17 Weird Rules Parents Forced Their Kids to Follow

Most parents set clear rules to instill discipline and responsibility in their kids while preparing them for adulthood. However, overly strict curfews, media limits, friend encounters, etc. limit kids’ exposure to social signals that shape them. Also, keeping them in a specific safety net, shows kids that taking risks and breaking free from the leashes is something they should avoid. Let’s see 17 examples of terribly strict rules that have left a mark on children even decades later.

• We were not allowed to sit on the edge of the bed as we might wear it out. If we sit on the floor with our backs against the couch and our legs straight, we might wear out the couch. If we’re sitting on it, our legs must be straight so we don’t wear out the knees of our pants. The formal dining room was off-limits unless you were specifically asked to get something.
  We were not allowed to use the front door, only the back door. Do not run, laugh, talk loudly, or drop anything on the floor when dad is home. Flush the toilet after 3 people voided unless you pooped and don’t use a lot of toilet paper because you might block up the toilet. @E Marie Dee-Campbell / Quora
• My sister and I were not allowed to move when we were in bed. We had to sleep on our stomachs with our arms by our sides. We couldn’t roll, sleep on our side, or otherwise we’d “mess the bed”. As kids, we were not allowed to sit on the furniture either. @Pat Guarnero / Quora
• Can’t drink water if you’re thirsty because if you drink too much your belly swells up and that makes you fat. @stupidmortadella / Reddit

• From the time I was twelve until I moved out following graduation, my bedtime was always 9:30 PM. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. No sense in getting too enthralled by the Monday Night Football telecast at 9 PM, because by the time the team with the opening kickoff scored or punted to the other team, it was time to head upstairs to bed.
  I thought this would change as I got older, or at the very least during the Summer months void of a school schedule. Nope. Same old rule, lights out by 9:30 PM. @Alan Ford / Quora
• One of the strict rules, when I was younger, was at mealtime. My parents used to say, “If you don’t eat it, wear it.” On a few occasions, I stood up and threw my food straight over my head, but I mostly sat at the table for hours until I managed to eat it all. @Jhonathon Daniel Edwards / Quora
• When we were small, we weren’t allowed out of bed until 8 am on Saturday except to use the bathroom. We could read. We were not allowed to turn on the TV ourselves.
  Dinner had to be at 5:30. Soda pop was not a dinner beverage. It had to be milk, tea, or coffee. If we went into town, all girls had to wear dresses. @Nancy Hooven / Quora

• My ‘father’ whom I refer to as “The Tormentor” would never allow me to purchase a vehicle so I could get to work (I had over $3K saved around age 16). He refused because he knew it would be my “getaway vehicle.” The same thing went with any cellular phones (just coming out when I was young).
  I was a young woman and grew up in a rural area. I knew I needed to get out because everyone around me liked to ‘control’ the people around them. @Lii / Quora
• We weren’t allowed to laugh or smile without permission, and we weren’t allowed to show sadness or anger. One of her favorite sayings was, “When I say jump, you ask how high.” Another one was, “Yours is not to question why, yours is just to do or die”.
  Yeah, she needed total control of us at all times. We were not allowed to smile or laugh unless she was taking pictures or otherwise showing us off. We all had these fake smiles in our perfectly poised childhood photos. @Harley Brock / Quora
• As I sat in the bathtub with the water turned on, I’d often hear a loud knock on the door and, “What do you think you’re doing? Trying to fill a lake??!!” Just from the sound of the water running, my father could tell how much water was in the tub. He didn’t want us running up the water bill, so he wanted all baths taken with only a minimal amount of water.
  To this day, I can’t bring myself to fill a tub very full of water. @Laura Gustafson / Quora
• They were always changing the rules, so I was constantly doing something wrong to get beaten for and screamed at, regardless of what I did or didn’t do/say/act. @iHo4Iroh / Reddit

• When I got money from anyone on my birthday or Christmas, it was immediately confiscated. That stopped when I had my own bank account because I could go to the bank myself and put it in my account myself and there wasn’t squat anyone could do about it.
  I had to be in by 6 every night and was not allowed outside again after dinner during daylight saving time. I had to change my clothes even if I wanted to wear what I had on, if there was one thing my parents didn’t like. My mom, for example, hated me wearing anything denim to church, even though my friends my age did just that. @Anne Freeman / Quora
• Sometimes I’ll randomly remember how my mother refused to let me get haircuts as a little girl. I was finally allowed to get a trim at 12 or 13, which is funny because she let me dye my hair blue, but no haircuts, so I wouldn’t have “short hair like a boy”.
  In middle school, I was forbidden from wearing makeup and wasn’t allowed to shave my legs. I remember feeling so embarrassed in gym class because I was called “horse legs” by ruthless kids because I couldn’t shave my legs. I don’t even care to shave my legs now, but I remember begging my mom to let me use her razor. She always said shaving was for grown folk and that I was trying to be an adult. @bagagwa / Reddit
• In fourth grade, I drew on my hand with a pen. I drew a flower and some smiley faces. My dad lost his mind. He started screaming at me that since I wrote on my hand, that means I want tattoos when I’m older and the whole event spiraled into him hoping I run away, and he never sees me again, and telling me I’ll get pregnant as a teen... all when I was only eight years old.
  And literally just because I drew on my hand? @That-Dimension-7093 / Reddit

• I had a lot of rules, but here were the most ridiculous: Our feet were not allowed on the couch. My brother and I were not allowed to sit on our grandma’s lap. On the rare occasion, our dad took us out for ice cream, if we didn’t finish our ice cream before he finished his, we had to throw ours away.
  We were not allowed to use the number pad on a keyboard because it was “bad for the computer.” He even broke off the Num Lock key to prevent me from using it. @Cool_Beanz123 / Reddit
• My mother refused to buy me a bra when I needed a cup C too, I was bullied at school for it too. @dam0na / Reddit
• I couldn’t wear red underwear, as my mom thought I was trying to attract boys. When I got my first boyfriend, she refused to buy me underwear anymore. She sexualized undergarments for a minor, saying she didn’t want to encourage me to take the next step with my boyfriend by purchasing underwear that he would take off. @coochers / Reddit
• I wasn’t allowed to make food “without permission” or eat “sugar” because I’d gain weight and get fat, and we wouldn’t want that, would we? @Candid-Main4136 / Reddit

No matter how many strict rules parents set, sometimes kids can outsmart them and get their way. Just when you think that you are the smartest in the room, someone over half your age plays the best mind games and wins you over.