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30 Times “Strange” Parents Did Things That Were So Absurd, They Got Shamed Online By Their Kids
How someone approaches disciplining their child for misbehaving says a lot about who they are as a parent and a person. Some parents are strict and have a no-nonsense approach to stepping out of line. Others might embrace the ‘gentle parenting’ philosophy and primarily lead with empathy and kindness. But then there are the outliers who confuse and even amuse the internet with their ideas.
Taking away a child’s books, forcing them to go to a home and remodeling convention, and making them write a letter to a soap company is barely scratching the surface. We’ve compiled a list of some of the most peculiar and creative punishments that kids have ever gotten from their parents, as shared by the people in these three r/AskReddit threads here, here, and here. Scroll down to read about the most bizarre of the bunch.
When you’ve finished this article, you can find Bored Panda’s earlier feature about peculiar parent punishments right here.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I threw really horrible temper tantrums as a child. I was 8-9 years old throwing tantrums like a toddler would. My mom decided that “if you’re going to act like you’re 2, I’m going to treat you like you’re two.”
She took away any toys/games that weren’t rated for ages 2 & under, she swapped out my bed for a crib (I was tiny so I fit), I wasn’t allowed to cross the street to my grandparents without someone holding my hand, I wasn’t allowed to watch PG movies, only G rated movies. My bedtime was 7:30pm.
It f****n worked. I stopped throwing tantrums real quick.
Dan Padgett 1 year ago
UK had an advert "act your age, not your shoe size". I think about that way too often.
RELATED:
#2
After they discovered that I hadn't done homework in a month, they took me to a home & remodeling convention with them. They spent hours looking at aluminum siding and various granite counter tops.
Strange? Yes. Did it work? Also yes. It was f*****g awful.
#3
I think I've shared this in comments before, but my parents made me write letters as punishment. For example: my mom caught me lying about showering (I would go into the bathroom, turn the shower on while I stood outside it, then wrap myself in a towel and pretend I was clean) and my punishment was to choose a soap company and write a letter to their customer service department about why showering is important. I would love to know what the person who got that letter thought.
Most of you Pandas will agree that at least some boundaries and rules are needed when raising kids; the question is—to what extent? Your point of view will depend on your particular family situation, how you were raised, and what you’ve found to work best in your experience.
According to the research done by developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind and Stanford researchers Eleanor Maccoby and John Martin, there are four main parenting styles. These are: permissive, authoritative, neglectful, and authoritarian. These approaches vary by how much (or how little) parents respond to their children’s needs, and how demanding they are. They all have their upsides and downsides, with the authoritative approach being the most balanced out of the four.
#4
In highschool, I got caught drunk at a friends house. They caught me in a lie and eventually tracked down the party, and I was found passed out beneath a trampoline with a beer in each fist. I had to crawl from the car to my bed, I don't even remember it happening. My mom later said she had to walk away because she was laughing so hard, because I kept falling asleep on the stairs.
The next day we had a family function. My punishment? They told my 6 incredibly Irish uncles and my incredibly Irish grandfather all about how hung over I was. I was basically left in the wolves den with raw meat tied all around me. They tossed me around, made me fetch them things, smacked me on the back, shoved my face, poked my stomach, rubbed my hair, noogies, flicked my ears, poked my temples, forced me to drink another beer (made me puke just smelling it), made me dance, stuck my head down by the speakers playing loud music... all in all I threw up three times and didn't drink for the next 4 years.
#5
When I was in maybe second or third grade, I kept oversleeping and missing the bus and my mom had to drive me to school, which she understandably was getting a bit exasperated over. She told me that if I missed the bus again, I would have to walk to school. I didn't really believe it, but the next morning I missed the bus again and she told me to start walking. My school was several miles away, and not a safe, walkable trek for a kid, so she slooooowly followed along behind me in her car, pulling over whenever another car came up behind her to let them pass. A few minutes down the road, my neighbor saw me and asked what I was doing, and I told him I'd missed the bus and had to walk to school. He offered to give me a ride, and then my mom rolled past at like 0.25 mph, rolled down her window and called out, "no, she's walking!" He looked pretty puzzled, but left us to it.
