" That ’s a lie adult tell you because they ca n’t be bothered to help you . "
We recently covered a viralReddit threadstarted byu/timdood3that asked, “What did your parents teach you as a kid that you didn’t realize was actually f**ked up until you were older?“BuzzFeed Communitymembers had their own reactions to the post and shared the toxic lessons from their childhoods. Here are some of the most powerful responses:
Warning: post contains mention of eating disorders.
1.“One of the worst was when my mom had ‘the talk’ with me. She told me that sex was really just for the man and that women are pretty much only there to fulfill men’s needs. I was 12. I was also taught that if I had sex before marriage, basically no good, ‘godly’ man would ever want me because I would be impure and god would be disappointed in me. Hence why I cried for days and was wracked with debilitating guilt and shame when I did finally have sex. Gotta love religion.”
— samantham46531ff01
2.“My parents forbade me from standing up to my childhood bullies. It started in sixth grade, pretty much from day one. A former friend got her new group of friends to hurl insults at me whenever I walked past them, and her group was huge. It was a daily occurrence throughout middle school. About the same time, a group of boys started making fun of my size (I went through puberty early and was much taller and bigger-boned than my classmates). They’d yell ‘dinosaur’ or ‘ghetto butt,’ and make dinosaur sounds whenever they saw me. My parents said that talking back to them (aka standing up for myself) would only make things worse, and I can still hear them getting irritated whenever I mentioned how insecure the bullies made me feel.”
" They kept saying I needed to let it go , but I was a kid . Of course I wanted other kids to like me . The bullying eased up a bit once I got to high school , but the constant need to be liked follow me into adulthood . I ’m positive that if I could ’ve stand up for myself , things would ’ve been better . "
— misspsychoscorpio
3."‘You can dream it and be anything you want to be…BUT…’ Everything before the ‘but’ is BS. This was my parents. Have dreams, but we’ll go ahead and clip your wings so you don’t get too ahead. Cool. I wanted to cheer; they said it cost too much money. I wanted to go to college out of state; it was too much money. I wanted to take up this hobby or that hobby — too much money. So, I became a drugged-out punk instead and suddenly, ‘HOW DARE I WASTE MY POTENTIAL?’ that they never cultivated. Cool.”
— morgan_le_slay
4.“My dad told me everybody’s always trying to cheat you. Obviously lots of other things were going on with him, so it’s not just that, but I really don’t trust anyone (except my dog).”
— elizabethg20
5."‘Be the bigger person.’ My supposedbest friendin sixth grade, who I had spent almost every day with since third grade, had a birthday party and invited every single girl in our class but me. My mom made me go to the store, pick out a gift, then go to her house to give it to her while she was having the party. I’ve grown up to be a doormat and people pleaser, and I’m actively working to raise my daughter in the polar opposite way. My mother is a psychologist.”
— melissaedwards
6.“My dad would look at my report card and immediately point to the one grade that wasn’t as high as the others. No praise, just, ‘Oh, what happened there?’ Also, when I cry in front of someone now, I always end up apologizing for being emotional. And finally, yeah, bullies don’t go away when you ignore them. When it came to bullies, I got, ‘Oh, they’re just jealous of you!’ which is HILARIOUS. Yes, they definitely made fun of me for my bushy hair, braces, and skeletal body because they were jealous. Right.”
— k402e21627
— ajack020
8."‘You shouldn’t tell people your thoughts when they don’t ask. Ask them questions instead.’ My dad told me this in seventh grade when I was telling one of my teammates what my dream vacation was. It’s good to be inquisitive and curious about others, but some people converse by exchanging stories instead of asking questions. It’s taken me years to realize that. Probably should have realized it sooner when people would ask me why I never talked about myself."
— bluritodust
9.“When I was a little kid, for some reason my dad was in a hurry for me to grow up, so he discouraged me from doing normal little kid things, like watching cartoons and playing make-believe. He’d say things like, ‘That show is for babies, and you want to be a big boy, don’t you?’ It caused a lot of confusion and frustration for me and impacted my friendships because I was judging my friends for watchingGI JoeandSmurfslike normal little kids.”
— axj66
10.“I was badly bullied from ages 8 to 17. Whenever I FINALLY had the courage to reach out for help, I was immediately met with that exact same advice: ‘Just ignore them.’ REALLY? You don’t think I have tried that for YEARS now? I am asking for help because I have NO other options. After getting physically beat up in seventh grade and hearing my guidance counselor tell me to ‘just ignore him,’ I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs. That was the last time I ever asked an adult for help with bullying. Ignoring the bullies doesn’t ‘make them lose interest.’ That’s a lie that adults tell you because they can’t be bothered to help you.”
