Page 6 | To ask about more odd family beliefs??

Latenightthoughts111 · 2022-05-10T15:51:04+00:00

Hi again! following on from my coke can/eating in the street/prostitution thread it got me thinking a LOT about my childhood and I’ve thought of some other odd things I’d like to see if we have in common or not prefacing this with I am late 80s born to a late 40s DM main one is only doing one thing per day. DM literally can only do one “thing” a day. Go to Asda? That’s it. Meal out? Yes that’s it then nothing else. Market day in the morning? Sure but that’s it not opening the door to do anything else today thank u! this was all through my childhood and still now. I honestly was baffled when I heard of people popping to the shops when they’ve already been out that day!!! another one similar is going out after dark. To be going out after sundown is soooo awesome I love it. It feels taboo to go to Aldi when it’s dark outside and all the buses are lit up. It’s magical! I wish I was joking 😂it was completely forbidden, or to be honest not even discussed, to go out for dinner or anything after school as it was too dark. We never ever went out on a Sunday either. Not massively religious but Sunday was a proper “get ready for school” day with my one bath a week! any others out there who still feel the joy of the forbidden 6pm journey out into the great beyond???

Thepeopleversuswork · 13/05/2022 17:44

Biggest one from my childhood is parents were phobic about aimlessly watching tv. My mum loathed it when we watched tv (unless it was a specific event or news).

She would walk into the room and be visibly upset and stressed and then eventually got angry and turned it off.

To be honest I still struggle massively with guilt about tv. Watching tv makes me feel like a lazy, feckless, stupid and unmotivated layabout.

WomanStanleyWoman2 · 13/05/2022 17:45

Blue and green should never be seen.

What about ‘Never wear brown in town’?

Fizbosshoes · 13/05/2022 18:07

We were not allowed to watch Grange Hill either but I'm not sure any explanation was given.

Strawberryfieldsfornever · 13/05/2022 18:19

Tv only allowed after tea in evenings

Strawberryfieldsfornever · 13/05/2022 18:20

D F was in charge of the tv remote and had final say on what was watched

belinda789 · 13/05/2022 18:38

Father, in every way a really wonderful man. was rather stern.
There were rules to be observed.

Cake; always home-made, consisted of either Madeira or Dundee cake.
We were all forbidden to even enter a famous nationwide cake shop where they sold things like chocolate eclairs and other cream cakes as they were “Rot gut”.

I longed for pretty party shoes.
Mine were thick heavy black leather ones with buckles on the front.
My school chums had fancy party shoes like dainty silver kid leather ones with ankle straps. Absolutely forbidden……..

There was no snacking as people do today.
No eating between meals at all and no one ever helped themselves from the fridge, especially we children.

The only sweets I was allowed were wholesome ones such as pear drops and barley sugar bought on our way home after church on Sundays.

The Stop-me-and-buy-one ice cream man came round on Fridays and I was allowed one but only if I had been good all week. And I mean good…….

None of this bothered me.
I was a happy as Larry all the time.

Strawberryfieldsfornever · 13/05/2022 18:43

belinda789 · 13/05/2022 18:38

Father, in every way a really wonderful man. was rather stern.
There were rules to be observed.

Cake; always home-made, consisted of either Madeira or Dundee cake.
We were all forbidden to even enter a famous nationwide cake shop where they sold things like chocolate eclairs and other cream cakes as they were “Rot gut”.

I longed for pretty party shoes.
Mine were thick heavy black leather ones with buckles on the front.
My school chums had fancy party shoes like dainty silver kid leather ones with ankle straps. Absolutely forbidden……..

There was no snacking as people do today.
No eating between meals at all and no one ever helped themselves from the fridge, especially we children.

The only sweets I was allowed were wholesome ones such as pear drops and barley sugar bought on our way home after church on Sundays.

The Stop-me-and-buy-one ice cream man came round on Fridays and I was allowed one but only if I had been good all week. And I mean good…….

None of this bothered me.
I was a happy as Larry all the time.

My parents did try restricting sugar but I was a greedy little booger and would buy or steal sweets!

DF was into fat shaming but it didn't work on me, I was already eating compulsively age 8. I would steal food to binge on it in secret.

MermaidEyes · 13/05/2022 20:52

It's so amusing how so many of us grew up with parents only doing one thing a day. Where did that come from?

Original poster

Latenightthoughts111 · 13/05/2022 21:22

MermaidEyes · 13/05/2022 20:52

It's so amusing how so many of us grew up with parents only doing one thing a day. Where did that come from?

I’d really love to know too! I can’t fathom it and I’d love to get out the habit!!

