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Toxic parents exist, unfortunately. They scar their children for life through their hurtful words and inconsiderate actions. What’s worse is it can turn into a vicious cycle and cause generational trauma

You’re about to read answers to a Reddit question that asked, “What’s the worst thing your parents have ever said to you?” People didn’t hold back and shared stories ranging from invalidated feelings to their mothers and fathers wishing they were never born. 

Scroll through, but be forewarned that some of these texts involve themes of attempted self-harm and forced intimacy. Proceed with caution. 

#1

“I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents In the hospital after trying to k*ll myself, my mother said to me with hate in her eyes, "You couldn't even do that right." I was 14. F**k you mom, I keep living just to spite you now!

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    #2

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents I occasionally drink. My sister died from alcoholism.

    She was in a coma in the bed at the hospital suffering from liver failure. I was there with my Dad.

    He said "I always though this would happen to you. Not her."

    I have ALWAYS been the straightedge kid, she smoked, drank, did d***s. I was the Church youth group kid, she was just there if her bf at the time was. I barely drink, she was an alcoholic. I never smoked, she did. I don't do d***s, she did. I've always been monogamous, she was not. I've given them money to help them through tough spots, she convinced them to give her their retirement and blew it.

    The exact opposite of her. But my Dad and my Mom always made her the priority and thought she was a 'princess'.

    So as she was dying from the things she did. They dared to act like it should have been me on the bed.

    I will never be able to forget that.

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    StrangeOne
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's a family to cut out of your life. No need to put up with that.

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    #3

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents “You’d better lose some weight and hope someone marries you for your looks, because your personality sucks.”

    I was 14 and had just been fired from my very first job. He doesn’t even remember saying it; for me it was one of the worst days of my life and lives in the back of my head, for my father it was a Tuesday.

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    #4

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents "Look, everyone has some kind of pain. Grandma, Dad and I all have arthritis and other things. Grandma's hip replacement wore out, Dad has sciatica, and I have bursitis. Stop complaining and learn to deal with it." - My mother, driving me home after I received my fibromyalgia diagnosis.

    Karma got her later when one of her friends verbally smacked it into her head that fibromyalgia pain is severe and debilitating, that it could get worse over time, and that I may end up wheelchair-bound. She also talked about how badly the brain fog f***s a person up.

    My mom was almost in tears as she apologized. She gave me a fibromyalgia awareness bracelet and started coming to my rheumatology appointments to ask questions for me whenever I had brain fog.

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    #5

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents Literally as we were walking out of the hospital, after having to take our three week old daughter off life support. My mother chose that moment to remind me that she really thought we should have baptized our daughter because now she can't go to heaven. Yeah, I just got in the car and ignored her. If I would have reacted, she would have needed to go back into the hospital.

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    Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Because God needs a magic spell casting on a child before he will accept them into Heaven. Makes total sense, if God is a monster.

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    #6

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents 'If you come back to this house I'll beat you and k*ll you'. Haven't seen him for 3 and a half years after that & I don't intend to. Blood thicker than water my a**. I'll always cut off toxic family.

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    Guess Undheit
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "Blood of the covenant is thicker than water of the womb." THAT is the phrase, meaning chosen relationships are more meaningful than genetic family.

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    #7

    My biological mother told me that I should be in the urn with my dead son. She was convinced that because I was sometimes a danger to myself (I’m epileptic), I obviously k*lled him somehow… despite him passing in his sleep from SIDS.

    I don’t speak to her anymore.

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    Miss Mali
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I am so sorry for loss of ur son . . . And I am so sorry that ur mother would ever think that of u. Just know we all know it was not anyone's fault especially not urs.

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    #8

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents "If you get AIDS we're going to let you die alone because we're not letting you bankrupt us." I was 18 and they found out I was gay from a letter I had thrown away. They also said one of the funniest things to me during that same time, "What if you want to be President?!".

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    #9

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents My parents are tied.