She didn't actually make me walk the whole way--she picked me up after about 15 minutes, before we hit a major route that would have made the walk unsafe--but it absolutely had its intended effect. I was so unsettled and embarrassed by the whole thing, I (almost) never missed the bus again.
#6
i used to accidentally lose the remote for the tv (it's now solved by securing the remote to the table with a cord). The punishment was not just to confiscate my ps3, but instead he hid the controller without telling me so i knew how frustrating it was when your s**t goes missing. I guess it makes sense but it felt super weird when you're just used to normal punishments.
Sonja 1 year ago
This is actually one thing on this list that's an example of great parenting. It showed the child why it was bad what they did and taught them empathy. It's important that children learn to attribute their own emotions to other in controlled and harmless situations to develop empathy.
For example, a permissive parent is someone who is incredibly responsive to what their child needs, but barely has any demands. So even though they communicate very openly with their kid, they almost always let them decide what to do themselves. These parents usually don’t set expectations, don’t enforce rules, avoid conflict, and don’t provide much guidance.
Contrast that with a neglectful parent who is mostly indifferent to their child’s needs. Usually, this type of parent struggles with self-esteem issues and has trouble forming close relationships with other people. Generally, they are uncaring and unbothered, though not always on purpose.
#7
When I was a senior in high school, I did something stupid (don't remember) so my parents took my car away for a week. I responded with "good, the heater in my car doesn't work" (it was December). My dad went on to drive me and my innocent freshman brother to school in his truck with the windows down for the rest of the week.
Edit: Because this is getting so popular, I feel I need to come clean. This did not actually happen to me... I am the innocent little brother.
#8
I was bullied by two kids throwing rocks at me. One hit me in the mouth and knocked a baby tooth out.
I took my belt off and hit them in the face and chased them off.
Their parents came to my house and said I attacked their son. Despite my missing tooth they sided with the bullies parents. They spanked me in front of them and didn't allow
me to wear a belt for a week. I also wasn't allowed to talk because I "lied".
I was bullied for years as a result, and it was always my fault for "wanting attention".
#9
I was given the silent treatment for cleaning out the fridge without being asked. My parents grew up poor so I think a full fridge was reassuring even if it was full of gross leftovers and condiments. Still it was a pretty immature way of communicating that to me
Some people embrace authoritarian, aka ‘tough love,’ parenting. Stereotypically, they enforce very strict rules, throw their authority around, and enjoy control. They are incredibly demanding, but aren’t very responsive, meaning that communication is often only one-way. They aren’t much concerned with their children’s feelings. As such, their punishments may be considered to be too stern or even harsh by many.
Meanwhile, authoritative parenting is a healthy blend of permissive and authoritarian parenting. Authoritative parents are incredibly responsive and demanding of their kids. They set clear rules and expectations while also being as flexible and understanding as they can. They value communication. They consider their munchkins’ opinions while also guiding, nurturing, and supporting them.
#10
My mom wouldn't let me eat for more than a day so the only food I got between dinner one night and dinner two nights later was the chinsy school lunch. My crime? My brother was torturing me and made me eat s**t out of the trash and left a mess. She came home from work and was pissed there was a mess so she said we weren't allowed to eat anymore of her food until we learned respect. My brother left that night. 2 days later my uncle came to check on me cause my brother usually watched me and he had left. He asked if I had dinner and I told no and why.....that punishment ended quickly.
#11
Took away the power cord to my PlayStation leaving behind literally everything else. To taunt me I guess? Jokes on them Sony power cords were universal—thank you boom box power cord.
Dan Padgett 1 year ago
My mum used to do this with my ethernet cable when I was 16. She didn't realise I had a wireless dongle as backup.
