Warm hug all around .
admonition : This article deal with the topics of violence , drug and substance abuse and may be triggering to some readers .
Reddit useru/itsbilliebrownasked ther/AskAnAustraliansubreddit about their upbringings — “When you were growing up, what was normal in your household that you later realised wasn’t normal to everyone else?”. The responses were a mixed bag of innocent and concerning, proving that you never really know what’s going on behind closed doors. Here are a few of the moments that were shared (accompanied by some reactions from beloved mockumentaryModern Family):
1.“Being told no to everything, like going over to a friend’s house. It got to the point I didn’t bother asking anymore.”
2.“In kindergarten I would use Swedish words that I picked up from my grandparents. I couldn’t grasp why the other kids didn’t understand when I would use these words. I had no idea it was another language.”
— uranium / Ok_Metal6112
" I get into a whole line with another minor in kindergarten about the Punica granatum I brought in as a bite one day . I ’d only ever heard the Arabic word for it up until that item . [ I had ] no clue I was n’t tell the English name . "
— u / denpakuma
" I grow up with first generation parent so that intend to little me that everyone else ’s parents were also first contemporaries . The idea that some of my friends could only mouth English used to shock me , like what do you imply you do n’t have native language ? Or like your own culture/ food at home . No one ’s just Australian , correct ? "
— u / not_the_chosen_onee
3.“Moving houses almost every year, trying to find the cheapest place to live.”
4.“Having cereal for dinner”
" I grew up with disassociate parents , and lived with my unmarried dad . Almost every night dinner was a bowl of food grain , with the exception of ' special occasions ' where we would either take the air to the local McDonalds for a Happy Meal or get a Dominos pizza delivered . "
" Was n’t till I was about 11 yr older at my first sleep over at a supporter ’s menage where his parent hollo us for dinner , I was expecting to see a bowl of cereal on the table , but was massively bemused at this gist and veg dinner that was in front of me . I recall going home reckon their dinner was unearthly . "
— uracil / maxfaulkner
5.“We regularly ate ‘egg bread’”
6.“My father was a control freak about decor and decisions about furniture, towels, cushions, plates and glasses. I only realised when my mother left him…”
7.“Farting out loud and everyone finding it funny”
" I fart a lot . When I was unseasoned I ’d just rend my farts out loud and no one said anything . Then I did it at other hoi polloi ’s and they call me out on it . "
— uracil / BRKenn77
8.“Being able to sleep anywhere, with any level of noise”
" My papa was in a medicine duo , and on Fri and Sat night he would take us tike to his gig . We would notice somewhere to curl up and slumber once it hit about 9 pm . normally under a table , or in some padded hot seat . He was never organize enough to actually PLAN to have us there , but we worked it out , and I ca n’t say I hated it . "
— atomic number 92 / learningbythesea
9.“My family was the only family I knew that regularly hit us as kids”
10.“BBQs never involved salad”
11.“How controlled our food was”
12.“I didn’t realise that not everyone automatically turns off lights when they leave a room/area”
" My papa practice it into us when we were minor .
" When I go to other small fry ’s houses , I was astonished that they had all the ignitor on all the time . I thought it was NUTS and that their parent must be really rich to afford the power bill . "
— atomic number 92 / Helen_Magnus _
" My Mum was really electrical energy conscious but we had some vim write bulbs that apparently occupy the same amount of energy to deform off and on as to run for four hours incessantly ? So the rules in our house were like : Always release the Light off , unless you think someone else will infix the room in the next four 60 minutes , in which example leave them on . "
— uranium / bl00ph00h00
13.“My first jobs involved giving all but bus money to help with family. My mother had me convinced that, as the oldest, it was my responsibility to look after them when they retire.”
14.“My family has this really long ritual that involves singing multiple songs, clapping and chants when celebrating someone’s birthday”
15.“When I was young — eight and under — my house always had a particular smell. And only one of my friend’s houses smelled just like mine did…”
" Fast forward to being a stripling I realize it was weed . My house always smelled like dope when my don was around . "
— u / Roma_lolly
16.“Mixing raspberry cordial and milk, using pillowcases at the end of the bed to put Christmas or birthday presents in…”
17.“Having a communal sock basket…”
" I still laugh about it now , it ’s not like we shared socks . Everyone had their own but they were all in a basket in the lounge way and it was like a watering hole . "
— u/99 - bootleg - cats
18.“My parents used to make me sleep outside as a punishment…”
19.“Mum giving us a flannelette pillowcase each when we had colds to wipe our noses with — saved on tissues and was much softer”
" Husband think it was the most disgusting matter he ever saw the first time I did it . "
— uracil / WombatBum85
20.And finally, “My family poops big”
Note : Some responses have been blue-pencil for clarity and distance .
If this article wreak up any event for you or anyone you know , or if drugs or alcohol are becoming a problem , please contactLifeline(13 11 14 ) or downloadSobriety App – I am Sober , an dependance buddy useful for quitting any activeness or substance .
What are some moments from your childhood that you thought were normal but actually weren’t?
