30 House Rules People Had As Kids That They Only Later Realized Not All Households Followed
Everyone's childhood is strange in one way or another. After all, what is normal? However, after reading this Reddit discussion, you might start thinking that yours wasn't so unusual.
A post created by user u/ctsom asked people to share a house rule they had as a kid that they thought was completely normal until they grew up and realized that it probably wasn't. And many obliged!
From mandatory milk consumption after dinner to a ban on home-alone showers, here are some of the most memorable answers.
This post may include affiliate links.
We had "family council" every Sunday night after dinner. We would sit and say good things that happened that week, share our grievances if we had any (we always did), make a dinner menu, and assign chores.
Frankly, it was stellar parenting. Though, if I mention it to my mother now, she will brag about it for a solid 20 minutes before we can move on.
Probably makes ppl better at social skills (unlike me, the introvert that hates basically the whole human race, generally, spare a few ppl) and also teaches organisation :3
My mum used to pay me to be my own babysitter between the ages of 10-14 or so. The rule was that as long as I didn't make a mess and I'd put myself to bed by the time she got home then I got $10 in the morning.
Any of the kids (7 of us) can play with any toy that is left out. The owner of the toy can't take it back until whoever's playing with it is done. If the toy is put away in the owner's room, permission must be asked.
My parents would check my and my brother’s teeth for “sugar bugs” every night after we brushed our teeth, before we got in bed. If they thought we were trying to skip brushing our teeth they would tell us they could see the sugar bugs in our teeth and would make us go brush again. My brother and I were so convinced these sugar bugs were real we would constantly ask when we’d be able to see them, my parents always told us only people 13 and older could see them, but by the time we got to be 13 we had completely forgotten about the sugar bugs in our teeth.
I love thinking about creative parenting tactics like this, I’ve even used that one while babysitting a fussy kid who doesn’t want to brush their teeth/get ready for bed and it helps a lot.
My parents would do little voices of the sugar bugs being scared of my toothbrush and then screaming as they were brushed away
When I was really young I had a “night night bell”. It was this old clay bell(?) that hung in the kitchen, and when I had to go to bed I got to ring the bell and everyone would come say goodnight and then I would go to bed. Not really a rule, but a weird little ritual in our house.
No curfew as long as I told my mom where I would be. I was always honest bcs I loved being 16 with no curfew.
We had this too! As long as we dropped her a "still alive" message when we went out, all was good! OH and CALL HER if we got stuck somewhere!
Maybe it's not a "house" rule. But when I was six my mom told me that if a behaved she would let me skip school on Saturdays and Sundays.
One day my teacher said "see ya Monday" and I knew
We weren’t allowed to eat anything without first asking. Even a glass of water, we were required to ask first. When my boyfriend and I started dating, I would ask his parents if I could eat or drink something if I was hungry or thirsty and it was a hard habit to break when his mom told me I could literally eat or drink anything (other than the alcohol).
It was so weird to just go into the fridge or pantry without permission. I sometimes have to fight the urge to ask my bf if I can eat OUR food in OUR apartment.
When I went to my parents house over Christmas, I was reprimanded for getting an apple without asking first. It’s just all so weird but it used to be so normal.
If you ever ran out of toilet paper whilst on the toilet, you had to sing the "Stranded" song or else no one else in the house would bring you a roll.
My family had a thing we called the food blanket. When we’d eat casual meals, we’d lay a blanket on the living room floor and eat on it, like a picnic. My parents didn’t want to get any food on the carpet. Instead of “set the table,” my mom would say, “go lay out the blanket.” I remember being really confused when I learned every family didn’t have a food blanket.
Not being allowed to leave the table until your meal was finished. I remember eating at a friends house and looking really uncomforable trying to finish a food I didn't like, only to be told, "You don't have to finish it if you don't want to." Mind blowing.
If I got hurt doing a certain activity I wasn’t allowed to do that activity again.
My mother ended that rule though when I broke my wrist snowboarding when I was 16 and didn’t tell her until a month later when I couldn’t move my wrist at all and it required surgery with a bone graft to repair.
That just sounds like a rule waiting to backfire, kids get hurt doing stuff, that's part of being a kid
I wasn't allowed to take a shower if I was home alone.
