What things did you do as a child that make you think "how did my parents not know"?

[ofwarren]

I taught myself to read at 3

I watched TV upside down or through a mirror

I had an imaginary friend

I was classed as gifted at school

I used to write down the make, model and colour of every car that passed my bedroom window for hours

I used to read the phone book and the yellow pages

I had to leave the room if I was warm or it was noisy

I used to cry rather than laugh

I hated having friends round

I used to take electronics apart and put them back together

I would go mute if grown ups I didn't know spoke to me

There will be lots more I expect. I will add them when I think of them.

I bloody read the phone book too.
I was the clumsiest person alive, I never had scab/bruise free legs, plus my ankles knocked together and i had scabs on the inside of both ankles.
I loved animals, especially horses, I thought I had a connection with them. In reality I just would not fuck off so eventually they came around to see what the weirdo was doing.
Forever being told I was rude and or cheeky, got many a slap for asking what I thought were normal questions. Resented every slap.
Cant/couldnt abide food stuffs touching on the plate. I remember itchy clothes and labels were the worst. I lived in the few items that didnt irritate me.
Well known tomboy, luckily this didnt earn me a slap or even any notice aside from every adult on the street saying "ooh your girl, shes a real tomboy isnt she"

Read so many books I cant even say how many, what the book was about didnt seem to matter, so long as the title and cover met with my approval I was happy to read it.

School was torture, all these other kids talking and getting along and I couldn't make a friend to save my life, the odd child would feel sorry for me for a while and try to be my mate but then I'd be my weird odd self and they backed off.

My secret place was the graveyard ( in the daytime only, too scary on a night) to read all the markers and sit on graves and talk to them.
I'd sit in my bedroom bay window and listen to the adults talking downstairs. I passed a lot of time dreaming about hitting 16 and leaving home and not having to eat food mixed on the plate and never wearing a sodding dress ever again.

Adding I counted steps, christ I sound like a fitbit, yes I counted my steps up to a hundred then back to one, and kept a tally of how many hundreds I'd done.
Worst of all I still do this.

I was paralysed in the presence of strange adults and would hide under tables, beds and behind sofa from unexpected visitors.

I was ridiculously well behaved in school.

I never lied. Still don’t.

I was chronically untidy and left chaos in my wake. My mother was permanently embarrassed by my appearance.

There was never a day without a new cut or bruise.

I sat like a pretzel.

I spent hours alone with my daydreams.

I collected broken china.

I made friends with caterpillars.

I liked to sleep in the 10” space between the bed and the wall, or under the bed, and loved squeezing myself into small tight spaces. I liked sitting in my wardrobe with the door closed.

I often forgot to do my homework because I’d get distracted reading on one subject or write ten page essays instead of the paragraph requested. (To be fair I did get my homework finished in other classes during the boring bits.)

I spent hours and hours in libraries. When I was teenager, I loved getting buses to visit new libraries.

I loved to lie on the top of the sofa, stiff as a board, balancing myself precariously to watch tv. I haven’t thought about that for years and I’d love to try it right now but we have the wrong kind of sofa. It felt nice

My dps hadn’t an inkling but they also weren’t remotely phased by any of this and I had a lovely childhood.