When we were kids and teenagers, most of us at some point got out of bounds, and our parents have used the trusty 'grounding' technique to put us back in place. But sometimes parents themselves go out of line to ground us without a good reason. This challenge is a tribute for those bad reasons. Let's share them!

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#1

I got grounded for going sledding in the mud with my friends. I had fun so it was worth it

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Mia Tucker
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#2

I got grounded because my mom's friend offered to lend me her Ghostbuster's VHS so I could watch it at home and I said yes.

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Teacher Alice
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Rosie Hamilton
Rosie Hamilton
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not sure what the 'crime' being punished is here? Was the film not age appropriate at the time? I might be remembering it wrongly but Ghostbusters doesn't seem that bad unless you were very young. I visited a friend's house once and we watched Dracula - her mother was there even though we were way under age for it. Never told my mum of course! What they don't know...

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#3

My brother was mad I couldn’t pitch a ball “properly” at 5 years old, and decided to chuck it full force (for an 8 year old) at my head. Nailed me just in front of my ear, made me cry. He got grounded for being a turd, I got grounded for crying.

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Pheebs
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Rosie Hamilton
Rosie Hamilton
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

ARGH - another one that's unreasonable. Not expect a five year old to cry when they are hurt or just frightened by the force of being hit in the face?

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#4

As a kid, I once accidentally locked my mother outside in the garden. She didn't let me hear the end of it for years! Each time she remembered the incident, she'd lace into me. I didn't lock her out on purpose, but after all her nagging, I sure wish that I had.

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Raine Soo
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#5

I got grounded for talking my friend while I was supposed to help with her little sisters birthday. We had a good conversation, never the less!

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Opazi Marcha
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#6

I got grounded for taking the dog's for a walk and disappearing for almost 6 hours. I had decided I wanted to go play on the playground at my school which was about a half mile or so away. My mom wasn't huge on corporal punishments but that didn't stop her from breaking a spatula on me that day before she went for the wooden spoon. TBH grounding me wasn't much of a punishment though, I was an obsessive reader back then and my Mom never took away my books. Grounding meant I got to hang out in my room and read all I wanted to which was fine with me, the chores that got heaped onto the grounding...yeah that was a different story *sighs*.

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Roadkill The Brave
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Kim
Kim
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oof, imagine your kid just going missing and then turning up "oh yeah, I just went to play at the school playground"...

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#7

I was a stupid kid and I thought I could teach the dog to catch a frisbee by turning it upside down, filling it with dog food and tossing it...Needles to say it made a mess and my dog just sat there.

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Ms.GB
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Rosie Hamilton
Rosie Hamilton
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It really isn't stupid - it's lacking a level of reasoning that people develop as they grow older. No-one should expect a small child to work out a problem in the same way as an adult. Sometimes they'll come up with ideas that adults won't think of that are simply ingenious! My dog would definitely chase a food-filled frisbee and have fun dealing with all the spilled food - though he eats dry kibble so that's not that bad to clear up. Wet food... bit messier. 😄

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#8

I got grounded (and worse) for eating the last of my mom's snackwell cookies..... except I didn't eat them.... she did and forgot. Got an apology 15 years later. lmao

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14points
AzKhaleesi
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Rosie Hamilton
Rosie Hamilton
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I admire her for at least apologising at some point. My parents wouldn't apologise even if tortured. Takes a bigger person to acknowledge a mistake and a strong one to say sorry. Cowards pretend they weren't wrong and hope they get away with it.

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#9

When I was 10 we lived on an Air Force Base. There was this huge kid, Brian, (who was 11) who loved ambushing kids on the way to school and beating them up for their lunch money. He usually got 6-8 kids to hand over their money every morning.

I had just joined the band that year and ended up playing the trombone. Brian especially loved picking on 'band nerds', so I lost my lunch money every day for 2 weeks before I decided I had had enough. The next day I was half way to school when Brian jumped out of some bushes, gut-punched me really hard, and demanded my lunch money. When he held out his hand, instead of giving him my $3 I took my trombone case and swung it at him as hard as I could. It hit him full on in the face, there was a crunch and blood, then he ran off screaming and crying. I spent the entire day at school waiting to be called to the principal's office, but nothing happened. I walked home, thinking I'd gotten away with it, but I was very very wrong.

When I got home there was a very nice white car and a MP (Military Police) car parked outside of our trailer. I was trying to sneak into the yard when the door flew open and my Mom dragged me inside. Brian was the only child of the Base Commander, and I had broken his nose and given him 2 black eyes. Terrified I was going to get arrested, I explained through my tears what Brian had been doing, how many kids he'd beaten up, and why I'd hit him with my trombone case. I said that I'd told teachers, the principal, and staff at school but no one wanted to accuse the son of the Base Commander. I had just wanted Brian to leave me and my friends alone. Base Commander dragged Brian out by his ear, and I found out later he was sent back to military school.