OP posts:

hopesaysnope · 13/05/2022 21:29

Mumoftwoinprimary · 10/05/2022 20:21

Swimming.

My parents were obsessed with swimming. No matter what the occasion we would always manage to fit a “quick swim” in.

School summer fair - “time to go now darling - we are going to stop off at the pool on the way home”. It was not on the way home. In fact you have to drive past our house to get from school to the pool.

We’d swim as a family twice a week, both me and my brother would go to lessons / swimming club a couple of times a week, my dad would go for an evening swim three times a week and my mum was a frigging swimming teacher. So went to the pool every single day. And still found time to go after work at least once a week for “relaxation”.

They are now retired and happily swim every day. Went to visit them at Xmas - “bring your swimming things - I’ve booked us all in”. Ditto Easter. Summer holiday a big group of us are going - the hotel has 7 pools. They are very happy!

Sadly neither me nor my brother are Olympic swimmers although we are both pretty good in the water.

Gosh, my autistic DS would absolutely adore your family. He lives and breathes swimming!

hopesaysnope · 13/05/2022 21:30

mubarak86 · 10/05/2022 22:04

Another thing my family are really odd about is being 'beholden' to someone for the smallest of things, even close family members. You cannot possibly let someone give you a lift, even if it's on their way without buying them a gift, so that you don't owe them anything. I thought this was totally normal until I got married and was pleasantly surprised that people did favours for each other, without money or gifts being exchanged.

Are your parents Japanese? This is a Japanese tradition

Dinosauratemydaffodils · 13/05/2022 21:35

It's so amusing how so many of us grew up with parents only doing one thing a day. Where did that come from?

My parents were the opposite. Df was in the military and planned excursions and holidays down to the smallest detail. We had to pack as much into every day possible in case it was our last. The thought of one thing a day sounds rather blissful. I still feel I live on fast forward, trying to do as much as possible because it's so ingrained.

Definitely restricted sugars. I was allowed one can of Cherry coke on a Saturday when we were out picking up the English papers. The rest of the time it was water or milk or tea. Sweets were a treat.

Had to have sensible shoes that I could run easily in (just in case). Wasn't allowed the red patent ones I desperately wanted.

TV was only for adults as it rotted developing brains.

Whattodo121 · 13/05/2022 22:46

I wasn’t allowed fizzy drinks before midday. And I still can’t, I couldn’t possibly have a Diet Coke at 10am for example, that would be quite absurd. Manners very important, never allowed to watch ITV as it was ‘common’. I remember some tutting when I bought one of those FCUK French connection t shirts when I was about 17, but my mum managed to hold in the judgement slightly 🤣 parents very strict about some things and completely lenient about others. I did lots of youth orchestras and my mum foolishly thought that the friends from there were a sensible and good influence. Whereas in fact they were far worse behaved than my school friends 🤣 I remember getting dropped off home from an ‘after concert party’ by a trumpet player in a 2CV Citroen at 7am the following morning, and my mum being in the kitchen and she just asked how my evening was 🤣but if I was 10 minutes late home from a night out with my school friends she was furious!

Lessstressedhemum · 14/05/2022 00:19

No eating in the street.
No drinking from the can.
Only a certain type of girl wore white shoes/red lipstick/ had more than one piercing in her ears.
Washing your hair more than once a week makes it greasy.
Only ladies of ill repute went to.pubs on their own.
Everything electrical had to be unplugged if there was thunder and lightning.
Curtains closed before lights on so that people "couldn't see in" because that was common.
No sitting in the sun in the front garden because that was common, too.
I live on the west coast of Scotland and heaven forfend if we didn't pronounce the "t" sounds in the middle or at the end of words or if we said "ah" instead of I as is the way of it round here.
And as for using Scots dialect words, that was punishable by death practically.
I'm a 60s child,y parents were born during the war and my grandparents were Victorians, so we had a lot of rules and regulations around ho not to appear "common."

Strawberryfieldsfornever · 14/05/2022 03:23

I remember reading that women were only served half pints in pubs back in the day. A woman could have two halves but it was Never acceptable then for women to be served a pint. Odd times.

Original poster

Latenightthoughts111 · 14/05/2022 06:48

Whattodo121 · 13/05/2022 22:46

I wasn’t allowed fizzy drinks before midday. And I still can’t, I couldn’t possibly have a Diet Coke at 10am for example, that would be quite absurd. Manners very important, never allowed to watch ITV as it was ‘common’. I remember some tutting when I bought one of those FCUK French connection t shirts when I was about 17, but my mum managed to hold in the judgement slightly 🤣 parents very strict about some things and completely lenient about others. I did lots of youth orchestras and my mum foolishly thought that the friends from there were a sensible and good influence. Whereas in fact they were far worse behaved than my school friends 🤣 I remember getting dropped off home from an ‘after concert party’ by a trumpet player in a 2CV Citroen at 7am the following morning, and my mum being in the kitchen and she just asked how my evening was 🤣but if I was 10 minutes late home from a night out with my school friends she was furious!