I also learned at age 7 that other households closed the bathroom door when using the toilet and keeping it open was weird. I learned that by keeping the door open at a friend's house, a friend walked by the bathroom, saw me, told their mom, their mom called my mom, and all of a sudden the new house rule was we close the bathroom door when using the toilet.
I can understand the shower under a certain age since small children might slip and fall, but over a certain age refusing your child privacy when they're naked or have their pants pulled down should be considered some kind of abuse.
If you don’t get A’s you don’t eat at the table. I legit thought this was normal until I had dinner at a friends’ house and my friend brought home a devastating report card. His parents were so supportive and loving..
When I got in trouble I was put on "reading restriction" as a punishment. I loved to read as a kid (still do!) so it was an effective punishment at the time.
My parents did this too. They stopped it about a year ago tho. (They did not take my books away thank goodness but they said I couldn't read until I got ungrounded 😭)
Mine too, they never actually had too though lol just the threat of taking my precious books was enough!
Load More Replies...
I apparently was reading harry potter too much ( i had only memorised them ) so my mum literally hid them
Same! Also happened with the Percy Jackson Books.
Load More Replies...
This pisses me off. If you like anything your parents (including mine) will use it as a punishment Yesterday i told my parents i got a job interview 30 Minutes later when they asked me to make dinner i said i would after the show i was watching bc i was tired. They said "If you're too tired to make dinner how are you going to manage a job?" Parents will literally use anything against you.
my friend had this too. She read so much her grades were bad. Her mom tried to take away her screens but my friend didn't care. My friends mom felt so bad for taking away books
Same happened to me. My mom gave up after a day or so of me wandering around the house sighing heavily.
Edit: Read the post too fast! I grew up with the same punishment and hated it!! They knew that I was happy as a clam reading, so my punishment was to take my books AWAY. Took me a long time to get over that and I still hoard too many books. Just bought 3 new ones this month... BUT, I LOVE MY LITTLE LIBRARY!!
I think that is also what is happening to the OP. They are taking the books away.
Load More Replies... mine was the opposite had to be in my room - grounded had a small b&w television , couldn’t use cheap stereo - couldn’t use telephone , same number as the house ; could only answer to tell my friends I couldn’t talk because i was grounded but ! i could read had to come up with a list of 10 words i didn’t know , and the definition , before i started the book spent about 2 yrs of my life grounded reason - coming home late 🙂
i got grounded from the school library for reading too much. my parents, teacher and librarian were all in on it
Oh I hated this punishment! I was a good kid too, but mom's second husband was abusive in so many ways, and the "no reading" was his second favorite after physical abuse.
Not being able to read as a punishment? WTF? I'd make you read more & give me a written report! (Which I did with my son). He knows everything there is to know about a) Martin Luther King Jr., b) Malcolm X and c) Dr. Robert Ballard, who discovered the wreck of the Titanic. Little smart a*s.
I was a A- B student and mother took my books until I make better grades. 1st time I stood up for myself!
I was a A-B student and mother took my books until I make better grades. 1st time I stood up for myself!
This was the only viable punishment for my kids, they never lost them long, usually a day. One time, the only really serious infraction my daughter had, she lost the second book in the hunger games series. She could read other things but not that. She got an even bigger attitude so I read it in front of her and ooh’d, gasped and said things like you won’t believe this but never told what was actually happening. I went and bought the 3rd book and read it the next day and did the same. When she got ungrounded she got both books. Didn’t have many problems with her after except reading too late but can’t punish her when I do the same.
Who the hell stops their kids from reading??!! I had a very strict bedtime, and my mind was blown when I asked for permission to read if I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't fall asleep and they said yes.
🤣🤣🤣...good parenting though. Tailoring the method of discipline to the individual child.
We don’t ever restrict educational stuff, but when ours acts up, we restrict TV, video games, etc.
I used to get grounded and my books got taken away. Didnt matter i have adhd and can find entertainment in scraps of paper and random stuff on the floor lol
My parents still do this… But, I’m still a smile child so ig it’s fine
Lol reminds me of the time when mom said "put that book down and come play Mario kart with me!" I also loved to read and still do. When I got in trouble she would take my book away or I had to have time out outside of my room
My parents did this as well but it was more to get us into read. Both were avid readers. We use to go-to the library in town about 45 minutes drive from our house once a week to exchange books. I still remember to this day love my kindle.
