Top 10 Most Annoying Things Parents Enforce

The Top Ten
Getting off your electronics at a certain time

My parents don't understand that the only time I feel calm is when I'm with my phone or at school. My step-dad especially doesn't understand that the cause of all my stress (and recent anxiety attack) is because he yells at me every day for doing nothing to deserve it. I was going to rewrite my essay and he told me I had an hour to do it. My brain kind of just stopped, so I couldn't write anything down. He yelled at me and threatened to slap me before I started crying (again, it's already been a stressful day. He doesn't need to keep adding onto it).

I went to bed without dinner since I lost my appetite and I'm too uncomfortable to tell my mom my true feelings since she's only nice to me when that demon of a step-dad is gone...

Practicing extreme frugality

My mom and my grandma are always like this. My mom still buys me expensive things sometimes and is smart with money, but my grandma takes frugality to an extreme level. She won't buy anything that's more than $100, even if it's an electronic. Every time I tell her that cheap doesn't always mean "good quality," she gets mad at me.

My parents are Asian and are very cheap. My mom reuses brown paper lunch bags for weeks, and my dad thinks that a $1 box of crayons is too expensive.

My mom might as well be Mr. Krabs when it comes to buying certain things. Hell, she once tried to buy me a Chromebook in June 2020, but I was luckily able to get her to buy me a nice Windows 10 laptop instead.

No using social media

If you disagree with social media, screw you. Social media is the only way I talk to:

1. My best friend from school I no longer see because I moved. I can't talk to her in person, so don't tell me to get up and talk in person.

2. The way I talk to my mom. I very rarely see her. I'm so glad I have Facebook.

These people ranting over social media? Just shut up already. It doesn't harm anyone.

I used to have an account on each famous website, but when my parents saw what I was watching and liking (which happened to be anti-Christian stuff), they deleted them all and told me that I am now a demon from the lowest depths of hell itself.

No wearing certain clothes

My mom doesn't like it when I get heavy metal shirts, and I have a lot of them. Two Led Zeppelin ones, three Metallica ones, one AC/DC one, one Iron Maiden one, and I almost got a Megadeth one until I decided to get a video game instead. My older siblings or aunt have to pretty much buy the shirts without telling my mom, and she gets really angry when I get the shirts.

In elementary school, my parents always made me wear shorts under my dresses whenever I wore them. Luckily, I'm allowed to wear crop tops and short shorts in public now, as long as they're a reasonable length.

Going to bed at a certain time

Bedtime. I get it. Sleep is important. But when your parent doesn't trust you enough to keep YOURSELF healthy, you know there's a problem. Especially when you get older. I keep asking my mom to give me some space, let me figure out my sleep schedule myself. And she does for like a week then says, "No, it's not working," and goes back to leveraging my hobbies against literally anything I do wrong.

Going to bed at midnight? It's the electronics' fault. Every time she does this, I end up staying up even later because I'm riled up. I went to sleep at 3 last night because I was pissed off. Sometimes I think parenting is just a power trip because "you're my kid and I can." I really don't follow where all the stubbornness and pointless double standards come from. I look at my mom and sometimes she's more childish than me.

Showing them what you're doing

Aka "Let us have complete control over your accounts and know everything you do online! Hope you're still sane after this!"

The first (and last) time my mom enforced this rule, my Google account was deleted and so were all my videos, all because she couldn't handle me swearing on the internet. I'm sneakier now, but still. I also had her force me to remove my best friend (and only friend) from my Google contacts list one time over a prank where I told my friend I got a virus on my laptop and couldn't use the internet and was sending the message from my mom's phone.

Needless to say, I'm pretty sure I lost my sanity from that. I literally went from using my laptop in front of everyone, not caring about what they thought of the sites I was on, to being paranoid of people opening my door when I use my laptop, even when all I'm doing is watching Equestria Girls for the 47th time. She'll also think I'm hiding things, even if there's proof that I'm NOT hiding things. So yeah.

Sorry for the rant-ish thing. Just needed to get that out.

Being "too old" for certain things

Yeah, that's true. When my dad caught us watching a certain Nick Jr. show, he said it's for babies. But we're just watching it for our childhood memories and not to act like babies. AGEIST DAD.

I still watch a couple of Pixar movies, and my dad enforces this, even though it's technically for all ages.

What's next, "too old" for South Park? Too old for horror movies?

My parents are ageist as hell! I am an adult and I like Disney's Hercules, drawing with school supplies, baby blankets, and stuffed animals. But my parents think that if adults like that kind of stuff, they have mental problems!