    Dad: “So they diagnosed you with depression and anxiety? By definition those two things would cancel themselves out. You won’t be going back.” I was 13.

    Mom: She told me over and over while growing up “You can ALWAYS come home! No matter what you can always come home!”

    I was 22 and lost my job and could not find another with enough hours. We went out to lunch, I spilled my guts and how ashamed I was at failing. She looked me dead in the face and said “Tell me how that turns out.” I slept under a bridge for 3 months.

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    Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Depression and anxiety cancel each other out? What freaking definitions was he using?

    Bewitched One
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Heightened nerves and low moods? Low plus high equals fine? Lmao I thought the exact same thing as you when I read it 🤷🏼‍♀️

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    Alexia
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Depression and anxiety are often glued together. Like a horse and a jokey.

    Upstaged75
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I wish they cancelled each other out! That would be awesome for me. ;) Thankfully my parents have taken me back in at several points in my life and have always supported me no matter what I was going through.

    Jp
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yah, these are just bad parents. Sorry. - Trophy parenting is a real issue. It’s when they make sure they are seen as great parents because of all the things they participate in with you but in reality it’s not for you, it’s for their peers. Mental illness is a real big mess for trophy parents because it would admit failure (in their eyes) and others would judge. When your brain is sick it creates pathways that info travel on. If they don’t use the pathway to reason and sympathy the info you gave them gets rerouted through the thickest cable. In this case it’s the pride cable and the sympathy cable is not only not connected IT’s rerouted to the shame button

    michelle s
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I know how bad the dual diagnosis of depression and anxiety is. Everyday is a struggle and at least for me nobody believed the diagnosis of depression as my anxiety made me very animated. You might say I was lucky was what you might call high functioning so unless I had a bad attack nobody would know. I feel for OP as nobody knows apart from the individual how hard it was for them and someone saying they know how it is and they feel it can totally feel like making you wanting to say "F-off, you really don't know what goes on inside my head, you are not me".

    Liliauna Whitlock [STUDENT]
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I had depression and still have anxiety, trust me those two things DO NOT cancel each other out. I hope you feel better and get out of your depression soon <3

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    #10

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents In college, my dad told me over the phone, "It's not your mom's fault she doesn't love you as much as she loves your sister. She just doesn't understand you. You're too weird for her."

    Thanks, dad. That didn't hurt at all.

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    iseefractals
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There's a difference between "loving your kids" and "liking your kids" You can love them more than life itself, doesn't mean you have anything in common with them. Besides, look at it from the other side, as a child you love your parents....but you still have one that you prefer.

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    #12

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents I proudly told my mom I got 98% on one of my high school exams. She replied “Where did you lose the 2%?”.

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    #13

    That I ruined everything she’s ever had.

    Joke is on my mom because after my dad died, I went no contact and it’s been AMAZING.

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    #14

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents “The stress from dealing with you is why I got cancer”.

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    Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het
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    2 months ago

    This comment has been deleted.

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    #15

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents My mother told me "You can't wear what the pretty girls wear because you're fat."

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    Boredest Panda
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Lady, I’m already wearing what pretty girls wear because I’m pretty enough

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    #16

    When he threatened to kick me out of the house because I took a different route home than he would have when coming home from dinner.

    It was so out of left field. I thought he was joking but he was raging and was literally about to kick me to the street. Led to this massive argument that came close to having the cops called.

    I was 20 and it completely changed my view of him. I found a job across the country a few weeks later and left. Today he doesn't remember the incident at all and wonders why I never accept his help for anything and visit once every five years. Got what you wanted old man.

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    Pencil McGovern
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If it was completely out of left field, nothing similar had happened before, nothing similar since and he doesn't remember it, it very well could have been a psychotic break. It's much more common (particularly after a trauma) than people realize. Based *solely* on what's written here, I think reconciliation would be worth exploring.

