To ask what the strangest thing is that you've seen in a family home/life...

[purpleworms]

...that to them was completely normal?

I have just seen someone asked this on an AMA on their Instagram. Their reply was walking around fully naked in front of parents/siblings/any family members.

While this is obviously okay for some, if it happened in a home I was visiting I'd be but that's just because it's not the norm in my family.

I'm racking my brains but I don't think I've ever noticed anything! But people have such different ways/customs within their home lives and routines. We all regard our own as normal without ever really knowing if what's normal to us is strange to others!

I think my mum and dad were a bit weird

1. breakfast table had to be laid the night before complete with cereal boxes, dishes, spoons and jug for the milk
2. No chocolate was allowed in the house, I was caught eating some cooking chocolate once and was called a thief and punished.
3. When all the other children were eating a pack of monster munch at break time I had a small pot of nuts as was not allowed crisps.

4, My mum would drink cans of diet coke but it had to be a certain temperature - after being in the fridge, it would have to go in the freezer for a further 10 minutes to be 'cold enough'.

1. We weren't allowed to shake the bottles of milk left by the milk man as my mum would have to have the cream that rose to the top in her cup of tea. - My brother shook the milk once and my Mum went mad and he walked out.

I could go on, but writing these makes me realise how odd my parents were!

Great topic OP!

I never used to like going for tea at the house of my best friend growing up because their family used to eat dinner in total silence. Very freaky.

I went to view a house once where I was shown around by the owners. We were taken upstairs to see the bedrooms into what was an older teens bedroom where he was laying on the bed with a laptop watching porn. His mother who was doing the viewing just carried on like he was invisible.

My mum puts a flat sheet under a duvet

DH has always insisted on doing this. His parents did it, but his main reason is that he is very tall and his feet sometimes stick out of the bottom of the duvet and get cold if there isn't a sheet. (His dad was tall too.) I'm willing to go along with it on our bed, but I've never started the same tradition for the DC and although one of them is now 6'2", they've never requested it, or used a top sheet themselves when away from home.

I had a friend when I was young who’s family would have a Sunday roast EVERY NIGHT for tea. I love a roast so wouldn’t have minded, but the mum used to serve it with the lumpiest gravy I have ever seen. You would have thought if you made a roast every night that you’d have at least mastered how to make gravy. Oh, and their house always smelt like broccoli because of it

I have never closed the bathroom door since I had my DC. They are teens now and I still don’t. They do. It’s a habit from listening out for them as young children!

Can’t everyone hear you shit?

I went for Sunday Lunch at a friends house when I was in my teens. When they got the food, they all proceeded to make Sunday dinner butties on thick white bread with bright yellow margarine and brown sauce. Cant think about that without feeling sick !!!

This sounds DELICIOUS

bertie my dad uses the microwave as afridge too. I’m always wary of what I eat at his house

I had a friend when I was young who’s family would have a Sunday roast EVERY NIGHT for tea.

That's reminded me that my brother had a friend whose family always had the same dinner on the same day of the week. So Saturday was sausages for example (I know this because that was the day he most often came to our house, and would comment that it was exciting to get something different from sausages for a change). We all thought that would be pretty boring - not so much the days of the week thing as the fact that they only ate 7 different dinners in total. If it had been a 3-or 4-week rota it might have been more understandable.

fox that was my dad when he was married to mum. The same meals on the same day of the week. Oh and you couldnt cook beans in a saucepan you had to cook them in the tin in a pan of boiling water. When they divorced he learnt pretty quickly what an arse he'd been. And as he'd never cooked before relied heavily on convenience food.
I used to have a friend whos mum used to serve her curry sauce with chips for every meal. She wasnt fat but never ate fruit,veg or anything other than chips and curry sauce.
I also had another friend who was super posh but whos parents would let their cat shit everywhere. I saw one on the cooker once. I never ate their after that.
People are super grim .

Just thought of another. When I came to view my current house the children's bedroom doors had big locks on the outside. It made me feel really uncomfortable.

I had 2 best friends at school (think St Claire's - I was the token working class scholarship kid from SPF) both lived on or near 'millionaires row'.

One had parents who both had very high status careers with the pay cheques to match. They lived in a mansion yet they dressed like tramps, drove old bangers and their carpet was so threadbare you could see the floorboards and the house was always dark and freezing. Her dad was so tight that the ONE time I went round there for tea he served up one off-brand potato waffle (done in the toaster) with a cheese slice on top topped with a spoonful of Kwik Save No Frills beans each. We were 14 at the time.