I ended up being grounded for a month, was suspended for 2 days, had detention every day after school for a week, AND was forced to play the clarinet instead of the trombone. All because I stood up to a bully when no one else would.

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La Petite Morte
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#10

I have been grounded for my brother screaming at me.

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13points
Kalavathi Krishnakumar
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Dilly Millandry
Dilly Millandry
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sounds bad on the parents part but are we missing some information? Why was he screaming at you? Did you do anything back and you were grounded for that? Obviously, sometimes, kids do scream for no reasons whatsoever and THAT is absolutely annoying.

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#11

I was grounded from books for reading too much. Luckily I had a stash of some of my favorites under the carpet in my room.

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Helen Haley
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#12

i got grounded for calling my sister a name and annoying her the worst part is i was grounded for 2 years!!! my dad s and was a phsyco

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Hunter
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Rosie Hamilton
Rosie Hamilton
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

TWO YEARS???? Good grief. Did it actually happen??? Siblings annoying each other is pretty much part and parcel of having more than one child and even with ones that get on really well there will be times they fall out! I know there are degrees but you can't have annoyed her THAT much.

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#13

I was googling swear words.

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Charlie Spring Fan (He/Him)
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Rosie Hamilton
Rosie Hamilton
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And in the past parents, grandparents et al used the dictionary. Knowledge is not a bad thing. It's how you use it.

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#14

In 3rd grade, I would secretly buy chocolate milk with my lunch that they packed for me. My parents didn't find out after 2 months. But when they did, they grounded me for 3 weeks.

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Mr. Bean (she/her)
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#15

My friend disappeared from church activities for a few weeks. When she came back, I asked her why she was gone. She said she'd been grounded because her car had to go to the shop. After much conversation, I figured out that the oil light had come on and they had to get an oil change. Her mother apparently had been driving all her adult life without knowing that she needed to change the oil regularly, and had grounded my friend because of the "extra" cost.

(My friend's mom was divorced, so I assume her ex-husband took care of car maintenance while they were married. But how her cars survived the years between her divorce and this incident is a mystery to me. Needless to say, I informed my friend of the basics of car care so it wasn't a problem any more.)

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Great Panda Mamu
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Rosie Hamilton
Rosie Hamilton
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How was that your friend's fault or do you mean the mom just didn't have the money so they were grounded by default??

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#16

I got grounded for playing on PC. Needless to say, I played even more once I got grounded cause I couldn't do much else. Then dad stole the power plug, and I had nothing to do. To this day I don't think that it really solved anything. On the contrary, it made me appreciate my favorite past-time even more.

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Titas Burinskas
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#17

One time in 1st or second grade I think, it was a while ago. I was sneaking chocolate milk without paying for it. One day my friend found out and said if I didn't do what she wanted she would snitch. I did every thing she wanted me to do (It was torture) and she still told my parents. I was grounded for a week.

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Kaeden
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#18

I have been grounded because my brother was upset with me or because he hit me or because he tattled for no reason. Being the older sister is horrible sometimes but it is worth it at the end of the day!

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Kalavathi Krishnakumar
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Carrie de Luka
Carrie de Luka
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As someone with a younger sibling I can't fully agree with the sentiment that it is worth it. Even as adults my younger sister is a spoiled, self-centred nightmare. My mother spent years hoping she would finally 'grow up' without acknowledging her role in why she was a pain in the first place. Spoiling the baby of the family doesn't always lead to a well adjusted adult. Still, that is my problem - I am hoping your brother is not that bad!!

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#19

I got grounded for the injuries of a friend. We were going down an embankment with our GoCarts and I said it was too dangerous for them to come with me. Anyway, they did. End of story: Because of them reaching into my steering wheel, we crashed. They got hurt, ran to my Mom and told her it was completely my fault. I got grounded for a couple of weeks, they got ice cream and dolls as an "excuse" from my Mom. (I got hurt too but lighter so nobody cared)

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Patrick O'Harris
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Peter Chee
Peter Chee
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It was completely their fault! Hopefully they weren't "friends" anymore...

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#20

For not being there to stop her when my younger sister misbehaved.

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Morrii
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Carrie de Luka
Carrie de Luka
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not your job. Helping parents with siblings is one thing but being responsible for their bad behaviour isn't always reasonable.

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#21

When I was 11 my favorite place to hang out was the base library. They had this one area that was like a secret room, kind of like the maze in Labyrinth. The bookshelves were arranged so it looked like it was a solid wall of books, but you could actually keep walking forward into this little room made up of bookshelves. It was long and narrow, with this huge squashy old wing-back chair hidden in one end. It was the mythology and fairy tale section, so I would spend hours upon hours curled up in the chair reading ancient world mythology and fairytales.

