People With Strict Parents Share The Most Insane Rules Their Parents Enforced

Growing up, pretty much every kid thinks that their parents are too strict with their rules and then, as adults, people start to understand where their parents were coming from. However, some people's parents truly were unreasonably strict.

On Reddit, these people came together to share the most strict and irrational rules their parents enforced when they were younger.

Peeing After Midnight Is Forbidden!

My parents had sensors on our doors so they could tell if we left our rooms during the night and we weren't allowed to use the bathrooms after midnight for some reason.
Text Credit: Reddit / UnequalRaccoon
Text Credit: Reddit / UnequalRaccoon

As someone whose child has a habit of getting out of bed after being tucked in, I can understand these parents' motivation, but putting sensors on the door or limiting when kids can use the washroom is too far.

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Please Be More Miserable!

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I have a friend who isn't allowed to go out if
Text Credit: Reddit / Nilocallen
Text Credit: Reddit / Nilocallen
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Have these parents never heard of the infamous philosophy of "work hard, play hard?" I can't imagine limiting how much fun and joy my child experiences—especially when they've already reached college age.

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Guitars Only, Though...

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We weren't allowed to listen to music with guitars in it. I will never forget the day my brother was listening to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and my father took the radio and threw it out the window.
Text Credit: Reddit / happy_little_three
Text Credit: Reddit / happy_little_three
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A tambourine? Fine. A nice string quartet? Palatable. A collection of flutes loudly playing? Okay. However, the guitar is where this father absolutely draws the line—something about the six strings is evil.

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This Is Public Humiliation

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photo of video titled
Photo Credit: Twitter / @TaylorLorenz
Photo Credit: Twitter / @TaylorLorenz
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If his grades turn out to be terrible, a bunch of strangers on the internet are now aware of his shame. If his grades turn out amazing, the rest of the kids will be annoyed about him being a show-off. There's no winning.

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Did They Just Lie Awake In Bed For Hours?

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7:00 pm bedtime. Not curfew. Bed time. Through junior high. Strictly enforced.
Text Credit: Reddit / Lynxsoul
Text Credit: Reddit / Lynxsoul
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I get it: growing children need a lot of sleep to be healthy. However, there is no reason a junior high-aged child should be going to bed that early. They have about 12 hours before they'd even need to be up for school...

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This Is An Emergency!

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My mom called me while I was at a friend's house because I left two t-shirts slung over the chair in my room instead of hanging them in my closet. I had to go home and I was grounded for a week.
Text Credit: Reddit / Noisyrussinator
Text Credit: Reddit / Noisyrussinator
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As someone who, even as an adult, has a chair in the corner of my bedroom that is consistently covered in upwards of five clothing items, I would not have survived in this home.

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When I Say "Over," You Say "Reaction"

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Happy mother's day to the woman who callled the cops on me when she didn't find me in my room sleeping in the middle of the night and thought I snuck out of the house. I was downstairs in the kitchen eating cereal and also 22
Photo Credit: Reddit / leasors
Photo Credit: Reddit / leasors
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I feel like this mom skipped over a lot of steps—like checking the house, texting her daughter, waiting for maybe five minutes—when she immediately decided to call the police on her kid.

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Not Evolution!

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I was not allowed to watch Pokémon because it
Text Credit: Reddit / tacoflavoredkisses94
Text Credit: Reddit / tacoflavoredkisses94
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The funny thing is that there were a lot of shows that promoted questionable morals available on television, but these parents decided that a dragon turning into a bigger dragon was damaging for children to see.

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Sorry Kids, But Grandpa Lost One Of His Chances To Succeed

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I wasn't allowed to say
Text Credit: Reddit / zaqhavok
Text Credit: Reddit / zaqhavok
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On one hand, I get that these parents didn't want their children to talk about death in such a casual way. On the other hand, I would have made fun of a kid who said they "lost one of their chances to succeed" in a game.

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You Ever Get So Bored You Stalk Your Child's Calendar Years Into The Future?

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mom: do you have a birth control implant? Daughter: why? mom: you have an appointment to
Photo Credit: Reddit / Recifeeder
Photo Credit: Reddit / Recifeeder
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This 20-year-old woman had synced her online calendar with her mother's a while back and forgotten about it until she got this message while she was at work. You hate to see it.

