Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Explain Which Things They Thought Were Normal Because Of Their Family That Aren't Normal At All

Everyone was beholden to certain rules growing up.

No TV until your homework is done, no sweets before dinner, lights out at 9:30 pm.

Frustrated as we were by these rules, we generally went along with them, as well as other customs and traditions organized by our families, knowing that just about all other kids were dealing with the same thing.

But were they?

Indeed, sometimes in adulthood, we've come to learn that the way things worked in our household were not what the broader population would consider normal.

While sometimes these discoveries only made us love our families more, other times it might have come as a very rude awakening indeed.


Redditor Limelight_019283 was curious to hear all the things about people's families they would later learn, for better or for worse, were anything but normal, leading them to ask:
"What kind of behaviour did you think was normal because of your family, then grew up to find out it’s definitely not?"

Making Halloween Even More Fun

"I've got a positive one."

"My mum always threw the best Halloween parties."

"We had to eat donuts off strings without licking your lips, throw eggs at each other and attempt to catch them in a net, feed each other blindfolded."

"Apparently these aren't normal activities for Halloween parties."

"Especially the one year we played them on the street with random trick or treaters who came past."- butterfly_cats

You Mean, They're Supposed To Like Each Other?

"A complete and utter lack of any and all affection and romance between my parents."

"Turns out, my mom was cheating on my dad for over a decade."- HokageBiden

"Your parents hating each other."

"I only realized this was not normal after witnessing my first boyfriends parents interacting with each other kindly and respectfully."- No_Scale7584

"I thought all married couples eventually grew to hate each other and fight all the time."

"Apparently I was wrong."- mossadspydolphin

All Working Parents Make Sacrifices

"When I was a kid I thought that ALL dads worked a lot and rarely saw the kids."

"Until I got older and my friends would tell me things like 'my dad took me to a baseball game' or 'my dad took me camping'."

"I was so jealous."- Overall-Surround-925

Why Dirty Multiple Napkins?

"This is gross."

"We had a large family."

"Instead of handing out napkins, we used a single dishcloth, and passed it around the dinner table."

"We weren't poor."

"Just uncivilized."- Comprehensive_Run453

Everyone Grieves In Their Own Way

"Making a big deal about death."

"In my family when someone dies, it’s like, 'Wow, that sucks, what’s for dinner?'”- OutrageousStrength91

It's Hard To Escape One's Upbringing

"I’m still struggling to describe the way my mom lives the way she does, but the only word I can think of is 'tacky'?"

"Unless anyone can think of a better word."

"For context she grew up in a poor village, but I don’t think it’s commonplace there and maybe it’s because of how her parents raised her."

"She is clueless to how things 'should' be."

"Like it’s not normal to use shower curtains as normal curtains in the living room."

"Or to make a homemade pillow by stuffing it full of old jackets, instead of going out to buy a normal pillow."

"Or pruning a tree using a butcher knife instead of ACTUAL tree equipment."

"She exclaimed, 'Doesn’t that look nice!', but to me it just looked like the tree had been demolished by a butcher knife."

"Or when she held my baby brother over the trash can so he could poop in it, except she did this in the living room while my friend was there."

"My friend didn’t want to come over after that."

"Or how we have 1 pair of scissors in the house that we use for EVERYTHING, from cutting food to cutting hair, and she used it to cut a mole from her back instead of going to the doctor."

"We all still used the scissors afterwards too."

"Or how she repurposes stuff in the house to re-gift to other people."

"Like, it would be okay if she actually put in the effort to make it look nice, but most recently she re-gifted a plate of cookies that a neighbor gave to us, except we ate half already."

"And twice she gave my brothers supermarket gift cards for their friend’s 12th birthday party."

"Everyone in my family, mom included, uses the bathroom with the door wide open, whether it’s pee or poop, though my mom is different in that she doesn’t care if someone walks in to brush their teeth while she’s doing it, and will have conversations with you from the toilet too."

"I didn’t know until I was in college that other families don’t share the same bath towel."

"And nobody cleans the house except with a broom occasionally."

"So you can imagine how it looks."

"My mom hasn’t cleaned her car in 15 years."

"She used to be dirt poor in the village, so I guess old habits die hard."

"I was desensitized to everything since I grew up in it, but even when I was younger I could tell that this was a bit gross."- JaguarOwn3633

Some People Just Can't Control Their Emotions

"Having tantrums because someone showed that you were wrong."

