Yeah - no girlfriends, no sex, no self-sex, but in a way that's not really all that strange. I've never really being into girls (even now) or sex though and had no interest in girls or sex in my teens or my early 20's. My parents gave my no sex ed help.
I rebelled against being religious because I could see straight through the hypocrisy of church(es) in my teens. Mum was almost like a b(j)orn against Jesus Tok before Tok was a Tik thing.
I got drunk at a party at a friends place in year 10 (1984) and swore myself off ever drinking again until I was much older (my 40's). My mum was a chronic smoker and I have never myself smoked ever. So not really a 'rule' imposed by my parents - one I created for myself which I've stuck too 'religiously' (lol) since.
We always ate at the table. My dad’s favourite line was “You’re either eating or you’re watching TV… you can’t do both at once!”. My mom would usually reply with some remark about men and multitasking. But in reality she didn’t let us eat in front of the TV either.
I like to remind my dad of this now when I see him sat there eating on the couch & watching sports.
@MrsRachelEvans I kind of like it as a rule. I’m not super strict about snacks now but with my kiddo we always eat meals at the table and she can’t get down until everyone is done eating. I thought that was normal until I was told I’m strict… I’m really not 😂
Come to think of it my own weirdest rule growing up was not these but that I basically had a home uniform to wear when not on school or church. It was a plaid tunic (various colours), white shirt and white socks and panties.
If there is a hat on the doorknob Daddy and Mommy are not to be disturbed. I think they were playing Cowboys and Indians because it was always a cowboy hat. 🤷♀️
Most of the time I was in boarding school where the rules were even weirder.
At home we always had to remove shoes before coming into the house. Not because my parents were hygiene fanatics, but because dad got mad at us four girls 'rampaging' noisily about the place. And I wasn't allowed to use the telephone after 8.00pm 🥺 Bedtimes strictly enforced. Younger girls not allowed into older girls bedrooms unless expressly invited.
My parents have a lot of really strict rules, like the ones you listed. But those are more strict I think, and probably the result of them having so many kids. Like I share a room with my younger siblings, so I have to go to bed at the same time as them so I don't wake them up.
The only strange rule I can think of is me and my siblings never being allowed to touch the TV remote. We got almost no screen time anyway, so I hardly noticed honestly. But it started because one of my toddler brothers went through a phase where they liked to rip off the buttons on the remote and chew on them. And then my parents just liked us never touching/losing/moving the remote, so we have just always known we can't touch it 😂 We have to ask permission to watch TV, and they scroll through the channels and and we can ask to watch something if we see something we like. At which point it becomes a group decision because it has for sure drawn the attention of several siblings and they now want to watch something, too.
@MrsRachelEvans It was the same for me until I was in about second or third year at high school. It used to infuriate me and cause me to really resent my parents when they wouldn't allow me to stay up and watch a TV programme that all my classmates at school were talking about. Now I wouldn't watch TV if you paid me! 🙂
As a boy I was not allowed to wear a hat of any kind in school. As girls my sisters could not wear any pants in school. However they could wear any hat they wanted.
@froggtongue Nah and not really weird either. My parents were pretty permissive but they did teach us to be respectful and work for what we want. I was a total square as a teen and spent my days with my nose in a book! Lol
That's a huge example of things being taught and culture being passed down because of reasons that might have been relevant at the time. It's why we should continually reevaluate our situations.
A lot of those are just really old-fashioned standards, and a product of their times.
We had suppers with the family as often as we could, and when we kids started having different schedules, we had supper together every Sunday. We were expected to excuse ourselves before leaving the table, which was considered good manners; our parents did it as well.
Other rules were practical, like bedtimes on school nights so it was easier to get kids up for school in the mornings. With us that only lasted until high school, then we were seen as being responsible enough to get up and get ready for school on our own.
And three of us attended parochial schools, so we wore uniforms, which didn’t include trousers for girls. I was eldest, so by the time my youngest sister was in high school, she was in public school and girls could wear jeans.
@bijouxbroussard he thought tights were like trousers or leggings. I had long socks or stockings. It does not get that cold here. And the school uniform was skirts only as well. A lot of them still are.
@MrsRachelEvans Looking back the ritual dinners were a very important part of growing up, a lot of important conversations took place there and everyone was involved.
Nope. The rules were always vague and never really pre-defined. But such rules were never a thing. Mostly was just boiled down to "Don't do stupid shit", "Don't talk back", "Don't break anything", and "Don't get in trouble".