#12
My mother, sick of the fact that sending me to any sort of timeout/grounding where I was alone resulted in nothing (I'd either find a toy, magazine, or nap), one day came to the realization that "Go outside" was an option.
I was repeatedly grounded by being sent outside to play with my best friends instead of playing alone.
Dan Padgett 1 year ago
My mum used to get frustrated because I used to read when grounded. She knew that taking books away is insane so struggled to punish me.
The authoritative parent tends to view punishment through the lens of natural consequences, by allowing things to take their course. Some examples of this can include failing a test if you don’t study for it or not having any dessert if you throw a tantrum and toss out your ice-cream cone. They help their kids reflect on what happened and learn from their mistakes, meaning that they grow up more disciplined and independent than others their age.
#13
I didn't like to eat in the mornings when I was young (8-9 years old) because I had a nervous stomach before school (reasons).
My dad was going into work late and insisted I eat the apple jacks cereal in front of me, he was getting very angry saying things like, "you waste food - you gotta grow up and quit being nervous" because that super helped.
I told him that the apple jacks tasted funny. It really tasted weird and then I saw the small white things floating in the milk and suggested the milk was sour. Obviously he called b******t - got so mad at my 'lie' that he made me eat all of it and drink the milk.
Then I went to school and threw it up and got to go home! Take that Dad!
OmBoyGanesh 1 year ago (edited)
If this were done to an adult it would be aggravated assault with battery.
#14
Growing up I had a set of children's science encyclopedias. My Mom would pull one at random off the shelf and make me read it cover to cover (they were roughly 100 pages each). Once I said I was done, she would turn to random pages and quiz me. If I got more than 2 wrong, I had to go read it again. I guess that's why I have a ton of useless information in my head.
Gardener of Weeden 1 year ago
So sad, that she made learning a punishment. I used it as a reward, games, presents (books), " go and read a book and I will bring you a snack" type of attitude. We still share interesting facts.
#15
I used to stay up all night reading when I was a kid, to the point where I’d fall asleep in class the next day because I hadn’t had more than a short nap.
My parents tried enforcing a lights out time. They tried taking my books away from me. I always found a way to sneak it back, or to sneak a light source. Sometimes I’d just get a different book.
Eventually my father made a wooden box. It was big enough to hold any book in the house, and it contained the loudest alarm I have ever heard. At bedtime, my book would be taken away and placed in the box. The box would be placed on my windowsill. And as soon as the lid was opened the alarm would go off and wake up not only my family, but also our neighbours, and one time even the people across the street, who happened to have their windows open at the wrong time.
I started sleeping properly after that.
#16
My mum confiscated my IEC cable so I couldn't use my computer. 4 days later she found a mouse in her shoe and I negotiated an early release of the cable in exchange for a rudimentary pest control service.
#17
Not me but my sister had a situation where the entire bathroom started smelling like pee. She cannot figure this out so the next couple weeks she smelled and looked for the cause of this. Well she eventually found out that her two sons six years old and seven years old would stand in the bathroom tub and pee from the tub into the toilet and of course pee got everywhere. Once she found this out the punishment for the two boys was they having to sit down every time they had to pee. She would occasionally follow them to the bathroom and listen and if she heard what sounded like people standing she would add another month on to the punishment.
Sonja 1 year ago (edited)
The better punishment would have been to make them deep clean the bathroom every time it happened from then on, and then later put them on a cleaning schedule so everyone cleans the bathroom regularly and they learn to respect other people by not causing more work. This is not really smart, but all they learn from this is to do what they want anyways unless forced to behave without understanding why it's bad
#18
I was having a literal fistfight with an older cousin (he was a prick. Still is, actually).
My papaw grabbed us both by the shirts, dragged us out the back door and said we couldnt come back in the house until one of us was no longer standing. Seriously encouraging an 11 year old girl and 15 year old boy to beat each other shitless.