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    #17

    My dad had been single since him and my mom divorced when I was 1 year old. I was 13 and was pretty sick trying to sleep in the back seat going to his house for the weekend. He just recently got a girlfriend at this point who had a daughter a few years younger than me. He forced me to go to his place that weekend even though I was pretty sick and he was frustrated I wasn’t interested in talking to him on the drive to his place.

    So he pulls over, looks back at me and says “ya know, I can just take you back to your moms. I don’t *need* you to love me anymore. I have {girlfriend} and {girlfriend’s daughter} now.”

    He did in fact take me back to my moms and I didn’t see him again for another 3-4 years after she dumped him cause she found someone richer.

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    #18

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents My mom had a condition which made it hard to keep a pregnancy. She had 13 total pregnancies, only 4 survived. I was the only planned pregnancy that survived.

    “You were the only one I wanted and look how you turned out”.

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    #19

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents I told my dad I needed mental health help and he told me I just needed to pray more.

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    #21

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents My Mum died on Mother’s Day 2020. My Dad declined quickly without her. He said to me:

    “I just don’t have anything to live for anymore. Everything I did, I did for her.”

    Me: “You still have friends, family, kids…you know I’m still here for you.”

    Dad: “You were just for her too.”

    He died soon after telling me he never wanted me.

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    Kobe (she)
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I don't read the Ï didn't want you" in that. I do see a heavily grieved man though. And heavy grief can mess up with perspective a lot. Especially the child being in grief as well. The everything I did, I did for her part, might just as well go for the last years where it was just the two of them. Sometimes in grief one just can't see ( or want to see) the silver lining...

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    #22

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents That I was a failure and I’ll never be half of my brother.

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    #23

    While my parents were going through a divorce (I was 9 years old), I overheard my mom saying to my father "I don't want (me), I'll take the younger one, he's less annoying".

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    #24

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents When my mom found out I lost my virginity she said “God is punishing me for everything I’ve done wrong in my life with a daughter who makes the same mistakes”.

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    #25

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents I never wanted children after your sister. (I'm #2).

    saccharine_mycology , gpointstudio Report

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    iseefractals
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well, you had two other options available to ya, but you chose the one that runs the risk of crotch goblins.

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    #26

    While my body was deteriorating from an undiagnosed medical condition my mother said, "Do you know how much it hurts ME to see you just lying there?" This was after a 2 day hospital stay, 2 biopsies, and several doctor's appointments. NOTE: I had lost about 100 pounds of muscle mass in 7 months by the time I was diagnosed, literally my whole body hurt. Getting up hurt, laying down hurt. Anything I did, hurt.

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    Nicola Mawson
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This can be understood as concern, with a massive misunderstanding

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    #27

    After my ex-wife remarried, my dad befriended her new husband. It’s especially weird because she abandoned the daughter we had together. My ex and her husband came to Holiday events that I wasn’t even invited to. I confronted my dad and he said that “Brent” was like the son he never had. Brent like NASCAR, country music, and religion. I llied none of those things.
    It ended my relationship with him and my mom by extension. I have only spoken to my dad a handful of times since then. That was nearly 30 years ago. We never even spoke when my mom and sister died. I did make peace with my mom while she was on her deathbed. My dad has cancer (stage 3) and I can’t gather a single f**k/ won’t contact him/ won’t attend the funeral/ don’t want a cent from his estate. So yea, f**k that guy.
    Fun fact: exwife cheated on Brent too and they were only together for a few years.

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    #28

    My mom all my childhood “I should have aborted you”…like yeah but you didn’t so now what?

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    CrunChewy McSandybutt
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yeah, I heard stuff like this, too. It's almost as if it's a figure of speech for them. Gross.

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    #29

    Being anxious and depressed is a choice.

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    Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If you have ever had depression you know it's not a choice. No one would choose to feel like that.

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    #30

    My mother lost her first baby. It was a boy and he was stillborn. She told me she got pregnant with me bc she thought my dad would stop drinking if she gave him a son… I’m not a son. It basically made me feel like it was my job to keep my father happy no matter what. And he was never happy so I always felt like a failure.