I’d forgotten no fizzy drinks before midday! This was me too

OP posts:

Ameanstreakamilewide · 14/05/2022 10:19

whydoesthedog · 12/05/2022 07:00

This has reminded me that my mum absolutely hated me calling my friends on the house phone after school. 'You've seen them all day, what else is there to talk about?'
She'd hang around so I didn't have privacy and bug me to get off. For absolutely no reason.

Clearly my friend's mum felt the same as they told her calls were charged by the minute.

I know this is a common theme, but i did most of my growing up in the 80s, so I don't personally remember.

But were phone calls really that expensive??
It seems a bit overboard to me.

I mean why have the damn thing and pay the line rental if you never actually use it? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Ameanstreakamilewide · 14/05/2022 10:23

HRTQueen · 12/05/2022 23:10

was anyone else’s fruit bowl also lost property

the fruit bowl always had in a selection of screws, odd buttons, safety pins, thimble, keys, elastic bands, those round batteries to name a few items

if something small couldn’t be found my nanny would ask is it in the fruit bowl? 🤔

That's our bread bin...you'll find all sorts of nonsense in there.

TheLadyDIdGood · 14/05/2022 10:32

No wonder there is a high rate of mental health issues in this country. You don't stand a chance if you're a child of the 70'/80's. We were brought up by people with serious hang ups about just about everything from reading this thread. I can identify with a lot of these issues posted above.

Original poster

Latenightthoughts111 · 14/05/2022 11:43

TheLadyDIdGood · 14/05/2022 10:32

No wonder there is a high rate of mental health issues in this country. You don't stand a chance if you're a child of the 70'/80's. We were brought up by people with serious hang ups about just about everything from reading this thread. I can identify with a lot of these issues posted above.

This is a main reason why I’m making a few threads lately, since I’ve had my DD2 it’s making me reflect on my childhood and my DM and it’s baffling the things I keep remembering!

OP posts:

MermaidEyes · 14/05/2022 12:08

TheLadyDIdGood · 14/05/2022 10:32

No wonder there is a high rate of mental health issues in this country. You don't stand a chance if you're a child of the 70'/80's. We were brought up by people with serious hang ups about just about everything from reading this thread. I can identify with a lot of these issues posted above.

This is so true. I had a great childhood and I wouldn't change anything, but I'm definitely bringing my kids up quite differently. I love doing things with them that my parents would never have dreamed of, and I try my hardest not to make too many routines because I hated it as a child and sometimes I know I need to be dragged out of my comfort zone before I turn into my mum 😁

SpongeBobJudgeyPants · 14/05/2022 12:23

Ayeayeaye · 10/05/2022 23:09

The fridge was only to be opened for 2 seconds to quickly grab what you need then close it. My mother used to lose her shit if I had the fridge door open any longer. Absolutely no standing with the door open looking ponderously at the contents, no way.

@Ayeayeaye . Oh yes! DF was obsessed with 'warm air getting into the fridge, and the fridge having to work twice as hard'!

When I'm in the supermarket choosing frozen stuff, I still rush to grab stuff then slide the doors back quick, before something terrible happens!

Am reminded of a story Robbie Williams tells, about if someone opens the fridge, and the light comes on, he has to perform for 10 minutes

Ayeayeaye · 14/05/2022 13:03

SpongeBobJudgeyPants · 14/05/2022 12:23

@Ayeayeaye . Oh yes! DF was obsessed with 'warm air getting into the fridge, and the fridge having to work twice as hard'!

When I'm in the supermarket choosing frozen stuff, I still rush to grab stuff then slide the doors back quick, before something terrible happens!

Am reminded of a story Robbie Williams tells, about if someone opens the fridge, and the light comes on, he has to perform for 10 minutes

Show quote history

Oh yeah I do that too with supermarket fridges! In and out just in case! #traumatised

SpongeBobJudgeyPants · 14/05/2022 13:26

Pollydonia · 12/05/2022 07:32

If going to a friends house having to phone home and only let it ring twice before putting it down as the " I'm safe" signal.

Yup. In our house, we called it 'birtling'

lanbro · 14/05/2022 13:29

My DM, born early 50s, had a lot of rules imposed on her as a child so I think she went the other way with us (early 80s kids). My DF tried to be stricter but was often overruled!