So we beat each other shitless.
He finally just laid down on the ground because we got thirsty and tired. We got to cone back inside.
Donna Clanclan 1 year ago
Had 2 nephews, a year apart in age, refuse to get along. Every time I had to babysit them it was constant fighting. I knew what their problem was, but the parents decided no therapy. Tired of it one night, I led them both outside on the back porch. The porch was over the water with no stairway off it. I went back inside and closed and locked the glass door. Told them to fight it out and they were only allowed back in when they agreed on who was the winner. They were so shocked that an adult would do this they banded together to change my mind. I sat in a chair rocking the baby and eating mini marsh mellows as they desperately explained to me how making them fight was wrong. After putting them through some intense negotiation of games/TV/Movie time and the loss of those if they fight around me again...we came to an agreement and I let them back in. After that, they didn't fight around me. We did pack in a lot of fun things during those times as there was no longer time wasted fighting.
#19
I started working on my homework late, so my mom made me stay up all night "since i didn't care about sleep". I was a sophomore in highschool....
I said something along the lines of "studying an hour earlier would really help my future, clearly worked for you since you're so successful as a part time librarian who thinks vaccines cause autism and no real friends". She cried but wouldn't budge on the whole no sleep thing. My dad woke up and just said "be nice to your mom" and "let him sleep that's just insane".
#20
I said I hated one of the girls in school. 'Hate' was a bad word. I had to invite her over and be nice and get to know her. She was a b***h at age 7 and she's still a b***h at 31. It wouldn't seem too weird since they were trying to teach me that people have value or some s**t like that (idk, I don't have kids), except that recently the girl was mentioned in conversation and my mom ranted about what a little s**t she was as a kid and how she was an example of a girl that needed to be slapped for the nasty things she said. What the f*****g f**k Mom?
Dan Padgett 1 year ago
In life, sometimes we have to deal with cünts. Think that may be the lesson, no sure. Not everyone is nice, no one is perfect.
#21
When I was 8-9 or so, y mom was mad that I had taken my sister out to sit in the car to wait for her to drive us to grandma's (I had misunderstood something she'd said and thought we were leaving *right then*, as opposed to later that day). She was upset because she said it was hot in the car and I shouldn't have made my sister sit out in a hot car. So to punish me, she...locked me in the hot car, with the windows rolled up, to show what a bad idea it was. And when she came to let me out, decided I was being too sassy and decided to keep me locked in there even longer.
#22
This is the strangest punishment I gave my parents.
So there was this point in time where the toilet water wouldn’t stop running unless I flip the handle. I would always flip the handle and stay there until the water stops running. However when someone would use the toilet and forget to flip the handle my parents would accuse me. This happened so often; they would always accuse me of what I did not do. So to retaliate I just stopped flushing for a while. I did that until they agreed to not accuse me.
#23
I grew up on a farm. I went into the city one time and stayed with some family. Decided to sneak out and go drinking with the city kids. Someone found out I wasn't in bed and called my mom. So 4 am my mom drives into town and just so happens to see me on the side of the road coming back. Well I got yelled at a bunch and didn't get back to my home in the boonies until ~6 am. It was summer so the sun was starting to come up. My mom's logic was if she couldn't sleep because of me, I couldn't sleep because of her. So there was this field we used to train horses about 2 km from my house. Had a bunch of barrels and stacks of tires as obstacles. So I was kicked out of the house with the doors locked and tasked with putting these barrels and tires against the fence of this huge corral so that we could bring in a backhoe to remove the rocks that surface every couple years. So I walked there and did it, finished at about 10am. Walked home and tried to get back in. So my mom got me to get in the truck with her to go inspect that it was done. Well APPARENTLY she wanted everything against one side of the fence and I had simply move the obstacles to the portion of fence closest to it. So she dropped me off and made me do it again before I had to walk home. So, that f*****g sucked and I learned a valuable lesson about being sneakier
#24
My mom had a period when she met a new guy and married him and wanted to "toughen up" her spolied children. I lived with my dad, but was visiting for summer.