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    #31

    "You are born sinful and need to ask for forgiveness and purify yourself, it is going to be very difficult and you will suffer a lot in life, but if you don't do it, you will go to hell after you die."

    if you believe in what I typed above, it is morally wrong to make kids, because of the incredible burden you put on your child and very high risk that your child will just suffer in hell eternally.

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    whodunnitfan2013
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My parents preached about how I needed to ask for forgiveness after I was séxually abùsed as a child.

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    #32

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents Not to me. I overheard my mom tell my sis she wouldn't be a good mother because she wore pants to church. This was 19 years ago in 2005. My sister and her hubby have two dogs....

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    #33

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents My mother often said to me "I wished you had died and your sister had lived." 
    It still stings to this day.

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    Boredest Panda
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    All these parents wish their own children’s deaths! Like, wtf??? If you don’t want kids and can’t handle them, don’t have them!

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    #34

    I had splurged on a box of temporary hair dye when o was 15. Mom told me
    If I spent as much time on my hair as I did on my weight, I wouldn't be so huge
    For the record, I'm 5'7. At the time I weighed around 130 lbs.

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    Miss Mali
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Man I'm 5' 7" and would look too skinny at 130, so I hope u know u were not huge, and if u were so what ur still somebody who deserves love and happiness in their life!!!

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    #35

    When I was 16 my mom started to suspect that I was Bisexual after she read through my computer search history. After a pretty intense one-sided fist fight(she started it)she told me she couldn’t love or trust me after finding this out, and starting crying after asking me if I’d ever had “feelings” for my 13 year old sister(I hadn’t).

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    Miss Mali
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What the actual F . . . Were does it say queer equals insest or pedophilia????

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    #36

    "I'm moving to (halfway across country) with your brother. There isn't anything for me here."

    Except me, my sister, her 2 sons-in-law and all 5 of her grandchildren.

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    Bay Bo
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Had ur dad died n she was trying to escape constant reminders? Regardless, that's off-putting

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    #37

    “This is just like when your mother had a miscarriage” when they found out I was gay.

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    #38

    In a therapy session when he’s explaining why I seem to piss him off more than everyone else: “I’m angry at you because your mother refused to get an abortion.”

    Explained a lot, actually.

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    #39

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents "Your mom didn't die just so you could throw your life away." From my dad.

    Said while crying during what was pretty much an intervention.

    My mom died giving birth to me and I've only seen my dad cry four times in my life.

    Certainly hurt, though at the time it was something I probably needed to hear.

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    StrangeOne
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This one sounds warranted and from a father who's scared and deeply cares.

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    #40

    Parents who tell their children “You are just like [other parent]!” are awful people.
    *You’re just like someone I hate*.

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    Miss Mali
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My mom has said that to me I have responded with well u pick him, u married him and u chose to procreate with him what did u expect??? And thanks mom I happen to think my dad had some wonderful qualities and that those are the ones I picked up. All the ways I was screwed up were actually just like u and I decided I didn't want to be like u and so I worked hard to turn that part of me around, what's ur excuse???

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    #41

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents “I love you, but you’re still going to hell; once you turn 18, pack your s**t and leave.”

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    Beak Hookage
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Translation: I don't love you but am too much of a self-righteous hypocrite to admit it.

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    #42

    “You have a simian face”, “It’s lucky you are smart bc you are not pretty”, “You were cursed with your father’s genes to give you that big fat a*s”.

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    Lost Penny
    Community Member
    2 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What a lovely woman and a great mother! (just in case, it's /s)

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    #43

    “I Will Never Be Able To Forget That”: 45 Of The Worst Things People Heard From Their Parents Its not one thing. Everytime I shared a problem with her, she’ll remember it and then turn it against me. Sometimes even months or years later bring it up in a fight and make it as if I am the problem. Because of this, I have hard time being vulnerable with anyone and sharing anything (except reddit I guess)

    EDIT: Wow I wasn’t expecting so many people to relate to this. It was difficult when I was younger. Then as an adult I went to therapy because I don’t want to live a life without any connection with people. It has helped a lot (much better than before) including my relationship with my mom. Now if she or any one does this: 1) I know not to take it to heart and ruminate on it and 2) Remind her that it hurts my feelings. I still do love my mother. But those childhood experiences did affect my adulthood a lot.