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Stop Being Such A Bad Kid And Volunteering

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They didn't want me volunteering during high school. I was visiting a retirement home and they said it was too dangerous to be around strangers like that and that volunteering was taking time away from my studies.
Text Credit: Reddit / symphonicdestruction
Text Credit: Reddit / symphonicdestruction
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Most parents worry about their teenage children getting into drinking, using illicit substances, or getting pregnant in high school, but these parents drew the line at doing volunteer work and giving back to the community!

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I Would Give Up On Playing

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Text Credit: Reddit / thebangzats
Text Credit: Reddit / thebangzats
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My parents made me practice piano for a minimum of 10 hours a week, and I thought that was rough; however, these parents really took it to a new level when they decided the kid had to practice piano to play at a 1:1 ratio.

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You Sure Taught Them!

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photo shows toy that has been smashed with a hammer with caption: this is what happens when little boys are disrespectful. Anyone this crazy or just me?
Photo Credit: Reddit / matth3w_ab
Photo Credit: Reddit / matth3w_ab
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This mom is way too proud of her decision to smash her children's belongings as a punishment. There's no worse way to make your children respect you and your things than by actively disrespecting them and their things!

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Sorry, Sweaty

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A friend of mine wasn't allowed to wear shorts to school unless it was already over 80°F when she left the house. School started at 7:40 AM so this almost never happened, even on days when it reached over 90°F midday. The school didn't have air conditioning.
Text Credit: Reddit / svetlanamonsoon61
Text Credit: Reddit / svetlanamonsoon61
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I feel so sorry for this poor kid who was definitely stuck sweltering on the playground during every recess whenever the weather was moderately warm. Nothing like heat exhaustion, am I right?

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I Can't Believe She Rationed Shampoo

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My stepmom decided that I was using too much shampoo so she would get a little medicine cup before my shower and pour the designated amount into it. It was never enough.
Text Credit: Reddit / whattokayyyeah
Text Credit: Reddit / whattokayyyeah
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It's obviously important to teach your children not to needlessly waste goods, but preparing rations of shampoo for their showers seems like it goes too far. All that this stepmom accomplished was making the kid smell.

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That's Super Healthy And Not At All Concerning

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My mom was weirdly strict and controlling about food. She kept track of everything us kids ate everyday.
Text Credit: Reddit / Skeletress
Text Credit: Reddit / Skeletress
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I cannot stress this enough: showing obsessive behaviors around food consumption around your children, whether you personally diet a lot or you control their food too much, only sets them up to have unhealthy eating patterns in the future.

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Javier Deserved Better

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Animal Shelter posts photo of dog with caption: This is Javier and he was surrendered today because his kid would not do his homework. Javier is a big friendly guy who is already microchipped, neutered...
Photo Credit: Reddit / NemoHobits
Photo Credit: Reddit / NemoHobits
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First of all, all this just because the kid didn't do his homework? Second of all, a dog isn't just a toy that you can return to the store—it's a living, feeling being!!!

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Bro, Aren't They Asleep?

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I'm currently on holiday in Japan. I have to message every hour to update my parents on what I am doing.
Text Credit: Reddit / Its_just_a_Prank-bro
Text Credit: Reddit / Its_just_a_Prank-bro
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Of course, it makes sense that parents might want to keep some tabs on their child while they are in a foreign country, but every hour seems excessive. Isn't Japan's daytime during our night anyway?

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We Found The Person To Blame

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my overprotective catholic mother just told me this lockdown is God's way of telling me I go out too much... sorry everybody this entire pandemic is my fault for not staying home MY BAD
Photo Credit: Reddit / julielielie_chr
Photo Credit: Reddit / julielielie_chr
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I can't believe this mom looked at a global disaster that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and devastated countries and still decided to blame it on her daughter.

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No Internet For You!

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I only had 30 minutes of supervised internet time a day—as in mom looked over my shoulder and commented on my conversations. When my parents weren't home, they would literally lock the computer keyboard in a toolbox.
Text Credit: Reddit / Mama2shy
Text Credit: Reddit / Mama2shy
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I think I would have taken up a life as a social recluse if I had to have my mom read my MSN messenger conversations over my shoulder as I typed them.