One Saturday I went to the library around 2pm, curled up in my favorite chair and lost myself to dragons, princesses, talking animals, and tales of romance and adventure. I usually brought a snack and drinks with me as the librarians knew I would always clean up after myself and I was very careful with the books, so I had special permission to do so. There was a reading lamp that hung right over the chair. Between the lamp being on, having brought food with me to snack on, and the room being hidden by optical illusion I didn't notice when the main library lights were turned off, and the librarians forgot I was there.

I eventually ran out of snacks and drinks and decided I should head home before I was out past curfew. I packed up and was very confused when I came out of the room to a completely dark, empty, and silent library. When I got to the front doors it was dark outside, the street lights were on, and I couldn't get the doors to open. I figured out what had happened and started to panic because I knew I'd get in trouble for being out past curfew. I started trying all the doors I could find, and one in the back ended up opening enough through the chain that I could wiggle out.

I ran home as fast as I could, including running smack into a chain link fence because I'd misjudged where the gate was, causing me to break my front tooth off in half. I come bolting up to the trailer, bleeding and crying, to find that Mom had called the MP's (Military Police) and half the base was out looking for me. I explained what had happened, apologizing over and over to the MP's and Mom.

I ended up with a fake tooth to replace the one I'd cracked, was grounded for a month, and was banned from the library for 3 months by the librarians. I think they were mad that I made them look careless by them forgetting I was there and locking me in. When I was allowed back into the library the shelves had been rearranged so you could look in and see the chair as you were walking by. That actually made me more upset than getting grounded and banned from the library.

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La Petite Morte
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#22

I got grounded for saying I was going to my school with my friends but instead I went to there houses without telling parents. I ended up staying for a few hours. I did this a couple of times. One time I stayed for 8 hours and my parents were mad. They didn't find out I went to there houses but I got grounded for a month for staying for 8 hours.

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Kaeden
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#23

As a kid, I once accidentally locked my mother outside in the garden. She didn't let me hear the end of it for years! Each time she remembered the incident, she'd lace into me. I didn't lock her out on purpose, but after all her nagging, I sure wish that I had.

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Raine Soo
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#24

I got grounded for eating 10 Hershey Kisses.

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Wolfowl
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#25

When I was 6 or 7 I got into a fight with a girl named Hannah. It was a typical 1st grade fight over something stupid. Anyways, we were trying to get the other girls to pick a side. There was a nice girl in our class named Diana. Since I was the new kid and everybody else was bff's with Hannah, she joined my side. When Hannah went over to ask Diana to "pick her", I said "She already picked me." Hannah aggressively grabbed my wrist and I, in self defense, pulled it way from her. I accidentally punched her shoulder, the teacher found out, and I was suspended. I do understand now that we were stupid kids, but she doesn't and she still blamed me. My mom still has beef with Hannah's mom, because she never even made her apologize.

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Creepie Clownie
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#26

In 6th grade, I got grounded for a lot of ridiculous reasons (part of the reason why 6th grade was such an emotionally damaging time for me, but I won't go there), but one of them was for being late to one of my classes. I tried to tell my mom that I didn't even know I was late for class because they didn't have bells for the particular class I was always late to, and she accused me of lying because one of her friends worked at my school.

She later found out that there actually wasn't a bell during that hour of the day. Not like she didn't un-ground me, though.

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Tobias the Tiger
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Dylan Vite
Dylan Vite
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Here in Britain, Year 6 was also emotionally damaging for me. Not near as bad as yours though.

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#27

Not grounded, but once a teacher almost gave me detention for not finishing an assignment. I had been sure I finished the assignment. Then I guess she saw that I was write and she apologized for her mistake.

Another teach also gave me detention for not "fixing" my insomnia.

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Baking Cactus
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#28

In 3rd grade, I would secretly buy chocolate milk with my lunch that they packed for me. My parents didn't find out for 2 months. But when they did, they grounded me for 3 weeks.

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Mr. Bean (she/her)
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Mr. Bean (Submission author)
Mr. Bean
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

*they packed for me --> my parents packed for me :) sorry for the typo

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#29

I was 12. I live in a neighborhood full of boys so im always playing basketball or baseball or anything else with them. Anyways theres this one guy who is a jerk and one day we where playing basketball and he straight up says "Basketball is for boys, go play with your dolls or something!" all I said back was "thats not true!" he told me to prove it. How would i prove that, you ask? He turned to walk away so I called his name. when he turned around I threw the basketball as hard as I could at him. I ended up breaking 2 of his fingers. It was worth it. I got grounded for a month by my mom but my dad said he was proud of me for that.

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Kate S.
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#30

I got grounded for saying I had a hard day. It somehow grew and led to me getting grounded for AGES.

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Rare Wubbox
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#31

when my brother was in kindergarten a friend showed him a gif of anime characters kissing. when he got home, he searched up, "cute boys kissing cute girls". my dad noticed it later when he was on search history. he thought that it was either me or my sister, and grounded us both from the internet for a month. of course, before it was up, he found that it was really my brother.

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MantisKeeper
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