    Our scars from childhood takes time to heal. I still keep my guard up more so than my friends for example but after getting to know more about someone, I decide if I want to share more.

    I hope what I learnt through therapy helps everyone experiencing the same thing. I’m learning to take risks and get hurt in the process. I hope it works for you too 🤗.

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    StrangeOne
    Community Member
    2 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I can so relate to that, too. Like, some moms can be jerks but then they treat you very well other times, and are there to support you. But with all that, just the cutting words now and then can overpower the positive. It takes a long time to practice to let it slide off your back and not let the words and tone phase you. Once you can start standing up for yourself you'll feel so much better and those bad moments won't marinate in your head.

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    #44

    "Toylil, there are two types of people in this world: those who are street smart and those who are book smart. You are neither".

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    Skogsrået
    Community Member
    2 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wow, what ahole thing to say to your own kid. Even if they were dumb as a bag of rocks you don't say that, you as their parent should be in their corner and root for them, lift them up not put them down.

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    #45

    My dad once told me that he loved me, but he really didn't like me. I was a teen with very low self esteem. Way to bolster my confidence dad.

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    #46

    Moved halfway through high school and I had no friends. Was the most depressed I’ve ever been. Got into a fight with my mom who yelled, “at least I have friends.”

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    #47

    When I was 18ish my father told me that he hoped I would take some classes that would teach me to be more in control and less emotional…. Now 20 years later my husband has died and my dad wants me to “tell him about the hard stuff” and to “cry it out” with him, and he can’t fathom why I do not lean on him in this time.

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    #48

    “Nobody will ever want you while you are the way you are”.

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    Ionescu Popa
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    1 month ago

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    #49

    "I should've drowned you in the bathtub, like Andrea Yates"

    For reference, Yates was a young mother in the mid 90's who drowned her 5(?) kids due to severe postpartum depression & religious psychosis.

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    Stephanie Did It
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So essentially, the parent was admitting to being mentally ill, as Yates was repeatedly diagnosed.

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    #50

    I think there have been quite a few, but the one that affected me most was my mom telling me my laugh was loud and I needed to quiet down. I stopped laughing around them for a long time (a few years at least). Finally, we started going to family therapy, and I told her that it bothered me. She said she wouldn't do it again. She did it again about a month later.

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    2 months ago

    This comment has been deleted.

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    #51

    “I wish you were never born”.

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    #52

    There's a few but the first I thought of is "you're not an easy person to love/it's difficult to love you".

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    #53

    Being the oldest I moved out at 17 to join the Army. After exiting service I moved home, bought a house at 23 and later sold that houst at 25. Inbetween selling that house and finding a new one, which took 2 months, my mother refused to let me and my wife move in temporarily. Her excuse being, "doing something like that would ruin our relationship". That's after letting both my sisters move back in for over a year at a time and my youngest sister still living there at 26. Thanks mom, you did ruin the relationship 👍 Probably not the worst thing she said but that was a real gut punch.

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    #54

    After my s*icide attempt, my dad said, "Got it out of your system yet?".

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    MartiBob
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That is extremely dangerous. My stupid teenage self would have finished the deed to "prove myself" to him. Absolutely horrible response from anyone, much less a parent!!

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    #55

    I told her at eleven that I was s*icidal and I wanted to jump out the window and she said, "Well, then we'd have two problems wouldn't we?" She was berating me for bad grades due to unchecked ADHD.

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    Ry
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I can partly relate to this. I told my mom I was suicidal and she grounded me. Then she had seen the cuts on me and she told me it was "for attention". It took me almost attempting and contacting 988 for her to realize it couldnt be downplayed.

