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Almost all kids look at their parents as role models. Growing up, they are our heroes and their opinion and reassurance are the most important things in the world. While getting older, we tend to care what our parents think less and less and we already see them through a different perspective. Now, they are more flawed and maybe not as perfect as they looked in our childhood. Unfortunately, even if we don’t remember much from our childhood, hurtful things that were said by our parents may be engraved in our memories for a while. A passing remark made by our parents may alter how we perceive ourselves or deter us from pursuing our passions. Sadly, most of the hurtful things that we heard in childhood evolve and can have an impact on us for the rest of our lives.

In this online group, members shared their not-so-pleasant memories that they heard from their parents but are still stuck in their head as an adult. Here are 41 of them for you to check out, hopefully none of which you can relate to.

More info: Reddit

#1

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online My little brother was drowning, I tried to save him but also almost drowned, we got rescued by a neighbour. My mom told me that they should've left me in the pond. I haven't spoken to her in many years

Ilookbetterthanyou , Amine Report

#2

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online "you can't even laugh right"

My mom in a weird moment I thought we were bonding. There's something inherently extra evil when someone tells you your joy is wrong

BlindEditor , Sinitta Leunen Report

#3

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online My dad, very recently, told me (33F) that "I don't have a career and that I was only hired as a charity case". The hardest part is that my dad is normally really supportive and kind and this was not said in anger.

I am a project mgr at a real estate development company that my FIL owns. I have a university degree in a related field (landscape architecture and urban planning) & project mgmt experience from a previous job. I never planned on working for my FIL.

I am getting paid about 1/2 of what I could be making if I worked for another company.

I am sticking it out because my husband and his brothers deserve to inherit the company (their dad uses the inheritance as a way to control them and they have put in so, so much free labour despite never being paid by the company & working FT in completely separate careers). I'm worried my FILs semi-recent drinking habit, mixed with his unrelenting narcissism is going to lead to him squandering the business so I'm staying to keep tabs on it.

I know no one is going to read this. It still feels good to get off my chest.

bun_times_two , Keith Cooper Report

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#4

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online I asked my parents why they gave my sister a lot of money for college and not me. My dad said, "we never thought you could finish."

I have a doctorate now and no student loans ever.

sam_the_beagle , Stanley Morales Report

#5

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online My mother said lots of things like that. I'll just talk about one of the most memorable.

While I went to go inside the the corner store, she stayed behind in the car. Outside the store was a kid that had a crush on me. He grabbed my a*s and I b***hed him out. My mother saw all this. In the following days and weeks she basically accused me of being a s**t, implying that I somehow invited it. She tried convincing my father of this, told her coworkers about it, everything except being a mom infuriated that someone touched their daughter like that.

Icy-Veterinarian942 , Andrea Piacquadio Report

#6

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online “You’re not skinny.”

My mom when I mentioned wanting to dress as Elle Woods for Halloween when I was 10. Yeah, I was overweight as a kid but that sure as hell didn’t motive me. To this day, whenever I see an outfit I’d love to wear, I hear that line in my head.

Parents, that s**t doesn’t go away over time. Your kids just learn to put it in the backs of their minds but hear you me, they still remember.

EonOfTheNightingale , Ketut Subiyanto Report

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#7

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online She told me I was acting just like my father when I would get upset. I would just get kinda pissy and sulk. He would go on rampages and scream and hit and throw things. He pushed her down the stairs once. I would never lay a finger on my current partner.
The worst part is I look just like him. I was wondering if my mother always expected me to turn into my dad. I prove her wrong every day.

