Parents are just like us. After all, they are human which means, just like us, they do make mistakes. No one's perfect, and our parents are not exempt from this rule. As the following AskReddit thread reveals through its answers, many parents still have trouble when it comes to issues like addiction, infidelity, and finance.
(Content has been edited for clarity.)
Wrongly Accused
“When I was around 10, my father came storming into my room and stiff-armed me into the wall. He started to scream in my face through tear-filled angry eyes, ‘What did you do to it?’ I had no idea what he was talking about.
He dragged me into the bathroom and pointed at a box of Arm & Hammer still screaming. His hand was squeezing the back of my neck so hard that I thought he was going to snap my neck. I still plead ignorance while having no clue what he was talking about. He threw me into my room and barricaded the door with a large dresser so that I couldn’t get out. He left me in there for 3 days with no food (nothing). I was terrified and alone. He never explained to me why he had done what he did, or what he was talking about.
I later found out why when my much older cousin confessed at a family Christmas party that she had broken into our family home and stole my dad and stepmom’s stash which they had hidden in the Arm & Hammer box. She said all of this like it was some kind of a funny family story or something. So, my dad locked me up during a coke bender and almost killed me in the process.
I’m a dad now, and I don’t speak to my parents at all.”
Convicted Felon
“I know that my mother is a convicted felon.
I also know that my grandfather had an illegitimate child with my aunt. I put two-and-two together. My aunt is my mother’s sister, and my uncle is her son, but he is also my mother’s brother. My cousin is my aunt’s child, my uncle’s sibling, and my mother’s niece.
It was later confirmed by the other side of my family. My mom still doesn’t know that I know.”
Bottomless Stomach
“I always thought my father had a very small appetite. He would eat a few bites during each meal and would then declare that he was full. When I hosted my first big Thanksgiving in my new house with my fiancé, my father ate over 3 pounds of potatoes, a whole pie, and more than half of the turkey all by himself. My mother made a remark once about how he had a ‘bottomless stomach’ since they were kids.
I was telling my fiancé later that night how oddly that remark had struck me considering his track record. My fiancé later explained to me that my father hadn’t been eating so that there would be enough to go around for my mother, my sister, and I.”
My Parent’s Divorce
“The circumstances behind my parent’s divorce. I was 10 when they separated, and they never really told us why. They just said that their marriage wasn’t working anymore. I didn’t really care, so I never asked. However, over the next few years, I would eavesdrop on bits and pieces of their conversations and had eventually put the pieces together.
Basically, my mom cheated on my dad with my now stepdad. My mom and current stepdad worked at the same high school, and my mom even taught each of his kids. When my dad began to get suspicious, he put a key-logger on the family computer and her phone, and he found some suspicious texts/emails/searches, etc. He hired a private investigator (PI) who followed my mom to the airport one day and struck up a conversation with her. My mom took the bait and ended up confessing everything to the PI under the impression that they were a complete stranger.
I was introduced to my stepdad a little under a year after they had separated, but I didn’t really meet any of his children or family until a few years later. Turns out, he was having an affair as well, but he was introduced to my brothers and I while he was still with his wife.”
Inside That Paper Bag
“I was at home from school one day. I can’t remember why, but I was reading a book in my room. I heard my mom shrieking at me angrily from the other room, so I went to see what she was going on about this time around.
She was in the bathroom holding a paper bag (lunch bag-sized) and was FURIOUSLY screaming about ‘how I was going through her stuff and invading her privacy. I was totally bewildered and said, ‘What are you talking about? That bag’s been in the bathroom cupboard for a week now.’
She was having none of it and told me that it was hidden under her bed and had her personal belongings in it. I just said, ‘I literally have no idea what you’re talking about!’
Then, she called my brother’s school, pulled him out of class and to the principal’s office where she started to accuse him as well. He denied it as well and had no idea what she was talking about. She believed him, so it must’ve been me. She then flew into a rage, tried to hit me, and threw stuff at me until I retreated back to my room. For two days, afterward, she just ignored me. She wouldn’t acknowledge my presence at all and spent that entire evening sobbing.
Many years later, I realized what was actually in my mother’s precious paper bag.