you. I'm sure that what you have shared accounts to child abuse. If you got the EMA we are probably a similar age, late 30s? Walking for miles in the countryside? It will make me pay attention to my kids' friends if they keep turning up having walked to ours in the countryside and plan on waking back if a lift isn't offered.

Multiple rules in our house, all of which got broken if we thought we wouldn't get found out! Things like ..

Only 1 sheet of loo paper for a wee, and a max of 3 for number 2s.

No TV on Sunday unless it was something my parents wanted to watch.

TV channels were chosen by our parents. If we didn't like what was on we had to sit in silence or go to our bedroom to read an approved book.

Only wash hair once per week (in the sink), and never after 6pm, or on Sundays, or if we had a cold.

Shared bath once per week and only allowed 5 minutes in the water - I was eldest child so had to go last after 4 younger brothers and sisters - so disgusting that I used to flannel wash in the sink rather than get into that filthy water.

Telephone lock on at all times (old fashioned finger in the hole dialing ring) and parents would sit and listen to (and time) our calls so they lasted no more than 3 minutes.

Loads more that were so blooming ridiculous I can't even begin to list them. No wonder I left home at 16 and got a live in job as a chambermaid in a local hotel!

[quote godmum56]@Etak123
"To be fair, it’s bad for your digestion to drink when you eat, your stomach/gut can’t get all the goodies out properly lol a dietitian told me x"
"I would purely LOVE to know the research on that one. I used to work with dieticians helping people with swallowing/eating problems including people who were peg fed. Peg fed individuals had their tubes flushed with water before and after feeds and people with some swallowing issues were encouraged to drink as they ate to keep the food from collecting in their mouths....and what about soup? fruit in juice and so on?[/quote]
I didn’t research it lol I think it depends on what and how much, like when you can’t drink milk with certain medications, or it’s just rubbish lol

We had to leave the kitchen when the microwave was on because you know radiation.

School shoes were brown leather hush puppy brogues only and bought to grow into as they were expensive. I had broken both arms and had endless sprains, grazes and bruises by the age of 16 falling over my clown size shoes. My poor mum had dreadful feet from cheap shoes so it was well intentioned.

Couldn't speak when adults were on phone had to be deathly quiet,
Couldn't speak when getting out of the car on the driveway incase people heard us getting out the car.
Couldn't ask anyone for favours or to do anything for you.
Bath once a week on a Sunday.
No friends in the house.
Radio 1 every morning and on a Sunday.
Dessert once a week on a Sunday.
New clothing kept for best.
No lights on until it was very dark.
Not allowed to close the curtains in the lounge as my mother had pinned them perfectly, as a child I felt self conscious that people could see in.
They still don't close their curtains 30 years later.

No cold drinks with fish and chips because 'it'll set the grease'

@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 only ever heard that from my German exchange girl’s mother, and even decades ago I thought it was some old wives’ tale,out of the ark. My DM thought the same!