Edit: Thank you to everyone who shared their own stories. It's good to know I'm not alone. Also, to the people suggesting I had previous partners I would actually abuse, I can understand the wording could have been better but how dare you.

rot_grl , Andrea Piacquadio Report

#8

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online “You’re so annoying.” Said to me as a young kid while I was expressing enthusiasm over some new interest. Later my father complains I never tell him anything.

foppishyyy , Norma Mortenson Report

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#9

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online In 7th grade, I was learning how to write better poetry thanks to an awesome teacher. I was so proud of a collection I made, so I let my mom read it. She asked me, “Do you need to be put in a mental asylum?” I was so upset and as I was growing up, I didn’t share any of my art with people, regardless of the medium. Even now, I still hear how serious she was when she asked me that.

thepalebeast91 , Ena Marinkovic Report

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Epsilon
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think all of us on Bored Panda would love to read your poetry (if you see this anyways)

That Emo Demon
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would definitely like to read it! (don't let a troll see this comment tho)

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Luis Pineiro
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sorry to hear that this happened to you. Hopefully you have kept writing. Similar experience happened with my dad, he was asked which one of us (older brother vs me) could draw better. He said your brother of course. Discouraged me from drawing, find out in 2016 that the same was done to him (my dad) by his father in a different scenario. I learned that what he has said and done to me was learned behavior.

Rebecca O’Donnell
Community Member
Premium
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why don’t the parents realize by how that made them feel, that they shouldn’t treat their own children that way? Sincere question. Is it a question of intelligence? I realize that all the snarky comments from my mother was because of how she was brought up. Her mother was a real piece of work. I made darn sure I never treated my child that way. How can I make that distinction and they can’t?

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RP
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Can we stop and note how amanzing it is for them to have written an entire collection in 7th grade?! Regardless of quality, that takes a lot of dedication

Rylee Evergreen 🇺🇦
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As someone who uses poetry to capture her deepest emotions and experiences, this enrages me. If you make art, it's awesome! Cause you made it, and it comes from within. Thank you and goodnight

Pyla
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Critical parents are great at killing off artistic instinct in their children. Horrible.

T. O. D.
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's terrible when you realize that your parents are not as educated as you are and have stopped improving themselves. It makes them unrelatable.

Blondie23
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

man, the one time I let my mom read what I wrote and she said it was horrible. That was her only comment. I never let her read anything again and I pretty much stopped writing for fun. This is why, when my middle baby lets me read her work. I take it seriously and read it and give feedback that will help her. I also get excited that she shares. Never letting her feel defeated by me!

Simple
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Your Mom did not have a creative bone in her body dear! Don't let that non-creative person judge you. Art is beautiful and when you share it every artsy person sees and feels the beauty.

Valerie Lessard
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

a child has the intellectual capacity to write poetry and is shut down by dumbass mother

Elizabeth Parmenter
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This also happened to me. I let my mom read my poetry and she asked, "Do you need to see a therapist?" I stopped writing because of it.

LeilaOdinis
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My Mum laughed at what I shared with her. I never shared any with her after that.

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#10

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online What did I do to deserve a fat kid.

Silosolo , Mizuno K Report

#11

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online Not me, but a friend after her dad had died. She told her mom that she missed her daddy; I say daddy because she was roughly 8 at the time. "You miss him so much? If you ever say that to me again I swear I'll chain you to his gravestone!"

LowRentSinatra , KoolShooters Report

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#12

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online When I was 14, and struggling with depression. "You're just a psychopath who will die alone cause nobody will ever love you"

quasiMortal , Monstera Report

#13

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online There are so many things I really don’t remember most of them…

Once my stepmom called me a lying sneaking little s**t bc she thought I stole her melatonin, when she just used it all and forgot ab it.

But the thing that I think about a lot is my dad once when I was like 10-12. I don’t remember what it was about, I just remember him poking me in the chest with enough force to knock me down, he said “you’re such a piece of s**t, I can’t wait until I get to kick you out” and spat in my face as I was laying on the ground.

That was the man who was supposed to be Superman to me. I was supposed to sit on his shoulders to see a parade or something.

BOOPERS4343 , Lukas Rychvalsky Report

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#14

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online Mom was talking to dad about me while I was right there. I was bullied in high school and it had an effect on my grades. While discussing my education she said:

“Look at him. Can’t you see there’s nothing in there? Just look at how he sits there. He can’t do this. He’s not capable of more. This is it. He’s nothing.”

It gave me a drive and motivation. It also gave me a constant need to prove myself.