The other had very upwardly mobile stuffy parents (her mum was very haughty and was a twin-set and pearls type). One day we were doing makeovers and went into her parents room to pinch some eyeshadows from her mums dressing table and there I saw a soft-focus portrait of her mum from the 1960's in full Playboy bunny regalia. Turns out she'd worked in the London club back in the day and that's where she'd met my friend's dad! I actually had a new found respect for her after that even though she clearly thought I wasn't good enough to be friends with her precious child.

I'm really enjoying this thread.
I'm currently at my MIL's. She's an apparent neat freak. Drinks are on coasters, as soon as you've finished using an item it's washed within seconds, shoes off on entering the house...it's endless. However, her house is filthy! The carpets only get hoovered when DP does it but he's only up 6 times a year - not envy! Tea towels are covered in dog hairs so you always find them on your plate, in glass's etc. The bathroom sink was so gross that I washed it. You pick up something dropped from the floor and it's covered in dog hair, fluff and dust. I'm convinced she doesn't clean the bedsheets between my visits! Yet, she is so house proud and she knows where everything is and you're not allowed to touch! I'm not allowed to use her washing machine. So if we're here for extended visits she'll wash my dirty clothes including knickers. I know it sounds daft but I'm a bit uncomfortable with people (we're not and never will be close) handling my crusty smalls. So now I just bring loads of pants and wash them when I get back. She also puts towels on the chairs so the dog can sit on them. But doesn't remove them so our clothes get covered in dog debris but not the chairs.
Rant over. I feel better now.
Back home tomorrow. Can't wait!

" "I once viewed a house that had life sized clowns sitting at the dining table and lying in the spare beds"

MY WORST FUCKING NIGHTMARE COME TO LIFE."

Yes, weirdest one yet, hilarious and yes, my worst nightmare too!

Sister in laws ex husband thinking it was the norm to poo when she was in the bath, right next to the loo

Sleep over at school friends house.
Clean & tidy enough, it was her and her little brother of about 7, they always had the noisiest house with tv on full blast, little brother tearing round, shouting to each other from different rooms or upstairs to downstairs all from very early morning.
I used to walk home at like 6.30am to have peace & quiet. There were 4 kids including me in our house, it was never as noisy as that household.
They didn’t offer anything to eat either so nothing would be offered for dinner or breakfast, they would eat, the mother would cook for the family and I was always made to wait in another room while they all ate... when invited for sleepovers!
We were best friends through high school so I went there regularly.

Guacamole.... growing up my large family used to have roast dinner every day of the week, it was the most economical way of feeding a large family, so market bought joint of meat of some sort, mash veg, York puds and and home made dessert like rice pudding of crumble of some sort, as the youngest I used to have spare Yorkshire puds with syrup as dessert yum yum

Not RTFT, but adult My Little Pony fans are called Bronies

6 year old using a potty. No SN.

I'm sorry that must of been very hard x

So, everyone I knew until about age 9 had parents that were married or totally single, no blended families or anything like that. I was pretty innocent and didn’t know about affairs or sex. It didn’t last long as my own father had an affair not long after.

As a child of about 8 I kept getting invited to the child of my Dad’s work colleague’s home every weekend. We’d recently moved into the adjacent street. The child was at least two years younger and we had very little in common. Looking back I’m pretty sure I was being used as a babysitter.

Anyway, the second time I was round there I was playing upstairs and came across a man on the way to the toilet. I told the little girl I’d just seen her Dad. “That’s not my Dad, it’s Tom, my Mum’s boyfriend. Daddy’s working in London.”

Basically, I was only invited round when Tom was there. I asked my Mum if she had a boyfriend and if it was normal that ladies had husbands and boyfriends. My Mum and Dad said I must have made a mistake and Tom must be a builder or something and that the little girl was confused.

The following weekend, I was round again and bumped into the Mum on the landing on the way to the toilet. She’d been in her bedroom, where Tom was lying, in his boxers on the sunbed she owned. He laughed and waved at me. “Tom is just topping up his tan! Hahahahahaha!” I asked if Tom was the little girl’s Dad. “No, Tom is my very good friend. We don’t tell Emily’s Dad that he comes here to use my sunbed because he wouldn’t be happy! He doesn’t like anyone using our sunbed!”

I told Emily that Tom was topping up his tan and she rolled her eyes, “Yeah, Tom’s Mum’s boyfriend when Daddy is working away.”

