When I was 11, I got grounded from and end of year party for getting a B on a paper (even though I still got all A’s). I was devastated. It was thrown by my best friend and I was never allowed to do ANYTHING. I had been looking forward to it all year.
I had the perfect dress to wear because my Aunt had taken me shopping. It made me look like Molly Ringwald and I was never allowed to wear it before. It had been in my closet since September!
I was seriously having a Cinderella moment.
The day of party I was bawling. I’m a good kid. I try to be PERFECT every waking moment and now I’m grounded from my best friends party.
My best friends mom knows how tough it is for me at home. I’m screamed at, belittled all the time. This party was a beacon.
So Arlene (best friends mom) barges in my house. She tells me to get ready and get my stuff together because I’ll be spending the night. My mom protests.
“How about I call CPS about the 50 cats in your house?”
I went to the party and Arlene taught me to stand up for myself.
Opandemonium
As the eldest son of a Southern Baptist preacher, I was held to some pretty high standards. I was to be seen and not heard; my every action was a reflection of my father as a leader to his congregation.
I found music to be a great outlet, but of course any non-Christian music was not allowed and was immediately destroyed upon discovery. Spare the rod, spoil the child was a mantra ingrained in my daily life.
Once I was into my teens and spankings were no longer enough to be considered punishment, my father moved on to shaving my head. Nothing reminds you how unworthy you are like someone forcibly removing your physical sense of identity.
PsychonauticalVoyage
I wanted to be a scientist when I was a kid. My older sister saved up a lot of money to buy me a microscope kit, where you could make your own slides. It was awesome.
One day my sister and I got into a fight about who should do the dishes. (continued…)
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My mother punished my sister by forbidding her from seeing her boyfriend.
My mother punished me by breaking my microscope in two. I lost all interest in science after that.
rose_garden1992
I was not allowed to use public restrooms. I “ruined” our Disney trip because of how many times we had to go back to the hotel (not on site) when I was six. And I quite honestly had accidents when I was far too old to do so because my parents had my teachers reporting bathroom use to them too. There was no place I could safely use the restroom other than home without getting into trouble.
Finally I got to use public restrooms without punishment when I went to college. (No, I’m not kidding.) But I got pretty good at hiding restroom use in high school because the high school refused to report it to my parents.
phoenix-corn
I dealt with a narcissistic mother. Most of my punishments weren’t huge because I was a really good kid. But on my 18th birthday, because I had asked for gas money the day before, she took my car keys with her to work.
She took the shed key too so that I couldn’t even ride my bike, and left a note on the kitchen table saying: “Happy 18th. Now you’re an adult, so get out of my house.” I spent my birthday alone, trapped, and miserable – all because I asked if I could borrow $10.
skyward_sonya
I refused to greet my sister’s new boyfriend with more than a “Sup?” So later that night, my mom hulk smashed my laptop double-fist style.
Satan_and_Communism
One day, the news said school might be closed for a cold day (like a snow day, but for when it’s cold enough your exposed skin freezes in <10 mins). My mom demanded I start walking to school, or she’d report me to the cops as truant. (continued…)
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We argued. The TV said school started late that day. I decided to go anyways, because that was better than the arguing. She then decided I was to stay home for her so that she could call the cops.
I shoved past her, so she then locked me out of the house.
Halfway to school, I was told that the school was closed. I had to call my dad to be let in the house again. That day, I promised myself I’d leave home as soon as possible.
CFCrispyBacon
My grandmother was a retired English teacher. One day, I called my brother stupid (I was four or so). She filled me in on her rule: if I couldn’t spell ‘stupid’ but I called someone ‘stupid,’ then it was really me that was stupid. Thus, I should never call someone a name that I couldn’t spell.
So in my four-year-old head, rather than avoid name-calling, I realized that I DID know how to spell ‘dumb,’ so that word must be permitted. I spent the rest of the day over-using the word ‘dumb’ and she wasn’t quite sure what to do at that point.
papereverywhere
My mother is a serious narcissist. I graduated from high school early at 16 and didn’t go to college immediately. So I worked a part-time job while all my friends went to school. Anyways, when all my friends graduated high school we celebrated by going to the movies.
My friends mom dropped us off, and another friends father was going to be picking us up. My mom was very upset at me going to the movies anyways since it wasn’t going to be over until after 9pm (my bedtime). Anyways finally she lets me go on the condition that friends dad gets me home by 10pm.
My friends father ran into late night construction on the way home with me and several other friends in the van. The closer it got to 10pm, the more I started freaking out. I was telling everyone I was going to be in huge trouble if I didn’t get home like, RIGHT NOW. My friends father assured me he would speak to my mom and all would be fine.
I was the first be be dropped off because I was panicking so severely. The moment the van pulled into the driveway, my mom came barreling out of the house telling me she was going to whip me for being late and keeping her up.
