People Shared the Dumbest Family Rules Their Parents Enforced as They Were Growing up

As parents, we often make calls that, in hindsight, weren’t possibly the best. Sometimes we make up new rules on the fly without giving them too much thought. And sometimes we double down on those rules even once we’ve considered how silly they are so as not to lose face.

I mean, it doesn’t happen very often, but it does happen from time to time.

These people shared the dumbest rules that their parents enforced while they were growing up, and boy-howdy can we relate — both as children and as their parents!

⭐  I wasn’t allowed to watch Roseanne. I watched it at my friend’s house once and then confessed to my mum about it because I felt guilty and also saw nothing wrong with the content of the show. Then I learned that the rule only existed because my mum thinks Roseanne’s voice is annoying. ~ childfree_IPA

⭐  No dating, no having friends over to the house, no extracurricular activities, no using the car for work, I had to buy my own clothes if I wanted anything more than pants or a Walmart shirt.

ahem *clears throat*

“Why don’t you have a boyfriend? Why don’t you have any friends? Why are you on the computer all day? Why are you chubby and depressed? Why do you dress like that?” ~ DrawingCactusCats

⭐  We couldn’t wear short sleeves or shorts until a specific date in summer. It didn’t matter what the actual weather was like, unless it matched up with my mum’s calendar date, it wasn’t happening. ~booksaboutthesame

⭐  Mum would arrive at school at 6:30am to beat the 10-minute traffic. School started at 7:40am. My sister and I would have to wait in the car until 7:20 to get out. Get out earlier? Screaming, scolding and silent treatment. ~ leader-akiko

⭐  My mum didn’t let me say “fart”. She thought it was gross. ~ girl_user89

⭐  My dad demanded that we turn the tv to channel 10 before we turned it off. He could get legitimately angry if it wasn’t on 10. Even if he was going to watch a different channel anyways. ~ Luvbug2007

⭐  I wasn’t allowed to say “arm pit.” I’d have to say “under arm” instead. ~ Hail_Teemo

⭐  To be downstairs in the house, you must have the same standard of dress as if you were leaving the house/in public. I would be scolded if I was caught downstairs at 11pm in my pyjamas getting a glass of water. ~ sexrockandroll

⭐  No throwing up. Turns out, my mom just couldn’t handle cleaning up vomit without throwing up herself, but it’s amazing how powerful the mind can be over the body when it thinks something isn’t allowed. ~ dmiller22361

⭐  I couldn’t watch Rugrats because the show “promoted stupidity.” I could watch any other dumb show my heart desired, but not Rugrats. Also, an infrequent, but still strange, rule: when my dad got mad at us, he would insist that we called him Dr. Dad. ~ cl018513

Can you remember any stupid rules in your house when you were growing up? Share them with us in the comments, we’d love to hear them too!

* Responses edited slightly for clarity

Source: Reddit and Giphy