This is honestly hilarious cause I grew up feeling so sneaky for finding a tiny light and hiding under my covers to read at night and then pretending to sleep when my mom came to check on me. Looking back I'm pretty sure she knew what I was doing lol
That’s just wrong. I don’t care how effective it is I’m not stopping anyone from reading.
My parents do this! They just ground me from any type of entertainment for about a week. No reading, watching tv, being on a phone, drawing, or anything except for homework and sleeping I guess
I would read 24/7 when I was younger, and often to the point when I'd get in trouble or my books taken (temporarily tho)
My mom did this. It was VERY effective when my grades slipped. She got the school librarian and my principal in on it too. I went MONTHS without being allowed anything but 2 pre-approved books a week. It was AWFUL.
Every time I was on restriction, no fun reading. School work only.
I have three younger sisters, and when we were grounded, the only activity we could do is read. I loved it because I love to read and I love the quiet away from the younger sisters. I had to watch over every day.
My parents did this to me, and it was horrific. Reading was my major coping mechanism, and they took it away from me. Yes, I'm still bitter decades later.
I feel incredibly blessed that my mom encouraged reading so much. She gave me unrestricted access to her library. And considering her husband was a narcissistic dictator who didn't care about books, I think her stocking books like Animal Farm and Fahrenheit 451 was her secret way of letting me know that it can be good to question overbearing regimes
My mom did this take away all the books I like.....all it did was make me read new books.
For me asking to read was a punishment. I would have loved to have my books taken away.
I had that happen at a school once. Granted, it was actually more of a therapy programme that had a school tied to it so that you wouldn't fall behind. I was told that I spent too much time reading and not enough time interacting with my peers and working on my issues, which I guess was a fair enough point, but it still baffles me that a school would tell a student to stop reading.
We weren't allowed to watch anything remotely sexual like if people were kissing on screen my mom would freak out and run to cover the TV with a pillow and go "blah blah cough cough" loudly until it was over.
Once I tried to see a pg13 movie with my friends and my mom cried and my dad called me horrible for making her cry. I was 14.
Haiku night dinners.
Some nights we spoke in haiku
And *only* haiku
That sounds tedious. I can't believe you did that. I'm sorry for you.
When I was sick I couldn't be in my bed because it would make it dirty. My mom put a towel in a corner on the hardwood floor and I had to stay there until she deemed me better enough to use my bed.
My father never let us talk around the dinner table. Once when I was 15 I asked everyone around the table how they were doing and how their day was. My dad got up angrily after hurriedly finishing his meal and said: "I can't stand people talking around a meal, if I wanted to talk to you I would."
We finished our meal in silence.
Wow, this is just sad. I remember dinner time being a time of talking to each other (whilst eating too, of couse). My Dad would often be the one to ask: "So, did anyone hear or read something interesting today?" It was not uncommon for a simple little thing to morph into a long discussion. Good times... I miss them.
We weren't allowed to get into the fridge or the cabinets without asking permission. My family was very poor and we had a limited food budget, so eating something without permission very possibly meant eating one ingredient of a meal my step mother was planning on cooking within the next few days.
I went to friends' houses and they just ate whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted.
I grew up with 6 siblings. In the TV room, there we more people than couch seats. We had a rule that you couldn't steal someone's seat if they got up to go the bathroom, get a drink, etc.
My parents instituted it because of all the fights that would happen over seats. We all instantly realized how great a rule it was. No more arguments, but more importantly, your seat was safe for the night.
I never thought it was a "normal" rule as defined by the OP, but it is a great rule that every family should have.
No sliced bread in the house. Like my parents were perfectly normal in every other sense. But I think my mom assumed the uncut bakery bread at the grocery store was better quality or healthier or something? Anyway, I remember going to a friend’s house at like 13 years old and making a sandwich with pre-sliced bread! It was awesome! So much easier! My friend and her family laughed at my revelation but I’m not kidding it was a game-changer. I’d been cutting my own slices for years and they were always slightly uneven and it made making sandwiches or having a piece of bread a bit of a pain. I went home and immediately demanded sliced bread. It took a bit of convincing but eventually my mom caved to my demands. To this day my parents still prefer unsliced bread but whenever I visit my mom will go to the store and buy a sliced loaf just for me.