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Privacy Was Non-Existent Here

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I wasn't allowed to close the door to my bedroom.
Text Credit: Reddit / catsaresoft23
Text Credit: Reddit / catsaresoft23
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This is a PSA to all parents: your children should be allowed to have some privacy from you and be able to control their own surroundings and personal boundaries in their bedrooms.

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Every Minute? Yikes

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For every minute I that was late coming in from curfew, I got grounded for a week. I once spent ten weeks grounded due to a sobriety checkpoint.
Text Credit: Reddit / Silly_Christians
Text Credit: Reddit / Silly_Christians
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If the timing had been a bit different, I think this would actually be a good tactic. For example, if they were grounded for a week for every 15 minutes they were late for curfew and if the punishment wasn't inflicted when circumstances weren't under their control.

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Can We Have Your Money?

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[text conversation] mom: do you think you can lend me 4600 until next Friday? We were approved for a car but we have to put down $1100 and we only have $500. Child: I don't even have $600. mom: oh, you should have a lot of money. stop spending. Child: the most I have is $300. how are you going to ask me for money and then tell me to stop spending?
Photo Credit: Reddit / CHIEFXx
Photo Credit: Reddit / CHIEFXx
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This son explained that he works a minimum-wage job to help pay for college in the future and his parents still ask to borrow money from him for things. It's just not right.

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This Is Weirdly Specific

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My siblings had to eat 10 olives every day at dinner. They have no idea why. I am the youngest so I guess my dad forgot about that rule by the time I came around.
Text Credit: Reddit / elbatalia
Text Credit: Reddit / elbatalia
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I would like to ask this father a few questions: why did he want his children to eat olives on a daily basis? Why dinner as the meal? Why did they have to eat exactly 10 olives?

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Well, That Backfired

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My mom wouldn't let me have any female friends growing up because she didn't want use getting into
Text Credit: Reddit / vozami
Text Credit: Reddit / vozami
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This mom decided that she was going to keep her kid from getting romantic in any way by only forcing him to hang out with other boys; I don't think he really minded.

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How Do You "Not Believe" In Periods?

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My dad didn't believe in periods, and when I cried that I needed feminine products, he gave me food stamps to buy them. I was humiliated.
Text Credit: Reddit / unsweetee
Text Credit: Reddit / unsweetee
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Periods aren't like bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster—there's no debate as to whether or not they are a real phenomenon. I really feel for this probably awkward 13-year-old girl trying to figure it out on her own.

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Location Services: Permanently Disabled

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father consistently texts questions about daughter's whereabouts (which she answers) then says
Photo Credit: Reddit
Photo Credit: Reddit
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Location services are a great way to track your children when they are very young, but it goes a little too far when they are fully grown adults just trying to hang out with friends.

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No Slicing Bread?!

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My dad wrote a whole manual on his rules. Most unreasonable was
Text Credit: Reddit / season1984
Text Credit: Reddit / season1984
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How did this dad expect children to make a sandwich? I mean, I like tearing bread and dipping it in soup as much as anyone else, but forbidding knife use is so extreme.

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I Would Like To Read The Essay

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I had to write essays on tv shows that I wanted to watch for my mom to take off the parental controls. I remember writing a riveting piece on the educational and cultural benefit of Disney's That's So Raven. Also, I wasn't allowed to watch PG-13 movies, even after turning 13.
Text Credit: Reddit / auxcome
Text Credit: Reddit / auxcome
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Can you imagine being a teen and wanting to keep up with the show all of your friends talk about at school but having to write a full essay on it in 12-point font, Times New Roman?

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Okay, But I Had The Same Rule...

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I'm a few months away from turning 18 and moving out. I'm still not allowed to sleep in the same room as my phone
Text Credit: Reddit / iPerkis
Text Credit: Reddit / iPerkis
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No joke, on top of the phone thing, my parents also didn't let me watch SpongeBob as a kid. In fact, I was only allowed to watch television shows with a clear educational purpose, such as The Magic School Bus and How It's Made. I know—I can't believe I wasn't popular in school either.