EDIT: I never imagined this to get so much replies. For the people wondering: this happened almost 20 years ago and I have now found peace with what she said. My mom has a lot of mental issues but she tries her best. She’s made a lot of progress and is still working on battling her inner demons. And in the end: she has since done a lot more good than bad to me. I will never forget what she said but I no longer hold it against her. People shouldn’t always be reduced to their worst moment.

kap1tein , Pixabay Report

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#15

Why can't you just be normal? I loved art, film, writing & performing. I listened, now I'm 46, stuck in a civil service job that I loathe & unhappy. Wish I hadn't listened.

Chiya77 Report

#16

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online When I was ~10 years old, my mum once said “If I could go back in time and make sure I never gave birth to you, I would in a heartbeat”

Never forgot it. Talked to her a about it a couple of times years later and her responses ranged from “That never happened” to “oh yeah and I suppose I’m just the worst mother ever” and finally “yeah but I didn’t mean it, you know that”

Messed me up tho tbh. Another one was “[older sibling] was the only child we actually planned for, the rest of you were accidents.” I don’t think it was intended as an insult, but being told your entire existence was an accident as a child kinda stung.

SpiderPubes , Leah Kelley Report

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#17

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online I’m a waste of sperm apparently.

Not sure what else they’re doing with their sperm but.. ok.

TooYoungToBeThisOld1 , Andres Lugo-Garza Report

#18

Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Not really an insult but is what I’d hear any time I had a negative emotion. Having emotions was grounds for punishment. Now whenever I’m sad I hear that voice in my head.

Oldmanbabydog Report

#19

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online My father is very good at maths. Especially at doing it in his head. I always was self-conscious about that. One hike in the mountains he gave me a math problem and I went totally blank, tried to frantically solve it in my head but couldn't. Finally he said "You once were intelligent, that's long gone." starting a monologue about how dumb I am.

I was 13 at the time.

In my end thirties we had a chat about chemistry, which I excelled in at school. That led to other subjects and it turned out, he wasn't really good in any subject we shared, except math. I was in most - except math.

floutsch , Pixabay Report

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#20

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online I was probably 14, it was ‘97 or ‘98, and I was walking up the stairs one afternoon. My dad was on the landing, looked at me, paused and said “your forehead. It’s ‘gettin zitty with it.’”

I’ve told him about how it’s something I still think about now that I’m an adult. He has zero recollection of something I remember so vividly.

The axe forgets, but the tree remembers.

Firm-Ad-3984 , Ron Lach Report

#21

It's taken quite some time to accept that this isn't true but being told I'm selfish and arrogant for speaking about things I might like, or how I'm feeling when I was a young child. Growing up it was more speak of when you were spoken to as you had no real reason to speak otherwise unless you were going to risk being screamed at or physically hurt, and I only ever had sentences based around me saying sorry, thank you and please.

As an adult now, even when someone wants to listen to what I have to say I still occasionally unintentionally cut myself off and stop talking out of fear. And the fact that someone is actually willing to listen to what I have to say - but I'm working through it >:D

MachineSpecialist582 Report

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#22

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online I was an only child and lonely. When I asked for a sibling, the response was "if you want to know why we don't have more kids, go look in the mirror".

Responsible_Fly_3565 , Mariana Blue Report

#23

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online Through an unfortunate event, I contracted herpes right before I went home on Spring Break. I was naïve and had no sex ed so I didn't know what was going on and I was super sick with a 104.5°F fever. I had to tell my parents. My mom called me a whore. Will never forget that. Thanks mom.

Note: they're mormon 🙃

montagne__verte , Keenan Constance Report

#24

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online My parents divorced when I was young and they hate each other. My mom would call me my dad's name when she was really upset. What makes it worse is that I confided in her that I never wanted to be like my dad. She used that ammunition against me

Discarded_Pariah , Liza Summer Report

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#25

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online “You will never amount to anything in life”

typicalcAnAdAiAn , Mikhail Nilov Report

#26

“Don’t be so sensitive.” Even till now as an adult, and I just suddenly realized why I don’t feel safe being emotionally vulnerable with my parents.

arst1007 Report

#27

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online Not really an insult:

My brothers and sister lived out in Utah, we are live outside of Cincinnati. My mom, dad and myself drove to Utah because my sister was getting married.