My mom freaks out about hearing commercials on TV. The second it goes to commercial break it has to be muted. She also mutes it if she thinks it's about to go to commercial, even though sometimes she's wrong. And she doesn't really pay attention, so she doesn't notice a lot of the time when the commercials are over so she leaves it on mute when the show is back on. It's very difficult to watch TV with her.
I can relate to this. These days with IPTV it's always possible to skip or pause when advert breaks come on, and I'm quite a master at hitting the +30sec button the exact number of times for ad breaks on some common channels. I'd even change channels and come back later to what I'm watching if it's in real time broadcast and I can't skip them.
I come from a large family. Any time we'd order pizza, we ordered a few different kinds because, obviously, there were different preferences. Any left overs were left in their respective boxes and placed in the oven.
I did that when I lived with a couple of roommates and of course their reaction was: "I just burned this box. Why was this in the f*****g oven?"
Where else does anyone keep leftover pizza apart from the oven? It'll be eaten for breakfast the next morning anyway!
I had SUPER laid back parents but there were a few certain things that they were randomly crazy strict about.
No gum.
No play doh.
No cereal with sugar as one of the top 3 ingredients.
No Simpsons.
I had basically no rules growing up, but those four things would make them lose their goddamn minds. I still get anxious when I’m chewing gum and I’m 35.
We weren't allowed to watch Simpsons either, after certain incidents...
We weren’t allowed to walk in our dining room unless we were using the room for a special occasion. The carpet always had that “just vacuumed” look so it was a dead giveaway if anyone walked across it.
If you couldn't find something, and you asked someone for help (sibling or parent) and they found it for you, they got to punch you in the arm.
I get very frustrated when husband/children call me because they can’t find something then I walk in the room and instantly see it. But punching? No
My dad made a rule that I had to kill seven flies a day during my summer break.
First thing upon coming in the house you have to change into clean pants and wash your hands. (Guests were exempt from the pants rule but not hand washing). If you took your shoes off while you were out you had to change your socks as well.
No singing at the table, unless it's a birthday.
Still to this day I don't cope well with quiet, but I guess when I was a kid the karaoke party never stopped. It was a good rule, but not necessary for most households
Note: this post originally had 43 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Some of these are strange but others are flat out abuse. "If you ask for help finding something they get to punch you"? "If you're sick you don't get to use your bed"? Those people should not have been parents.
A 'no' for the actual punch part, but some people can't seem to find anything, that is right under their noses. 'Mom, I can't find my shoe!' Well, if you just turn your head to the left a bit, you would! 'Honey, where are my car keys?' On the table, where you left them. If you'd just moove your wallet, you'd see them! In some cases, wanting to punch someone for stuff like this should be a fair game! )))
Load More Replies...
There were far more positive and neutral posts on this one. Usually, they're all negative.
If I wanted to change a rule or do something I needed permission for, I had to write up or type up a professional style business proposal outlining the entire thing. Needs, scope, reasoning, cost, every detail. I'm great at drafting documents of basically any kind. I had to dig to think of a positive one, my parents had some really messed up rules and methods, but that one was actually pretty cool. Anyway, drafted my first proposal at 8. By 21 I'd written municipal policy and code that was adopted by my city.
They never actually taught me how to write that stuff either, I figured it out on my own because I was a huge nerd and if there were words on a page I would read them. I had a secret set of medical encyclopedias and college text books our landlord left in our basement which I took with me when we moved. I remember a friend showing me a dirty magazine stash, and when they came to mine I showed them my...gasp...encyclopedias complete with full color pictures of horrifying medical conditions. And my secret calculus notebook. And my stacks of pretentious college lit class type novels. My parents never knew, but my friend was pretty sure I hadn't understood the assignment. In my mind their porn stash was awesome because it contained hidden knowledge, so it was basically the same.
Load More Replies...
We have a rule that is someone asks you to borrow something, YOU HAVE TO SAY YES, no matter what (some exceptions like if you are using it or if it's something like a tablet)
To my kids frustration this one was therapy approved. My two youngest sons were always getting into c**p. No matter what. One is on the tism scale and the other was blind in one eye and deaf in one ear. They always used excuses to cause c**p, break stuff, start fights in school with other kids. My youngest was an infant when these two yokles started acting up. I figured out a way to tie them together figuratively. Our family therapist died laughing about it she liked the idea so much. When one of the two causes c**p the other was grounded. No dates, no sports, no mall, no time with the g.f. They had to police each other. I didn't have to struggle with trying to straighten it out. They knew the other brother was gonna be peeved when c**p hit the fan. The first few times they got into trouble they didn't take it seriously until they weren't allowed to go to important events since their brother got em grounded. After that they started corrective assertive dialogue, the therapist ....