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That So...Unnecessary

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When I was 16 and got my drivers license, I was only allowed to borrow my parents' car if I agreed to never turn left. My mom felt that right turns were much safer and that I would still be able to get wherever I was going by taking the long way and only making right turns.
Text Credit: Reddit / BR0WN_BANANA
Text Credit: Reddit / BR0WN_BANANA
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Listen, right turns might be slightly safer, but I bet that trying to figure out a route to get somewhere via right turns takes so much mental energy that it would be just be safer to make a left turn or two.

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Who Knew That A Weighted Blanket Would Be So Controversial?

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mom gets mad at daughter for buying a weighted blanket for her little sister
Photo Credit: Reddit / castrilv
Photo Credit: Reddit / castrilv
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The daughter in this photo explained that her younger sister had been having trouble sleeping over the past couple of months, so she ordered a weighted blanket to the house to see if it would help. For some reason, her mother was angry about it.

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Because Those Four Weeks Make Such A Difference

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My mom was very strict about the ratings of movies and video games. One year for Christmas, a relative gave me a game rated T (for teen) and I wouldn't be turning 13 for another 4 weeks so she made me return it.
Text Credit: Reddit / allou_stat
Text Credit: Reddit / allou_stat
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This story makes me want to call my parents and thank them for never even really reading game ratings when I would get them. I mean, what's the difference between being 12 and 13 while playing a game?

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Where Did He Sit Then?

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I had a friend who wasn't allowed to sit on the couch at home—no matter the circumstances. The kicker was that it was a crappy couch, so it's not like he was going to ruin it.
Text Credit: Reddit / DecoyOne
Text Credit: Reddit / DecoyOne
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Did this guy just spend the first 18 years of his life sitting on the floor all the time? Or was there an armchair or ottoman that he was allowed to sit on? Either way, it's weird.

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This One Is Oddly Common

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I wasn't allowed to read Harry Potter because it had magic...
Text Credit: Reddit / balleriffic
Text Credit: Reddit / balleriffic
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I actually knew a lot of people growing up who were forbidden to read the Harry Potter books or watch any of the movies because of the magic component but were allowed to watch horror movies. Make it make sense.

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This Is A Fairy-Tale Level Of Evil Stepmom

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kid texts: hey ruth, is dad available? then later: why didn't you tell me he's in the hospital for TWO WEEKS
Photo Credit: Reddit / alexislynncatherine
Photo Credit: Reddit / alexislynncatherine
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This young woman explained that she hadn't heard back from her dad for a while, so she reached out to her stepmother to ask what was going on. Her stepmother hadn't told the daughter that her dad was sick because she "never called to talk to her enough."

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The Grass Really Is Greener...

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I wasn't allowed to do chores. I literally begged to do some laundry or cook as a teen because I knew I needed the life skills. I'm 20 and I got in trouble a few months ago for making myself scrambled eggs.
Text Credit: Reddit / austbot
Text Credit: Reddit / austbot
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Not being allowed to do chores might sound like a dream come true, but as one of the only people in my college dorm who was able to use a washing machine, I get how important it is for kids to complete them.

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Even As Adults?

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My wife's parents are still strict and it's annoying whenever we visit. We're not allowed to sleep in and can't lounge around in our PJs—we have to be fully dressed in the morning.
Text Credit: Reddit / SarcasticGamer
Text Credit: Reddit / SarcasticGamer
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It's one thing for parents to enforce strict rules upon their children when they're still minors, but as independent married adults, it's just weird. How are you going to tell a 30-year-old that she can't wear pajamas in the house?

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Let Him Sell The Xbox

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My parents say they own everything I own, even if I bought it with my own money. I got an Xbox One when it first came out with money from my job and now they won't let me sell it because my brother still uses it.
Text Credit: Reddit / MetalZach
Text Credit: Reddit / MetalZach
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I'm all for getting siblings to share things—my brother and I shared just about everything, even if we bought it ourselves—but to not let him sell his own Xbox? That's wack.

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In Summary, Being Strict Doesn't Make Good Kids

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Things strict parents think they're teaching you: how to behave you. What they actually teach you: How to listen for footsteps, how to appear busy, how to manipulate someone into calming down, and how to lie on the spot
Photo Credit: Reddit / Fizzy_Bits
Photo Credit: Reddit / Fizzy_Bits
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As someone who grew up with strict parents, all they really taught me was how to lie really well. In reality, I probably wouldn't have rebelled as hard if they had been a little more chill.