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    #56

    “There’s no light behind your eyes any more.” because I left the Mormon church. We’ve since made up and repaired our relationship, but I’ll never forget her saying that to me.

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    Joseph Dixon
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If anything, there was probably a ton of light behind their eyes for leaving that "religion".

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    #57

    That no one liked me, no wonder I didn’t have any friends, s**t like that. That was when I was in primary school.

    In uni my dad told me to get the f**k out of his house and never contact him again, that was fun.

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    #58

    “You’re genetically defective.” - dear old dad.

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    #59

    "If your grandmother was alive, she'd be disgusted with who you've become" or something along those lines.


    This is coming from the woman whose best parenting moments include threatening to dump used cat litter on me.

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    #60

    They repeatedly explained to me that I'd never amount to anything and always live a life of insecurity if I didn't pick science/tech as my main field of study.


    It was only after I'd already committed to that path I learned that all of my friends and teachers were shocked I didn't pick a language, history or art program.

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    Kalevra
    Community Member
    2 months ago (edited)

    This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

    technically they were not wrong. Statistically harder to break into good paying jobs in the three latter fields.

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    #61

    I stopped visiting my dad when I was 11 when I realized the kind of person he really was. On my 13th birthday he sent me a card that just said "get over it".

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    #62

    You're a terrible father- my mother who didn’t raise me at all.

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    #63

    Not to me, but about me. My mom told my sister that she just pretends that I’m dead. So, that’s nice.

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    #64

    “You’re not autistic. You’re just lazy.”

    Why? Because I was falling behind on a science project because I was actually doing WAY *too* much work for it, and apparently I should’ve done it over the school break even though my teacher explicitly said we didn’t have to and he didn’t expect us to.

    Like ISTFG ever since I was diagnosed with ADHD (looking for autism assessment too) she f*****g uses it against me. Not long ago I made a tiny f**k up on something and she said that mid/low functioning autistic people were “more responsible than me”. 

    And she’s a social worker… 💀.

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    #65

    "it's not like you'll ever be a model" - said to 12 year old me who needed braces to correct actual problems. my parents refused to take me back to the dentist.
    not really the worst thing they've said, but it had a profound impact on ugly 12 year old me.

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    #66

    I can't decide between, 'We made mistakes raising you,' or, 'I wish you were addicted to d***s instead of video games!'.

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    Joseph Miller
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    2 things for me on this one. 1) As a parent, I did / still do make mistakes in raising children. It's not easy. It's freaking hard & we messed up a couple of times. We weren't perfect. 2) WHY do I always read Di CK s instead of Dr UGs first!!!

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    #67

    In Spanish the Bible says “love thy mother and father” (not honor, like it does in English). My father once said to me that it is not a commandment to love thy child.

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    Miss Mali
    Community Member
    2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If u do not have the capacity to love unconditionally, I mean totally selflessly and without question, then u should probably not have children. What a lot of parents forget is ur kids did not ask u to have them, they OWE u nothing, but u have the responsibility to take care of them and put their needs first, and teach them how to be good productive adults that's the job u signed up for!!!

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    #68

    I remember back when I was in 8th grade, we were going on a class trip to Washington DC. This was only a year after 9/11 so I was still super scared to get on a plane.

    Finally I told my dad that I was scared to get on a plane and had been worrying about it a lot.

    His comforting words

    "Just remember what we learned in church, everyone has a time to go"

    Thanks Dad!

    (I still give him s**t about this s****y advice 22 years later).

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    #69

    My mom was angry and called me a “f*****g idiot” because I failed a test or was failing a class, I don’t remember which. That was in middle school, I believe. It still pops in my head from time to time.

    I want to note that neither of my parents were abusive. They spoiled me rotten, but my mom does have a temper and sometimes says things in the heat of the moment that she ends up forgetting about later.

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    #70

    “That shirt would look better on someone thinner.”

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    #71

    My mom told me not to be a deadbeat like my dad when I was like 11.

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