No cursing

This doesn't apply to me anymore now that I'm 15, but when I was little, I once got my computer privileges taken away for the night all because I said a certain swear word even though my family said it all the time. Hell, I wasn't allowed to say the word "dork" at one point after watching a certain episode of Monster High.

My parents consider the words:

Stupid
Idiot
Dumb
Retarded

curse words. I get in trouble if I call one of my siblings one of those words, so I don't really want to imagine what the consequences of using actual curse words would be. For the most part, I find it stupid. My mother says it's because none of her children are dumb and she finds it insulting when I call them idiots. I tell her that I mean it in a non-serious, joking way, but she doesn't care.

No dating until a certain age

It's so annoying! Honestly, I have had the biggest crush on this boy for 10 long months, and the week after I told my parents, we were all chatting about the seating plans in classes.

My mum was like, "What about Spanish?" I sat next to him, so I said, "c/n (his name)." So she joked, "I wonder what he might say to you!" My dad said, "Yeah, in three years!" I was so annoyed, especially when he started going on about not dating until year 10 (I'm British). At least mum told him to stop being protective.

If you're still in middle school, then I understand this rule. But in high school and above, it's dumb. Some parents and religions even have rules on dating and marriage when you grow up, such as marrying a certain religion or culture, arranged marriages, being forced to marry, or only being allowed to be straight.

No expressing your emotions

I can NEVER be mad or sad in my house. Like, I'm gonna cry, idiot, but they don't understand that. Would you rather I start cussing in your face or just let me cry?

When I get scared, mad, feel pain, or get hurt, I want to cry. When I get very angry, I want to scream and yell in another room, vent, and punch and hit pillows and other soft objects. But my mom won't let me and insists that I keep my feelings hidden.

Some strict parents depress their children so much that they feel they shouldn't express their emotions. My parents never did this, though, so I am grateful.

The Newcomers

? Forcing you to share your belongings with others

When I was a little kid, one of the things I hated most was being forced to share something that belonged to me with others.

As a matter of fact, I once pulled another girl's chair backward as hard as I could to make her fall onto the ground when she borrowed my princess towel without my permission at summer camp when I was 5 years old. As soon as she hit the ground and started crying, I snatched my towel off of her and wrapped it around me. That's how much I hated sharing back then, and forcing me to share definitely didn't help either.

To this day, I have no regrets over what I did, and I certainly taught her a lesson to never touch my property without my permission ever again. I also remember watching Curious George on DVD that evening.

? Wearing a jacket even if you're not cold
The Contenders
No being in the same room with members of opposite gender

I'll admit my dad has definitely loosened up around the whole "guys hang out with girls" thing, but he still gets annoyed when I hang out with more guys (I'm a girl). Then he sometimes paints me as a crazy, obsessed, delusional lunatic who's desperate for a boyfriend. And every time I mention a guy's name, apparently to him, it's a crush.

Once I talked about one group of my guy friends, and he actually said this to me: "I think you're desperate for a boyfriend." Yeah, they're pretty fine, but everything is strictly platonic, and I wish he'd understand it better. He's better than he used to be, and he lets me hang out with a couple boys, but he still thinks I like them in that way sometimes.

Letting your younger sibling get the better pick

They just spoil their sisters. Both older and younger siblings are equal.

No video games on school days

I'm allowed to play 1.5-2 hours on Fridays-Sundays. I don't complain about it too much on school days because I have so much homework, and even on the weekends too! I sometimes don't even get to play on the weekends.

But what's annoying is that the rule stays on during long breaks too, like summer and winter break when I should literally be able to play however I want and whenever I want! It's even more annoying because I want to get better at the game and place in tournaments and make money and make content rather than play for fun.

Maybe after 11th grade ends this year, they might let me play longer during summer and long breaks, and on school days and weekends whenever I finish my homework and get good grades. I hope that happens.

Making you clean your room
Making you write thank you notes after holidays

Luckily, we don't need to do this. Just telling them in person or by phone or sending an email is fine.

Can't you just say thank you in person? Also, who the hell mails letters anymore?

I mean, it's polite, but can't you send your relatives texts instead?

Doing something you're uncomfortable with

I agree. I want to drive because it is important, but my parents literally think it is not normal for someone who is 20 years old to not be driving. They don't understand that it is my choice to start driving lessons and let me be in my comfort zone and see if I'm ready. Yes, driving is important because you can gain experiences outside, but if I feel I am not ready to drive, I am not going to do it because I don't want to put myself in a situation where I will be in a potential accident.