I was 14 and I have always, always hated mushrooms. My mom has always resented this, as we were poor and mushrooms were a good way to fill out stews, pasta sauces etc. and everybody else loved them. She forced me to "taste it" every damn single time, convinced I was just being fussy, making me detest them even more - even today, 25 years later, I can still puke instantly if I taste the texture of mushrooms.
So she makes fried vegetables for breakfast. About half of it is mushrooms, the cheap, nasty canned version. I say I don't want it. She goes on a rant on how spoiled I am and tells me there will be no other food. For context, I have always loved food and eating and was an extremely hungry growing teenager at this time.
I say fine. She then serves me the same portion of woked vegetable-mushroom mix for breakfast, lunch and dinner for three days straight and I refuse to eat each time. The portion had molded after the third day, and then she realised perhaps I'm not just fussy, I can't eat mushrooms.
Mickysixxx 1 year ago
I love the shrooms but i know plenty of people who hate them. Seems you either love 'em or you hate 'em
#25
There's probably stranger punishments that I've received but the one I remember at the moment was being given an avocado to eat. Absolutely hated avocados as a kid just because of how they looked like. Never had eaten one before that. I remember just crying and sitting at the dinner table for an hour because I hated the taste.
Now I'm 21 years old and love avocados lmao
Deta Rossiter 1 year ago
I can relate... as a child could not stand the smell, now i can't get enough of them!
#26
Pulling weeds. And when your done, ask the neighbors if they have weeds to pull.
Marilyn Russell 1 year ago
My mom made me pick dandelions but the joke was on her because I enjoyed it. And I was being blamed for something my sister did but I didn’t mind. I was actually a quiet and respectful child who didn’t disobey.
#27
The lawnmower broke so I had to cut the grass with a pair of scissors
Hotdogking 1 year ago
May I ask why did they make you do that? Did you break the lawnmower or are/were your parents just extremely controlling
#28
Took away my orange juice.
I f*****g loved orange juice.
#29
I'm left-handed and my mom mentioned when she was frustrated with me I'd get tasked with opening canned food. So if I just happened to be a little s**t *AND* there was canned food that needed to be opened at that same time, I'd be the one doing it. My left-handedness made this task difficult and frustrating, this equaling out her frustration I guess. I'm better at opening cans now BTW.
#30
I couldn't wash my car for two weeks.
I am a car enthusiast and come from a family of them. I was in high school and I wanted to go to my friend's. My Dad told me I couldn't because it was St. Patrick's day and there would be more drunk drivers on the road. I went anyway. He goes to work the next day or day after and sees there is some tar and dirt on my car. He knew I had gone because he drives by my friend's house on his way to work. He told me I couldn't wash the car for two weeks. It drove me nuts. Then once the time was up, he made me wash the car even though it was going to rain in a few hours.
What do you think ?
Marcellium 1 year ago
Here's mine: Came out as gay at like 12. Not allowed to leave the house, use a phone or computer for the whole summer. All phone calls were monitored. A summer with no friends or entertainment. They're much more accepting now but that sucked. Being alone still makes me panic.
Thor Haugen 1 year ago
I remember the one and only time I threw a temper tantrum Mom picked me up and threw me out of the house into a snow bank. I just remember being so shocked. No real harm was done and I never tried that again. 🤣
Marcellium 1 year ago
Here's mine: Came out as gay at like 12. Not allowed to leave the house, use a phone or computer for the whole summer. All phone calls were monitored. A summer with no friends or entertainment. They're much more accepting now but that sucked. Being alone still makes me panic.
Thor Haugen 1 year ago
I remember the one and only time I threw a temper tantrum Mom picked me up and threw me out of the house into a snow bank. I just remember being so shocked. No real harm was done and I never tried that again. 🤣
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