My friends dad tried to calm her down and separate her from hitting me. That was when she realized she had another reason to be upset with me. (continued…)
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I was chewing gum, and she HATED gum. She said, “the only reason you would ever chew gum is to hide something.” So naturally she made the assumption that I was late and chewing gum because I had been hooking up with my friends dad. Yup. That was the only explanation in her mind.
She grounded me for 12 weeks. An entire summer. I wasn’t allowed to have access to a phone, TV, or books the entire summer. Every morning my mom would take the cable box, home phone handset, and keyboard to make sure I couldn’t do anything.
Needless to say, my friends never invited me anywhere again in fear that my mom would call the cops and accuse me of sleeping with their dads.
She also used to report my car stolen if I didn’t call her back when I was in college.
kittycity_
As punishment, my dad would make us face a corner, stand on one leg and keep both arms straight up in the air for a certain length of time. If our leg or arms went down, he’d double the time. At least I grew up to have fantastic balance.
coldasshands
In our house, the word “disgusting” was banned and could have been considered just as bad as saying any profanity.
We werent allowed to close doors unless we were in the bathroom.
We werent allowed to watch the Cartoon Network because it was “garbage. They actually put a parental lock on cartoons.
masonjarsandscars
My parents once grounded me for two years for getting a B on my report card. They took everything out of my room besides the bed and I wasn’t allowed to do anything with friends. A year-and-a-half into it, I asked if I could be un-grounded. At that point, they had actually forgotten what they grounded me for, but refused because “I must have done something bad if they grounded me.”
Also they refused to let me stay up past 8pm. Even in high school.
SpitefulNoodle
One time, Dr. Phil’s show told my mother that having a bed was a luxury for kids, so she immediately took mine away. (continued…)
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I slept on a cold wood floor until I escaped that house and cut off all contact. My dorm in college was the first real bed I’d slept in for 10 years.
I have many chronic back problems that I don’t think will ever be fixed due to being forced to sleep on a floor starting at age 7. I take pain meds when I can and do yoga, but it does not help. Sometimes when I can’t sleep in my normal bed, I find myself still defaulting to the floor. When I wake up I cry because I’m worried I’ll always be like this.
Parents have no idea how much they can mess up their kids.
rose_garden1992
When I was 13: No dating until university.
When I was 18: No dating until I finish university.
When I was 20 and about to graduate : no dating unless its someone my parents choose. Hooray…
Edified001
We were never allowed to question something we were told to do. Now, my parents were decent people so we never got told to do anything bad, but it was still a bit extreme. I can totally understand using it with very little kids who won’t always understand everything they are told to do, but I think my parents (especially my mom) forgot that we got older.
And I was a naturally pretty chill kid, so I didn’t really try to shake things up by asking “why?” but on the times that I did as a young teenager, I quickly got shutdown with a talk about how disrespectful I was being.
I can see how their intentions might have been good in the beginning but it’s honestly made it really hard to learn to say “no” to people telling me to do things as an adult. My brain’s been kind of programmed to “obey” whatever.
Forks_In_Toasters_
This one time I didnt want to finish drinking my milk. So my dad threw the cup across the room, shattering it and getting milk everywhere, while he proceeded to flip my chair over with me still in it. Then he crouched over my body saying “You wanna ____ with me?” He stormed out telling me to clean up the mess.
little_foxes
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No TV. Not as a punishment. Just no TV, ever. Because apparently it lets the devil in. The second I, as the last kid, moved out, they started watching TV all the time.
Azael_Descends
We weren’t allowed to have food upstairs, but I had food wrappers in my trash can. So they searched my whole room, ripping clothes off hangers, throwing stuff out of drawers, and for 3 months I wasn’t allowed in my room for ANYTHING unless accompanied by one of them. I slept on the couch.
thegirlobsessedwith
I once got locked in the basement because my hands were literally not large enough to play a certain piano piece (I couldn’t play an octave separation yet).
Dexale8597
When I was little I would bite my brother. My parents would punish me by sprinkling Tabasco sauce on my tongue.
In the years that followed, I developed a taste for it!
Roughneck16
I got caught kissing a boy at school when I was 12. My mom took all my clothes away, which I have always been very particular about, and only let me wear solid color long sleeve thermals and jeans to school.
bridgebut
A friend of a friend of a friends mom called my grandparents because this kid was caught selling his Ritalin at school. I didn’t even know the kid. I got grounded for two weeks for lying about my association with him.
I got my room searched daily for contraband. When I say searched, I mean it looked like police went in there. My drawers were pulled out and overturned, mattress flipped, every possession I owned on the floor. Daily for months.
It began to effect my motivation to do homework because I had to spend two or three hours cleaning everyday. It went on for a few years like this. I was grounded if I didn’t clean it. I view it as the reason I ultimately dropped out of school. I just couldn’t live there anymore.
TrollRiddle