My parents think I don't take my life seriously because I don't know how to drive, but I work my ass off in school, treat everybody with respect, and accomplish my house chores. They literally think I am lazy. SMDH.

No having a YouTube channel

I am not allowed to have a YouTube channel, but my younger cousin is.

I want to be a YouTuber, but my parents won't let me!

Why, Mom and Dad!? I want to be extremely popular!

No eating junk food

I have a fast metabolism and can eat lots of junk food without gaining weight, so clearly, my parents don't give a crap about my eating habits.

The no snacks before dinner rule stinks!

My mom makes me eat a toddler-sized portion of food for lunch, and then she will not let me eat any snacks during the afternoon, even if I get really hungry. I am 26.

So sometimes I have absolutely no choice but to starve myself to extremes until dinner (which is around 7-8 PM).

Going to school even though you are sick and don't feel well

Once when I was little, I said I felt sick, but my parents didn't believe me. They took me home because I was whining. Five minutes later, I literally threw up all over the floor.

So yeah.

I tell my grandpa I don't feel good, that I feel like throwing up. And all he says is this... "Aw, you're fine, you're going to school." Sometimes he lets me stay home when I feel the same. I go to school feeling like puking all just for an "education."

This will get other people sick and cause the school to shut down. My parents have done this before.

How narrow-minded could you be?

Having to eat all your food

My parents: You're overweight. We need to put you on a diet.

The next day, my mom made a super greasy steak and screamed at me for not wanting to eat the whole thing.

Then they get on you about being overweight.

This can cause weight gain and unhealthy eating habits in the future!

Why do you want your child to be fat in the future?!

No getting earrings until a certain age

Well, I could not get my ears pierced till I was 25. Yes, 25! My mom kept telling me, No, you will die if you get your ears pierced. I know this girl that was in my school, and she died from getting her ears pierced. Do you want that to happen to you? I really didn't care. I just wanted to have pierced ears. My family gave me so many earrings not knowing that I didn't have pierced ears.

So one day my mom said, OK, we will go have it done. And you know what? I didn't die. What? My mom was wrong? Wow!

My ears got pierced when I was 5, but I'm almost 12 now and they won't let me get a second pair. A girl I know who is 10 has three!

The oldest child is automatically being responsible for everything

An angry dad comes to the living room looking at me. "Did you break my guitar?" Me, looking all annoyed, "No, it was my little brother." Dad: "Are you lying?" Me: "NO!" "If you're lying, you are the son of Satan, tell me the truth." Me, rolling my eyes, facepalming, "I did."

My dad was about to punch me in the face, but I blocked his crappy punch. I responded, "So you're telling me that I'm a liar? AND YOU'RE TELLING ME TO TELL THE TRUTH BY SIMPLY LYING?" Dad: "Are you calling me a liar? I don't lie." Me: "Excuse me? You said to tell the truth and my first two responses are true, but the third response is a lie that you said 'tell the truth.' Young man, I am tired of arguing with you. You need to accept my response and none of this will ever happen, father."

Not watching TV at a certain time

When my dad is watching sports, I can't watch YouTube on the Fire Stick.

My mom won't let me watch certain TV shows at certain times. For example, when I want to watch paranormal shows and horror movies, she only allows me to watch them during the day and not at night.

I can't use Apple TV if my parents are watching TV.

Not going outside in the rain because "you are going to get sick"

So annoying. I love playing in the rain! I like jumping up on the back of the truck and getting soaked with water. (Yeah, I'm so weird.) But when it's seriously pouring outside, they say you're going to get sick and then you won't be able to go to school. Even though they're going to make you go either way, so what's the difference?

They say you're going to get hit by lightning but they say it like this, "Oh yeah, go outside and get struck by lightning. Hope you live!" Yeah, #1 parents of the year. I'm sure they don't really mean that. It's just a way to get your attention and make you worried. Some people have really strong immune systems and don't get sick as much, so there are chances...

~Owlpaw

Treating the younger ones better

This is totally obvious. My younger sister got money for her high school graduation. When I graduated high school, I got nothing at all. When my sister and cousins do bad stuff, they are immediately forgiven, but when I made one tiny minor mistake, my parents yelled at me and acted like it was the end of the world.

My cousins get 20+ "happy birthday" messages every year. My sister gets at least 5 every year (she has friends). I only get a maximum of 3 per year. If I get 4 or 5, I am considered extremely lucky that year. This is just a small sample of my life...

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