Things your parents did with you that annoyed you soooo much (light hearted)

[bodenbiscuit]

That you make a conscious effort to do it differently with your own children.

Mine is that my mother was terrible at coordinating my clothes. She made me wear odd socks, clothes that didn't match and black school shoes with party dresses. And her response was always 'who's going to notice?'. This infuriated me because when your clothes don't match, YOU notice and of course other people notice. Disclaimer: my parents were well off - they could easily afford coordinating outfits.

So as a result my own children always have perfectly matching outfits and I go to great lengths to make sure their party shoes match their dresses.

What's yours?

Oh, add to that that we spent more hours than I care to remember trailing around show houses on new build estates. we did this most weekends, and even when we were on holiday. For some reason, this was a major hobby of my parents, even though we never bought a new build. I have a complete horror of new build houses (or any house built after the 60s) now as a result and won't ever entertain buying one even though they're cheaper than older houses. I instantly feel trapped and suffocated whenever I see an estate. Hmmm, analogy for my childhood perhaps...

Also, not allowed things like My Little Ponies/Carebears/Gloworms - basically any toys that were seen as being cool.

God, the more I remember the more I wonder why my parents hated me!

I have thought of more that I forgot...

Barging into my room to get washing out of the airing cupboard (they refused to restrict this to set times).

Not understanding well-known slang, particularly my mum's inability to comprehend that 'sad' meant 'uncool' and 'people will think I'm sad if I wear that' was not about looking melancholy.

We got a second phone handset for upstairs. After that if the phone rang and someone had answered, my dad would then pick it up 10-15 seconds later and interrupt to ask who it was. Every. Single. Time.

My mum wouldn't let me have trousers. I had to wear skirts. By the age of about 11 she relented and let me have some for playing in but never for school or going out anywhere.

My DD was bought lots of trousers and as a toddler used to refuse to wear them all

afink yes to the bloody showroom! All. The. Time. (See my previous post about weekend activities, I'd forgotton this one!) They would only ever buy new builds too, decorated really boringly and putting things down wasn't allowed. I now love clutter and share your feeling of panic at the thought of a new build. Luckily DH also isn't keen.

And the phone thing spag we had one in the living room and one upstairs. I wasn't allowed to use the one upstairs as I suppose my mother wanted to listen in. To this day I can't really talk on a phone infront of other people.

We weren't allowed to play out on a Sunday incase we annoyed the neighbours. (Most of whom had small children as it was a new housing estate). We weren't religous and not particularly noisy.

Always tell me how much cleverer, taller, more sporty my cousins were.

On O Level results day she called round the family, three of us were in the same year, and then after she had analysed my results against them told me I'd done OK.

I had done very well, particularly one cousin had decided to stay over at out house on nights where she didn't have an exam the following day so I'd spend the night listening to the music she was playing with my brother in the kitchen directly under my bedroom.

Seriously if your child is in the middle of GCSEs do you invite other children to stay?

I was never allowed to pick my own clothes. The first time I ever wore anything I wanted to wear was when I was 13 and I saved up paper round money to buy an outfit. It was always cringey matching top and pants combo as well and I begged her to buy something else but she never would

To keep it lighthearted I will ignore the fact that my 'D'F was a complete knobhead to me growing up and still isn't a huge amount better and concentrate on the silly things.

-Constantly moaned at for the amount of condiments I used on my dinner, DM was always of the mind of do whatever you like to your dinner, as long as you eat it. I now take huge pleasure in spooning half a jar of mint sauce all over my roast and smugly eating it with no-one to criticise how much I used!
-Moaning about whatever 'american rubbish' I would watch on tv, would change it over to a news channel of some nature and ask why I couldn't just watch something like that instead o_0
-No talking during dinner
-Not being allowed to decide how I wanted my hair cut, it got to bum length, I was eventually allowed to choose what I wanted done to it so I went had the whole lot cut off to above the bottom of my ears I hated it but I made my point
-He wore shorts, and I mean short shorts so bad once a girl came up to him and said 'hey mister, why are you out in your boxers?' he was not impressed I thought it was frickin hilarious!-- And socks and sandals.
-I was vegetarian but mum used to cook me meat sausages and swear blind they were vegetarian ones :/
-Mum would buy me clothes for my birthdays etc which was fab BUT she'd buy stuff she wished she had the figure to wear (note I wasn't particularly slender either and was bullied mercilessly at school, PVC trousers and low cut tops did not help matters) and would be offended when I didn't like them :/
-If I was to address dad I would have to say his name and wait patiently until he deemed it necessary to respond to me.
-Was always pushed to succeed but never congratulated or rewarded for doing so :/
-My boobs grew so quick, my mum refused to buy me new bras to keep up, I used to get taken the mickey out of for having 'saggy boobs' and I'd end up wearing some granny bra and would shove a too small bra over the top to try to make some sort of reasonable support :( I know bras are expensive but I vow that I will never ever let my dds suffer like that :(