Label for it. They worked out their issues and learned to communicate instead of pounding on each other or others. On top of that they shared a food budget of 20 each a week. Their shared food. It got serious they gave each other temporary food shortage. That happened once. I never saw two kids straighten out faster. And again the therapist knew about the food budget... That was her idea. We were spending 600 a week for my now ex husband and three sons in food. The baby and I were doing 150 a month. My ex is a giant as are my kids. They over ate to make sure they got enough while denying everyone else food. The two youngest boys were the biggest culprits. It became easier when the eldest boy and the ex husband saw the really generic food I picked out for them to all share. They went into normal mode quickly. The younger boys tried eating the food I had to use for myself and the baby. My youngest was born with a rare stomach condition and was just starting baby food while only nursing ..
Load More Replies...
Some of these are strange but others are flat out abuse. "If you ask for help finding something they get to punch you"? "If you're sick you don't get to use your bed"? Those people should not have been parents.
A 'no' for the actual punch part, but some people can't seem to find anything, that is right under their noses. 'Mom, I can't find my shoe!' Well, if you just turn your head to the left a bit, you would! 'Honey, where are my car keys?' On the table, where you left them. If you'd just moove your wallet, you'd see them! In some cases, wanting to punch someone for stuff like this should be a fair game! )))
Load More Replies... There were far more positive and neutral posts on this one. Usually, they're all negative.
If I wanted to change a rule or do something I needed permission for, I had to write up or type up a professional style business proposal outlining the entire thing. Needs, scope, reasoning, cost, every detail. I'm great at drafting documents of basically any kind. I had to dig to think of a positive one, my parents had some really messed up rules and methods, but that one was actually pretty cool. Anyway, drafted my first proposal at 8. By 21 I'd written municipal policy and code that was adopted by my city.
They never actually taught me how to write that stuff either, I figured it out on my own because I was a huge nerd and if there were words on a page I would read them. I had a secret set of medical encyclopedias and college text books our landlord left in our basement which I took with me when we moved. I remember a friend showing me a dirty magazine stash, and when they came to mine I showed them my...gasp...encyclopedias complete with full color pictures of horrifying medical conditions. And my secret calculus notebook. And my stacks of pretentious college lit class type novels. My parents never knew, but my friend was pretty sure I hadn't understood the assignment. In my mind their porn stash was awesome because it contained hidden knowledge, so it was basically the same.
Load More Replies... We have a rule that is someone asks you to borrow something, YOU HAVE TO SAY YES, no matter what (some exceptions like if you are using it or if it's something like a tablet)
To my kids frustration this one was therapy approved. My two youngest sons were always getting into c**p. No matter what. One is on the tism scale and the other was blind in one eye and deaf in one ear. They always used excuses to cause c**p, break stuff, start fights in school with other kids. My youngest was an infant when these two yokles started acting up. I figured out a way to tie them together figuratively. Our family therapist died laughing about it she liked the idea so much. When one of the two causes c**p the other was grounded. No dates, no sports, no mall, no time with the g.f. They had to police each other. I didn't have to struggle with trying to straighten it out. They knew the other brother was gonna be peeved when c**p hit the fan. The first few times they got into trouble they didn't take it seriously until they weren't allowed to go to important events since their brother got em grounded. After that they started corrective assertive dialogue, the therapist ....
Label for it. They worked out their issues and learned to communicate instead of pounding on each other or others. On top of that they shared a food budget of 20 each a week. Their shared food. It got serious they gave each other temporary food shortage. That happened once. I never saw two kids straighten out faster. And again the therapist knew about the food budget... That was her idea. We were spending 600 a week for my now ex husband and three sons in food. The baby and I were doing 150 a month. My ex is a giant as are my kids. They over ate to make sure they got enough while denying everyone else food. The two youngest boys were the biggest culprits. It became easier when the eldest boy and the ex husband saw the really generic food I picked out for them to all share. They went into normal mode quickly. The younger boys tried eating the food I had to use for myself and the baby. My youngest was born with a rare stomach condition and was just starting baby food while only nursing ..
Load More Replies... 