It’s weird to think back on your childhood and remember some of the things you thought were totally normal.

Everyone has different memories like that but it’s true that we all get a little bit older and you realize those things were just WEIRD.

Let’s see what AskReddit users had to say about this!

1. That sucks.

“My father was nice and friendly out in public but was an absolute a**hole to the family at home….

Me witnessing my dad being really friendly to everyone in public and then being an absolute raging a**hole at home made me just think “well I guess everyone is just two-faced and using each other, All those movies about love are just lies and fantasies, if you’re not using someone then what use are they to you? Obviously he doesn’t get to use us at home so we aren’t useful so we don’t get treated well”.”

2. Awful.

“Being b**lied and threatened with v**lence by your father and having your mother make excuses or outright blaming you for it.

“Well you know how he is.” And “Well you shouldn’t have stood up for yourself.”

It destroyed my self-esteem and confidence growing up, it has taken years to rebuild myself. One good thing that has come from this, I don’t yell at people or threaten people if they make me angry.

In the best situation I am able to resolve conflict in a civil and respectful manner. Worst case I remove myself from the situation and go for a walk to clear my head so I can later reapproach the conflict with a cool head.”

3. This is bad.

“My mom’s boyfriend would pick me up by my hair sometimes.

It didn’t hurt a ton so I never complained, which in turn made him keep doing it. My hair was always in a ponytail so it was easy to grab and do. I told a coworker about it and laughed because it wasn’t a terrible memory.

But he didn’t laugh like I did. It was more of a nervous laugh then he says “That’s actually pretty fu**ed up.” Then I started to think about all the stuff I actually do remember from my childhood and realized how sh**ty it really was. I have two kids and it was never a thought to ever pick them up by their hair.”

4. Sad.

“I live in England and my uncle’s neighbour had a pet monkey living in a big enclosure in his garden.

This was in the early 2000s. I assumed this was totally normal. No idea how he got it.

We still know those neighbours and it’s just never discussed.”

5. Bad home life.

“When I was 7, I came to the realization that if I showed any signs that I was in a good mood around my mother, she would find some reason to yell at me.

Even started testing it, would walk into rooms she was in smiling vs not and proved my theory right, so I just stopped smiling, and it didn’t take much longer for it to stop being an act.”

6. Bottled up.

“Not being allowed to feel or express any type anger or sadness.

Unless someone d**d it was, “I don’t want to hear it. Go to your room, close the door, and bury your face in a pillow until you’re done.” or the worse, “I’ll give you something to cry about” followed by whooping.”

7. Makes sense now.

“My grandparents coming every time it was my dads weekend to have us.

It was awesome having that time with them, but turns out he wasn’t allowed to have visits with us unsupervised.”

8. Criminal.

“Grownups hitting children hard enough to knock the wind out of them or causing them to urinate on themselves, usually for reasons that did not warrant any discipline at all.”

9. Rage.

“Parents having blackout rages.

Sometimes, I was a brat. Other times, I had done nothing wrong. I just remember being made to feel like a worthless loser, screamed at, and manipulated. Then the next day, they would say “Sorry sorry sorry”

This happened a lot. Eventually, the sorrys mean nothing and you begin to feel actually worthless.”

10. Always scared.

“I thought it was normal to walk on eggshells around my father to avoid having him blow up in anger over the littlest things such as crying, eating snacks, the tiniest bit of bickering, and whispering but there were many more examples.

He was deployed a lot when I was little and he received a lot of head trauma in the process which explains his actions and he is really adamant on changing his behavior towards us now and that makes me happy.”

11. Ugh.

“Mom used to tell me to cough extra hard at the doctors office so she could get the good cough syrup.”

12. Not normal.

“Dad being drunk before noon every day.

I didn’t think it was NORMAL, but I didn’t know how ABnormal it was.”

Do you have any stories like this?

If so, let us know in the comments.

Thanks, amigos!