People Reveal The Weirdest Rules They Had To Follow When They Were Kids
It seems like each family has some kind of rule or tradition that is totally unique to them. Kids grow up thinking that all families have a carpet rake or a rule about using electronics on Tuesdays, but then they grow up and find out that it's just their family and nobody else's.
Reddit user ctsom posed the question, "What was a house rule you had as a kid that you thought was completely normal until you grew up and realized not all households followed?" Keep reading to see how the people of the internet responded.
Worth A Punch
"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." —dahaoab
This is a good rule because it discourages you from wasting people's time. You get the thing you were looking for, and they get to punch you—everyone wins.
Eating In Silence
"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." —Morb2
The Night-Night Bell
"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." —motorbike-t
Killing Flies
"My dad made a rule that I had to kill seven flies a day during my summer break." —mosaicevolution
Clearly, this dad really hated the flies that buzz around during the summer months.
Don't Come Home Late
"When I was going out for a party as a teenager, I had to choose between coming back home at 1 a.m. or waiting until 7 a.m.
"I can tell you that I slept many nights drunk in the garden, waiting to have the right to enter my house." —sousmar1
Be Your Own Babysitter
"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." —anxiousjellybean
Safety First
"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." —_njhiker
Stellar Parenting
"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." —Illarie
The Chillest Parents Ever
"I had SUPER laid back parents but there were a few certain things that they were randomly crazy strict about. No gum. No Pay-Doh. No cereal with sugar as one of the top three ingredients. No Simpsons.
"I had basically no rules growing up, but those four things would make them lose their minds. I still get anxious when I'm chewing gum and I’m 35." —SiFiWiRi
Eating Alone As A Punishment
"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..." —GreatGooseGimbo
The Q-Tip Routine
"My mom would make my sister and I lay on the couch and clean our belly-button with a Q-tip every morning before school." —30Crabapple
This is a really weird morning routine.
No Curfew At All
"No curfew as long as I told my mom where I would be. I was always honest because I loved being 16 with no curfew." —Ushouldknowthat
Sometimes it pays to give your kids a bit of freedom.
Strict Movie Rules
"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." —Dameunbatido
The Food Blanket
"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." —llamallama-duck
A Clever Use Of Weekends
"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." —missdontcare_
No Beds For Sick Kids
"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." —Zenosparadox1
No Tolerance For Ads
"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
Only Some Sinks Are For Hand Washing
"Not mine but my mother-in-law and her sister will fuss at you if you wash your hands in the kitchen sink. I think that's weird.
"If there's a sink and some hand soap I say wash away. My wife isn't like that." —singuslarity
Don't Walk On The Carpet
"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
A Limited Food Budget
"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 stepmother was planning on cooking within the next few days.
"I went to friends' houses and they just ate whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted." —badhairguy
Whistling Rules
"No whistling!!" —bepisbabey
Well, someone in this household clearly absolutely hated the sound of whistling. Honestly, this is a pet peeve that I can totally understand. I may have to implement this policy in my house.
No Electronics On Days That Start With T
"Every Tuesday and Thursday, my parents wouldn't allow us kids to use electronics in any shape or form.
"I thought there was some kind of law against using electronics on Tuesdays and Thursdays. When I was actually old enough to decide to question the rule, my dad told me the truth and I was shocked." —AHerribleSpeler
No Lone Showering
"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." —gothchrysallis
Decorative Furniture
"I wasn't allowed to use any of the furniture. We had a beautiful dining table, couch, easy chairs, etc., but I watched TV and ate dinner sitting on the floor.
"I thought furniture was largely for decorative purposes to an embarrassingly late age." —LiteraryMisfit
Rollerblading Rules
"No rollerblading in the driveway, and no playing in the front yard. My dad was extremely anal about keeping everything perfect looking.
"I also had to take my shoes off before I got into his truck and set my shoes on a separate mat in the back." —sampage89
When Not To Flush
"We lived in a small house with three bedrooms on the top floor and one bathroom. This was the only bathroom in the house.
"Once my dad had gone to bed we were not under any circumstances allowed to flush the toilet. Even if it was for a number 2. It's been a really hard one to grow out of, and even now If I use the bathroom in the night I have to remind myself this is my apartment and I can do what I want." —philliamm96
If Parents Controlled Birthdays
"My parents straight convinced me that it was up to them whether I had a birthday and therefore would progress to the next age." —ristianchrathke
I bet a lot of parents wished that they controlled time like this.
The Carpet Rake
"My parents entertained a lot, so we had a fancy living room we couldn't enter. If there were any footprints on the carpet, my mom would make us rake the entire carpet with this special plastic rake.
"We soon learned after we would run through it to just rake the footprints before she saw them." —VariousFeedback0
Cops For Parents
"If we had fought/etc, matter how upset we were at each other, we always said I love you and goodbye if someone had to leave.
"My parents were cops so they never wanted to leave us with bad last words just in case." —briibeezieee
Nail Cutting Rules
"No cutting your nails on Sunday. It was bad luck. No real lined out repercussions just bad luck. Honestly, I still don't cut my nails on Sundays.
"I think it’s just ingrained in my personality at this point." —DorkWng
