What's the most embarassing thing your parents used to do when you were a kid that you swore you wouldn't do to your kids?

[paddyclamp]

My mum used to correct my speech ALL the time, like "it's GOING TO, not GONNA" or "RUNNINGGGG not RUNNIN". It used to really piss me off esp as we were northerners but when she did it in front of my mates was doubly annoying.

My kids have freedom of speech!

We used to go to church and back then there was no toilet, I have horrific memory of being about 3 or 4 and my mum pulling my knickers to my ankles and holding me up to wee against the wall of the church

and this from a devout catholic who gave communion to the sick (means you are dead high up in church)

the priest was also having a conversation with my mum whilst she did it

it wasn't even done round the side of the church but right next to the main enterance. (fizzy still seeking therapy for this obviously) I thanked the lord when I had 2 boys

Spit on the hanky thing -and she smoked so it smelt awful to me and never allowed any friends into our house. Referred to one of my mates as a tealeaf and I had no idea that it meant thief

Told the whole family (granny, grandad, aunty, uncle)over tea that we'd just been in to town and got my first bra. It burns so brightly I can still visualise exactly where I was sitting, what I was eating....

Am consequently very very discreet with dd in these matters

fizzy my mum was a smoker, i can smell the spit now, yuk. also insisting on rollers in my hair before school photos, insisting i baught my own sanitry pads, in a small town i was mortified if any of the boys saw me.speech correction, hanging my miniscule bras on the line for all to see. talking to my boyfriends all nite and telling them embarassing things.she was horrid!

my father used to break wind, very loudly, either end, in public. used to find it very un-funny and disgusting, while my mother used to laugh her head off. DH is showing signs of the wind breaking in public, and i'm showing signs of finding it funny. We're becoming my parents!

Tell us to tell jokes that they found funny, to our teachers at school.

Loudly say the names of well known shops wrongly while we were out shopping in the High Street.

Bellow "IF THAT SIZE 16 ISNT BIG ENOUGH THERES A SIZE 18 OVER HERE" while we were clothes shopping.

Wear the most hideous brightly coloured garish outfits to collect dc from school.

Giving me my siblings hand me downs to wear.I have a brother . Sensible shoes, as well. When I started first year I was living with my Gran, who bought me a pair of oxblood, tasselled loafers,I felt sooo cool

Making me wear my 'old' shoes i'd grown out of by cutting the toes off.

I absolutely HATED it. My son has lovely shoes when he needs them as a consequence.

omg that was too thrifty - yikes

Too many to count

"Sensible Shoes" - How me and my sister detested the annual Clarks visit for "Sensible School Shoes". Also "sensible pleated school uniform skirts". Who wore those??!!! Me and my sister thats who. . Deeply unfashionable "sensible and smart" clothes at all times.

During teenage years if a boyfriend or friend rang during a meal she would tell them "No you can t speak to her we are having our tea" in an uptight and angry way as though they should have known.

Pulling my trousers down or my skirt up to tuck my vest in my knickers in public....right up to the age of about 10.

"We're having a BIG clear out this weekend so don t make any plans". This would be said on Monday so we could spend all week looking forward to it.

Always taking my friends sides in arguments and during my teenage years telling them what a t*at I was. No problem with telling me off in front of boyfriends either.

I could go on and on and on.

Argue in public - loudly. They used to do it all the time - especially in the local pub. It was mortifying and I hate arguing with dh in public now.

Mine made me wear these blardy awful brown lace up shoes with block heels ( also second hand) I got the living hell took out of me.
Also a lovely bottle green floral dress number -yuk yuk
My dd will always be trendy!

My mum took me into a chemist when i was about 11 to get me some sanitary towels (I hadn't even started my periods, but we weregoing on hol and it was 'just in case' wtf?!) and announced in a loud boomimg voice

'i want some sanitary towels for my daughter, but i wantthem individually wrapped'

i legged it.

and when she bought a knitting machine, she'd knit us matching jumpers

naturalblonde keep the stories comin i love them lol the matching jumpers absolute cringe-worthy the sanitary towel story

why to stop the crumbs?or sheer humiliation?

Go to a cafe, order hot chocolate and doughnuts for us as a treat, then stand at the till and bellow, "£4.50??? £4.50???? THAT'S why we never visit cafes!!!" (dbs and I nearly died of embarrassment)

yes had same experience, unable to enjoy foods as they continue to loudly bellyache how Much...at home that would only cost 75p....latte - ha thats only Milky coffee, and other social obervations

My mum used to put on such a posh voice when talking to my friends mums! So embarassing!

And she used to try to get me to wear disgusting clothes for church which always led to a row. In fact one day my nan intervened and told my mum "you go to church for God to look at your heart, not your clothes!". My nan was a star!

I notice most people were embarassed by their mums rather than their dads

My mum also made me wear school uniform even though my school didn't actually have a school uniform. She thought i looked nice. Unfortunately she was the only one. Even my teachers thought it was wierd.

This one's bad...me and some mates decided we wanted a joint 17th birthday party in our local pub, so told the landlord it was an 18th birthday party, got it all organised, invited tons of people.

We went in the day before the party to confirm everything, only to be told...

that they'd had a phone call from one of our mother's telling them that we were only 17.

Can you guess whose mum that was?!

Got barred as well.

Oops

My mum was helping run a jumble sale when I was about 12, she called me over and held up a tatty old lady's bra she had found amongst the jumble. Then proceeded to say loudly, "You could get this, look, it looks about your size, there's nothing wrong with it, are you sure, I could get it for you" etc etc etc, in front of assorted customers and people helping with jumble sale. while I muttered "NO, thanks" and hoped the floor would open and swallow me up. I was 12! Go to M+S and get me a new bra, not one some old lady has worn for 20 years!

Whilst shopping in the supermarket with my dad as a teenager I said something like Oh dad that's so embarrassing. He replied I'll show you embarrassing and proceeded to swoop up and down the aisle arms outstretched humming the theme from dambusters pausing only to machine gun me on the way past.

I had the opposite to naturalblonde - our school had a uniform but it was optional but EVERYONE wore it. My mum refused to let me and my brother have the uniform - we used to have to stand at the back for school photos and concerts to hide our clothes! Also made me wear jeans with holes in the knees at the time when that really wasn't a good look!

Mamadoc's dad sounds cool! That's the kind of thing my DP will do to our DD when she's older.