Actually screw being lighthearted, I never told anyone this but I used to have 'accidents' occasionally ( I will add number 1 NOT number 2!), I'm sure there was some psychological reason for this considering my childhood. My mum to this day 'can't remember' ever doing it but I remember it vividly. She made me a cloth nappy (yes seriously, including big nappy pin!) when I was junior school age, say maybe 8-9 (yes I know too old to be having accidents but some days I just did have one) and made me go out in it under my clothes. It was so obvious it was there, it was cruel and mortifying. If I had an accident I'd be banned from tv for 2 weeks, considering I had no friends and was constantly bullied, staying home, reading and watching tv was pretty much the only thing I had. They told me I was booked in to have various surgeries and would be staying in hospital and things to 'fix' the imaginary thing that was wrong with me :( That really bothers me to this day and the fact that she says 'if' she did that it would have been under the influence of my dad...
And they wonder why I moved out to my own flat 20 miles away as soon as I turned 17, I just couldn't wait to escape.

Sorry that turned out longer than I expected. I didn't have a nice childhood but it's made me the tough person I am today and I hope it makes me a better parent. My mum always tells me that the newest generation will always blame the generation before. I expect my children will find things that I've done wrong as a parent but I guarantee none of those things will be from the above list :)

I wasn't allowed a Barbie or dresses, I have bought them for my children, but my boys don't seem very interested.

LOL!

once when I was at home with bronchitis my mum sent my dad out to get a treat for me. I had asked for some dolls clothes and he came back with an audio tape of 'under milkwood'...I was 7. My mum sent him back out again.

spam that sounds awful,

My mum would always compare me to the nice well behaved girls in my class and ask why i couldn't be more like them.

People would say how pretty i was and she would say "shes alright, she would be nice if she lost a couple of stone"

My stepdad would make me hold bags wherever we went as apparently holding bags is a womans job.

She would always say i needed to be more ladylike.

These are just a few of many. I have 5 children, 2 girls and 3 boys. I like to think i accept them the way they are and i embrace their quirks.

I hate the ladylike thing and i have said to a friend before that i didn't like it when she told my 4 yr old dd it was not ladylike to pick her nose.

Hideous short jaircut because hairclips were too much trouble

I wasn't allowed just chips from the chippy when we had fish and chips for tea. I had to have fish and it had to be 'a tail end without batter' all my friends got to have chips but I just had one or two from each of my parents.
The odd thing was that, when we were playing out in the street in the evening, we often asked for twopence for chips and I always got it but never chips for tea.
I always let mine have both on the rare occasions we had fish and chips.

Mine used to come into my classroom at school when I was 15 and had dental appointments etc instead of waiting for me in reception like the other parents. It was so embarrassing. Once my class were having an art lesson outside and my dp's were dropping my dbro off from a dental appointment. DM goes right up to me and kisses me on the cheek in front of my whole class. I was so .

LumpySpacedPrincess It's rare I ever come across anyone else who listed the Misty comic.

My mum used to buy it for me quite happily as she would read it after I had finished!

Aww so many sad/cruel stories on here. I am very lucky, I love my parents, they've had their moments but nothing like the mean things like spam said or similar..

I do remember my mum being very health obsessed with my diet, and I was always asking why I wasn't allowed crisps/sweets/cakes like any other normal child...at parties I was told I could have a jelly and sausage rolls, no 'sweets or fizz'! I suppose this was very admirable and I'm amazed my mother had the energy to keep it up, especially as my two step-siblings that lived with us part time weren't subjected to the same diet and would eat junk in front of me...but damn I wanted to try monster munch sooo bad! She relaxed it when I got to 8-9 or so but since childhood I've always thought of crisps etc as 'taboo' and feel guilty as hell for eating them now

We had to watch the schools programming on channel 4 if we were off school unwell.

We had to watch the schools programming on channel 4 if we were off school unwell.

but that was the very best bit about being off school unwell...
I have been a geek my entire life haven't I?

My mum left when i was 6 and my dad moved in with someone when i was 7 she had her own son

We were not allowed in thee front room as that was for adults only

Could not open a new box of cornflakes as my dad had to be the first one to have a bowl out of a new box

Could not have the top from the milk

Not watch tv

No new trendy clothes always from second shops

Always had paste buttys for school and cheap crisps

Got 50p a week for washing up every night, dusting house twice a week and doing the inside of windows every week, i had to use this 50p to pay for my dance class

When the new baby arrived i was 14 so shared a room but baby didnt go to seep till 10pm after i had walked the streets with her i then was able to do my school work
Still cross about that

wednesday Didn't your mum come and visit you?

wednesday that's shit about the room sharing.

If we were going on holiday or somewhere exciting, my parents would get everything ready and without fail say "now, will we have a cup of tea before we go?" Used to drive us mad, we were too excited!

Now we do it with our kids but we wait til they are in the car and say it, only jokingly of course, but it gets them every time

I don't think I was ever excited to go on holiday. Would gladly have had 100 cups of tea.

I remember Misty, used to love it along with Tracey, Mandy etc

Misty rocked big time!

There was a picture of a dark haired floaty, ethereal girl on the front. It set me up for my teenage goth rebellion years nicely.