"Feels weird now seeing my 50+ uncle throwing sh8t all over the place because I straight up told him I'm not lazy I have to rest a lot because of a serious heart condition that I'm diagnosed with."- Weak-Sand9779

We're Not Talking The Birds And The Bees...

"Parents interrogating you about your sex life."

"Everyone made jokes in movies and school about overprotective dads."

"I didn't realize being woken up at 5AM to be screamed at wasn't normal."

"Or being told I'm a shame on the family for a tiny hickey wasn't normal."

"Or assuming every piece of my actions was related to sex."

"I grew up in an Evangelical cult."- KaRue3

When Teasing Is Anything But Affectionate

"I thought the people closest to you were the ones who were meanest to you because they saw the real you (and the real you was bad)."

"I also thought anger was only expressed as horrible blowout arguments, insults, name calling, and physical aggression."

"Such sad things to learn and very difficult to unlearn."- Designer-Sky

Always Thinking About Their Future.

"Living so strictly under the rule of 'everything you do needs to be working towards your career'."

"No friends, no boyfriends or girlfriends, no days to do nothing and no self expression of any kind."- Cheep_thehomelessman

It should be said, no two people have the same idea of what they consider "normal."

But if your own home is not a place where you always felt loved and protected, then you were deprived of something all children deserved.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Screenshots from @realprogressive11's TikTok video
@realprogressive11/TikTok

Rural Michigan Woman Speaks Out About 'Dystopian' Grocery Costs In Eye-Opening Video

TikToker @realprogressive11, a rural Michigan resident, is tired of dancing around the subject and is ready to call it like it is: according to her, grocery shopping has become a "dystopian" experience.

And based on other TikTokers' experiences, this isn't specific to Michigan.

Keep ReadingShow less
Andrew Rannells Just Dished On How Dating Anderson Cooper At 25 Directly Inspired 'Girls' Storyline—And Our Jaws Are On The Floor
Daily Beast/Obsessed; Gary Gershoff/Getty Images

Andrew Rannells Just Dished On How Dating Anderson Cooper At 25 Directly Inspired 'Girls' Storyline—And Our Jaws Are On The Floor

After years of speculation, the tea has finally been spilled about who inspired Elijah Krantz and Dill Harcourt's relationship.

In case you missed it, the hit TV show Girls aired for six seasons from 2012 to 2017, and followed the lives of four young women making their way through early romance and career moves in New York City.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tom Holland and Zendaya
Pablo Cuadra/WireImage/Getty Images

Tom Holland Just Confirmed The Months-Long Rumors That He And Zendaya Got Married—And His Comments Have Fans Swooning

American actor and singer Zendaya and British actor and dancer Tom Holland first met in 2016 during the screen test and casting process for their roles in the 2017 Marvel made/Sony approved movie Spider-Man: Homecoming. The pair, both born in 1996, were successful child actors transitioning into adults, but still playing teens on camera.

They became fast friends, but didn't begin dating until sometime later, even if fans thought the attraction happened much sooner. They finally confirmed their relationship in 2021.

Keep ReadingShow less
Billy Porter; Elisabeth Hasselbeck
CBS Mornings

Elisabeth Hasselbeck Is Getting Some Major Side-Eye After Making Bizarre Dig At Billy Porter During Interview

Conservative TV host Elisabeth Hasselbeck first gained public notice in 2001 as a contestant on the second season of the CBS reality show Survivor, then she furthered her fame by marrying NFL player Tim Hasselbeck the following year.

After that, she became the conservative voice on The View for a decade (2003-2013), frequently clashing with her co-hosts and garnering animosity from viewers. Portraying herself as a trad-wife while in reality being a working mother, her next stint was on Fox News' Fox & Friends from 2013 to 2015 before being replaced by Sean Hannity paramour Ainsley Earhardt.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of JD Vance and Whoopi Goldberg
Fox News; The View

JD Vance Ripped After Running To Fox News To Whine About Whoopi Goldberg Supposedly Calling Him 'Racist' On 'The View'

Vice President JD Vance was criticized after he complained on Fox News that The View moderator Whoopi Goldberg had called him a "racist" during his appearance on the program.

While on The View, Vance sidestepped a question from Goldberg about concerns that the Trump administration was marginalizing Black history and communities.

Keep ReadingShow less