To ask you for the things your parents taught you/ did that you just do without thinking??

[Christmastits]

So tonight is like a zoo on the ward im in, people in and out all night. I'm trying to sleep but I can't. My mum came up today to visit me and we were talking about her new dishwasher and I was thinking about that and how when I was a kid the finish powerball things came out and when I 7 I got to put the tablet in the dishwasher

I remember my dad making this massive deal about how you shouldn't touch the tablet- especially the red ball and really drilled it home. So I used to open the tablet and then squeeze it into the tray in the packet never touching the tablet. I still do that today! It was probably because my dad thought I might eat it but I still do the weird dishwasher stuff.

I once heard of a woman who chopped her bacon in half- binned one half and cooked the rest. Her DH asked why bacon was so small and she said that her mum taught her to do it that way, so they asked the Mum and she said that her Mum had taught her that way- they asked the Granny why she chopped the bacon in half and she said that her pan was too small to cook a whole piece of bacon!! 😂 hilarious!

Also my mum took meat out of the freezer and put it on the microwave (because it's out of the way) so I did the same but DH will pick it up and put it on the cooker as that's what his mum does as her microwave is integrated... really annoys me! Although I've started putting it in the fridge because good hygiene..

So please help me get through tonight with your funny things your parents did that you just copied until you thought about it!

[Christmastits]

These are great! So many mushroom peelers! My mum does it too! Didn't realise the bacon one wasn't real oops! Sorry!

[HelgasFlowers]

Mine isn’t one I do but something DD7 has picked up from me. I always tip the milk up in the shop (over my hand) to make sure it’s not a leaker. If I ask DD to get the milk when we’re shopping she now does it too - I didn’t realise she’d even noticed that I did it!

[Fossie]

Something I’ve passed on to the next generation - we all walk ‘the long way’ to the front door from the living room by going through the kitchen. Many years ago we knocked through to the room next to the living room and this is a much quicker route. Most the family though walk the long way round still including the youngest who wasn’t even born until after we had knocked through the wall and therefore can only be copying older family members when heading out to the front door via the longer route.

[Champagneandthestars]

I don't know if this counts but until I was at least 14 I thought you changed your birthday as well as your surname when you got married because my mum and dad coincidentally have the same birthday .

[OhCalamity]

DM rinses the mop then hangs it to let it air dry. So do I. That way you get a non-smelly clean & dry mop on the next use.

DP throws it outside the back door where it gets filthy and stinky and filled with earwigs.

I rinse and tightly wring out the cloth and hang it to dry in between uses. Again it results in a non-smelly cloth to use next time.

DP gives the sopping dirty kitchen cloth an affectionate gentle squeeze and leaves it to fester, then wanders around wondering where the stink is coming from when he's just wiped down the worktops.

Well, he used to. Then he got a bit of a rant and an impromptu TED talk from me about bacteria and how they multiply so much more quickly in a sodden environment than a barely damp /drying one. So I'm hopeful he's learned otherwise I'll start to do likewise with the sponge he uses for his shower.

[RebeccaWrongDaily]

i do the crosses in sprouts, peel mushrooms, warm the pot, peel veg in water.

my mum saves 'the fat' in a weird strainer thing, and reuses it.

I open all the windows every morning (regardless of temperature) to 'air' the beds. Maybe only for half an hour but more often than not for most of the morning if the house is empty.

[Thingsthatgo]

I am very careful when cutting up peppers. When my mum first learnt to cook with them, she was told to ensure she got rid of all of the seeds and remove the ‘fins’ from the inside. She always did it fastidiously, as if the seeds were poisonous, and now I do too. (I have no idea why, but apparently all of my siblings do it as well).

[itssquidstella]

I read something right recently which claimed that cutting crosses in sprouts stems from a mediaeval superstition: apparently, people believed that brassica (sprouts, cabbages etc) harboured demons that upset your stomach and could cause death - presumably because they Malen you fart. So by cutting a cross in the sprout you’re releasing the fart demon before cooking and won’t suffer any ill effects.

I have no idea whether or not this is true, but I really hope it is!

[EmpireVille]

I always peel mushrooms - they're easy to peel.

[Chienrouge]

But do they actually need peeling?

[Lizzie48]

My DM always pealed mushrooms as well.

[Ummmmgogo]

peeling mushrooms is completely normal!

[ArcticMumkey]

I can do my mascara with both hands because my Mum can too and she must have taught me. It was only when a friend pointed it out that I noticed!

[MuseumOfCurry]

I grew up with my mother drumming into my head that I needed to scrub the back of my tongue when brushing my teeth, and that I wasn't done until I'd gagged and made terrible retching noises. She'd stand next to me and chant 'scrub! scrub! scrub!'

I now do the very same thing with my own kids, and my husband hates it and thinks I've passed on my neurosis. It is really the only way to get a clean mouth, mind you.

[YetAnotherSpartacus]

I peel and chop/slice vegetables by hand, (holding them instead laying on the chopping board)

My mother does this. I'm amazed that with arthritis that requires morphine for the pain she can still do them (especially beans) neater than me.

[RebeccaWrongDaily]

oh, and i use scissors to cut up pizza :)

[EmpireVille]

I use scissors to cut up all sorts of food items. It makes a cleaner cut than using a knife e.g. toast soldiers

[halfwitpicker]

Washing up bowl 'on show' at all times in the sink.

DH hides it under the sink - quite rightly.

[halfwitpicker]

Saving clothes 'for best'

Best is NOW!

[Yokohamajojo]

I always give my children flat coke when they are having stomach upsets as that's what my mum did to me and it helped...

[Christmastits]

@Yokohamajojo flat Coke is perfect for poorly tummies- loads of sugar and tastes better than rehydration sachets!

[Christmastits]

@itssquidstella I love that. We mustn't fart unless we've crossed the sprouts!

[babybythesea]

For years I thought that cutting of crosses into sprouts was some sort of religious thing. Thought process went like this: We eat sprouts at Christmas. (We ate them at other times too but there was never quite the solemn emphasis that came with sprouts as part of Christmas Dinner). Christmas is a festival to do with Jesus. Jesus is linked to crosses. Therefore, we put crosses in our sprouts. I don't want to admit how old I was before it dawned on me that it just helps them to cook better. Although I like the farting story above too!

[Christmastits]

@Champagneandthestars that's amazing!!

[n0ne]

I always shake the milk before use (and juice and squash) but the milk def dates back to the milk we used to get delivered that would separate. I also never let the milk leave my hand when making tea - my Dad impressed on me that, to make the milk last infinitesimally longer, it should spend the least amount of time out of the fridge. So when tea is brewed to desired strength, only then grab the milk, put in cup, stir, confirm it's the right colour, IMMEDIATELY put milk back in fridge (I have this down to one smooth motion of maybe 2 secs), then remove bag (squeezed to within an inch of its life to get max strength builders tea).

Also learned from my Dad, I always iron a shirt when I can be arsed to iron at all in the order collar, cuffs, yoke, sleeves, front one side, back, front other side.