" Now , this has render to me never being able-bodied to ask for helper ( because I assume that no one is going to actually help me thanks to the grownup in my life who SHOULD have help ) , and never being capable to put up up for myself . Do n’t ' disregard the yob . ' Stand your background , enjoin them firmly to back off , and keep your straits held mellow . "
— thr0wawaytrash69
11.“The value of the sacrifice, not the achievement. ‘Work in double to receive the half.’ I know my father had good faith when he used to tell me this, and it wasn’t exactly what he meant, but this is how the message was received.”
— asaffi
12.“My mum told me I was too old for hugs and cuddles. I was 9 at the time. I hated anyone trying to hug me for a long time after that. I had a good group of friends who helped me with that, and now I love hugs! My dad taught me that being fat meant that you’re a loser and someone to avoid. Cue an eating disorder when I was 11, then him shaming me for being too thin and saying I was silly and daft for not eating enough. He still holds this view about people being overweight. He would mock my mum about her weight when I was a kid and get me to join in. Now, as an adult, we have a very strained relationship because of his attitude towards people and his own family.”
— silverwing33
13."‘Refusing to hug a grown-up relative is wrong, and it will make this person sad.’ No. When a child doesn’t want a hug, they just don’t want a hug. Grown-ups can get over it and children need to learn that consent matters."
— silencesilence
14.“Whenever I was going out or to a friend’s house, my mom would tell me: ‘Don’t bother anyone. Be discreet.’ I felt like I was bothering people/was a burden just for being around people up until my 30s.”
— itsallinyrhead1
15.“‘Oh, they don’t really like you, they are just being nice.’ ‘They don’t want you to spend time with them, they are lying.’ My mother still tries to convince me that my best friend of 18 YEARS doesn’t like me."
— ashleyadams1
16.“‘Why do you always have to be the one to speak up or do something?’ Way to squash leadership qualities, mom."
— lilpeb
17."‘There is no such thing as friends. People are fake and not trustworthy. You are better off alone.’ That really ruined me for many years."
— fuzzybuzzy00
18.“Me: ‘Look at this thing I made at school! My teacher and classmates really liked it!’ Parent: It’s actually terrible and I’m the only one who loves you enough to tell you the truth. The only reason they’re saying nice things is because they’re lying to manipulate you into liking them, but they’re probably laughing at you behind your back.'”
— greycatnight
19.“‘You’re depressed because you aren’t doing enough.’ ‘Don’t cry about it.’ ‘You’re just tired.'"
— brooklynrainey
20.“I was taught that love was earned through compliance. My mom had definite favorites and it was always whoever was the most compliant. My sister became a huge people-pleaser, and I just got stubborn. I still have a hard time accepting love and finding myself worthy of being loved. I’ve put up with a lot of abuse in my life because of this. First from my mom, and then in toxic jobs.”
— francesjoys
21.“I struggle because my mom taught me to ignore a lot of basic needs. When I was a little kid and I needed to go pee but it was inconvenient, she would say, ‘If you hold it long enough, you’ll forget you have to go.’ Same thing with hunger.”
— lunagirl89
22.“Mine is a bit complicated. I was always told to be kind to EVERYONE. But, some people don’t deserve my kindness. Bad people exist. It’s something I go back and forth on.”
— joannaa4a5cd704f
23."‘Other people in other countries have so much less than you do, so you should feel happy.'"
— mhakn360
24.Finally: “I was taught that negativity was a bad thing and that negativeemotionswould be punished. I am a minor, whose brain has not fully developed, and I was really young and didn’t know HOW to handle negative emotions. So, I was taught to never react or respond to negative feelings, and instead to bottle up my anger and release it when I’m alone. It backfired because I can’t stand social interaction, and I turn into the angriest, most pessimistic person ever the moment I’m alone because it’s the only time I feel like I can actually ‘feel.’ It screwed up how I process things.”
— nearsighted_bumblebee
Thank you to everyone who was so open and honest about their experiences. Sending you love and healing energy.
Note : Submissions have been edit out for distance and/or clarity .
The National Eating Disorders Associationhelpline is 1-800-931-2237; for 24/7 crisis support, text “NEDA” to 741741.