Looking back, I didn’t know what I was seeing at that age but I definitely saw the woman, Rachel, and Tom fucking on the sunbed. With the door open. And two little girls playing in the room next door! And Tom grinning at me whilst Rachel laughed too.

I got invited to a Bonfire Night party and went round where everyone was gathered in the kitchen. Emily, Rachel, Emily’s Dad, two very young children and lady. “That’s Tom’s wife, she’s mummy’s friend” Emily said. I was playing with the little kids and said, “I know your Daddy!”. The lady said, “Oh no, I don’t think so sweetheart.” I felt a bit of an idiot and giggled and said, “Oh sorry, I thought Emily said that their Daddy was Tom.” The woman’s face fell and she asked how I knew Tom. I said not to tell Emily’s Dad but he comes here to “Top up his Tan”, but Emily’s Dad can’t know because he doesn’t like people using his Sunbed.

Next thing I know she’s grabbed the kids and left and Emily’s Dad wanted to know WTF was going on. Rachel started asking me what I’d said to her friend and I was a bit awkward because I didn’t want to mention about the sunbed in front of Emily’s Dad. I was told to go upstairs and Emily said “You didn’t say Tom was Mum’s boyfriend did you cos DAD ISNT SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT STUPID”. Obviously, Emily’s Dad heard that and I just remembered him going red in the face and roaring and me and Emily being awkwardly sent into another room. I think stuff was said about me being a child and getting muddled up.

My parents were called and told to pick me up as the fireworks were cancelled because Emily’s Dad was suddenly taken ill.

We never heard from them again. She was forever re-Christened “That Floozy Rachel.”

"I was horrified at walking into a sauna full of naked (almost) strangers, they were horrified I had a swimsuit on 🙈"

People in my gym go to the sauna fully clothed. Now that is horrifying.

My MiL used to clear plates away as other people were still eating, so if you were a slow eater (which I am compared to them) you would be left chomping away awkwardly by yourself with no other plates on the table. That might sound okay, but it is very weird when you experience it. Sometimes she would also start to get the pudding out while someone was still on their main food. So awkward.

I've thought of another one, although this is more a sad case of neglect than weird.

There was a family over the road and the woman had 5 kids who I became friends with. The mum was really religious, very involved with the church, spoke extremely well sounded very posh, was apparently doing a degree with the OU.

Yet the house was beyond disgusting, the cats and the children shat everywhere, there was never any bedding on the beds and the younger kids would wet the mattress and it would just be left.

Every surface was covered in junk and grime and you couldn't see the floor.

The bath was full of grime and toys and looked like it had never been used for an actual bath, literally everything about the house was unimaginably stinking dirty and rotten, and I don't have high standards, our house wasn't the cleanest growing up but even I knew then how bad their house was.

They never seemed to have any proper food, all there ever was were loaves of bread in the freezer and milk, that's it and the kids would just make dry toast all day, the mum never so much as made them some beans on toast that I saw. Yet once we snuck into the mums room and surprisingly, the mums bedroom was fairly clean, tidy and comfortable. She had a nice made bed, proper furniture, a computer and desk. In the wardrobe she had a stash of crisps, chocolates, pop, but the kids were not allowed to touch it and you could tell they wouldn't have dared.

Once a month she would go to the chip shop and buy herself pie, fish, chips, and the kids would get a bag of chips to share (fair enough buying extras can work out expensive for 5 kids), but she'd buy herself big bags of sweets from the shop next door and if the kids asked for any they'd be screamed at.

My mum used to send over bags of clothes and the eldest daughter took a liking to a particular dress. Shortly after the mum caught the eldest daughter kissing a boy from the street, the mum dragged her inside and what you heard going on was awful, calling her a slut and hitting her, I found out later that she cut the dress up into pieces.

They moved shortly after and I heard that the eldest daughter got pregnant and they were all taken into care.

What shocks me the most is that seemingly not one person thought to step in and report that mother, it was very sad. All the neighbours knew what they were like but I don't think anyone stepped in.

When I first starting seeing my DH his DM would invite us round for tea, she is quite a good cook & I do have a problem eating other people’s food I have an awful gag reflex but did enjoy the food that was until I saw one of her cats licking the butter out of the butter dish & my MIL picking mould off the bread she was going to serve us!!

I also had a friend whose dog used to be able to open the fridge door & take food out of the fridge.

And another friends house I stayed at overnight but I wasn’t allowed to use the sink to have a wash or brush my teeth as I hadn’t bought my own towel!