The first night of being settled in, we went out to dinner with my older brother's fiance and her family. My oldest brother was there with his wife, and my sister was there with her fiance. Again, we were there for my sister, yet the first night we were there, going to dinner with my older brother and his soon to be wife and in-laws took priority.

We are sitting at this restaurant, and my mom straight up blurted out my older brother is her favorite child. My oldest brother, my sister and I just looked at each other just like slowly nodding going like ... "No s**t, mom. We know. Doesn't make it okay for you to say it out loud, though."

I was 14, so that was about 20 years ago. Still f*****g stings.

mothershipq , mododeolhar Report

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#28

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online My sister won a ton of toddler and baby beauty pageants. My dad for awhile didn’t believe I was his daughter.

He told me I wasn’t pretty enough to be his daughter. Well jokes on you dad, we look just alike. My younger sister and I do too lolll,

Killed my self esteem, but I think it’s kinda of funny now.

AwareFaithlessness39 , Melissa Eder Report

#29

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online "Don't be so simple"

"Do you think that looks good?"

"You're a slob"

"You're lazy"

"Stop, you are doing it wrong. Just go away"

"You lack motivation"

"You're wasting your potential"

SparklyAce , Kyle LeBoeuf Report

#30

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online "You sound like a pig under a gate." I was ~10 and working to expand my vocal range. To this day, I stop singing when others are around.

The one that lives rent free though is, "now, find someone else to take care of you." Thanks for the help, I guess.

SatanicSunflower , Colin Lloyd Report

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#31

So many things

About how I'm a waste of space

I'm a horrible person

I'm lazy

Comparing me to other people's children and how I'm not as good as them

It still continues

AnabolicCheesecake Report

#32

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online “You’re too goofy. Guys don’t want to date a girl who’s funnier than they are.”

Not exactly an *insult,* I guess… but it did stick with me.

Area_724 , nola.agent Report

#33

“You’re the biggest mistake I ever made.” - my mother when I was 5. I’m 32 now and it’s been the undercurrent for our relationship ever since, constantly wondering if anything I’ve achieved or struggled for is something she’s genuinely proud of or just relieved to say I wasn’t a total failure on her part.

thefaehost Report

#34

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online “The only reason I had kids is to serve me”
“I only wanted one boy and one girl” B***h had 3 boys.

LugiUviyvi , Andrea Piacquadio Report

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#35

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online My father said to my mother when she finally left him, "The only one of the 3 kids that has done any good is the middle one. I'm surprised that the other 2 aren't in jail " 😳

Megsy73_Idgaf , RODNAE Productions Report

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#36

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online I think I was like 2nd grade and my dad called me manipulative.

CareerAdviceThrowMe , Monstera Report

#37

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online My mum told me I was a little s**t and then later told me no matter what she says she always loves me… somehow that’s stuck with me for 30+ years

twhoff , Oleksandr Pidvalnyi Report

#38

"All your friends will be more successful than you in life"

It turned out to be true.

distractedsoul27494 Report

#39

"Dad you're fat"

"Well you're ugly and I can lose weight."

TopShelfCrazy Report

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#40

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online ‘Half man half mattress’ my old man when I wouldn’t get out of bed

Edit: for those asking, he was being amazing and funny. 1990, I was 16 and had to get up at 04:30 for work, he got me up and out the door every morning.

A nice wee story

Fac177 , get directly down Report

#41

30 Hurtful Comments Made By Parents That Offended Kids, As Shared Online Like a half a century ago....My mother and I were talking and the topic of someone's eye color came up...I forget who. I sincerely asked...what color are my eyes? (they are sort of a grey-green) She looked at them closely and told me..."sort of a s**t-brindle"

I still bring that up from time to time

mfrench105 , Clement percheron Report