Leigh
When you were a kid, was there a bizarre house rule you followed that you thought of as completely normal—until you realized it absolutely freaking wasn’t? Did your parents make you take off your outside clothes right there in the foyer? Were you forbidden from television at all costs? Did you vote on your parent’s decisions for their punishing you?
Kids all over the world have grown up with some weird adult demands—and because we were all so young and clueless, we didn’t realize that they weren’t exactly par for the course. Like ringing the “night night bell” (more on that weirdness below).
Over at Reddit, a bunch of people shared their unique childhood “house rules” that…their friends didn’t exactly follow. Be prepared to feel like these are somehow scarily relatable…or that you’re very lucky you never had to deal with these house rules (No skin on the sofa?! Pre-bedtime sugar bug teeth checks?!)…
1.
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. —Illaries
2.
We weren’t allowed ‘sugar cereals.’ I grew up on Cheerios, Kix, Chex, and Raisin Bran. Mom didn’t buy anything else. Dad would occasionally buy Grapenuts, but he was happy with Raisin Bran. Sleepovers were amazing because it meant I could have a bowl of Lucky Charms or Cocoa Puffs or Fruity Pebbles. —Bestem
3.
My dad used to set up mine and my sister’s Easter egg hunts in such a way we followed written clues from place to place, as way to help us learn to read. Until I was a young adult, I assumed that was how all kids did Easter egg hunts. —QueenElsaArrandelle
4.
No noise annoying mum and dad until 7am. This was a really necessary one bc I was a very early riser as a kid and I loved to talk to my parents. The rule was that I could come to their bed and curl up next to them, but I couldn’t talk until 7. It was actually really nice, and made sure I got enough rest myself.
Tragically, once I started rowing like 7 years later, mum and dad had to get up at 4 anyway to get me to the sheds.—Moorhawke
5.
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.—JetScooter
6.
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. —Code_Name_Jellyfish
7.
Tape half the house off in winter. — Watertothetree
8.
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.—BatMan1227
9.
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.—SecretAgentSquirrel1
10.
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.—bigmacnpoet
