No Matter The Weather, He Had To Sit Outside To “Better His Eyesight”
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They reached their extreme when they tried to ban me from reading books. It seemed like they wanted me to do math problems instead, but if we’re talking about my eyesight, what’s the difference between a math book and any other book? It didn’t last as long as they probably would have liked, mostly because I had some great teachers who started lending me books from their personal collection once they found out about my situation.
The only upside is that I’m amazing at speed reading from all those times I wanted to read but had to hide it from the parents.”
Their Rules Had The Opposite Effect
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“I wasn’t allowed to have tampons because ‘they’re for harlots’ and no padded bras (and I mean padded like so your high beams don’t show, not push up) because you guessed it, ‘they’re for harlots.’ Not to mention my mother refused to buy any bra that was bigger than her size (B cup), because she simply couldn’t process or deal with the fact her young daughter was stacked.
For the record, I was about 10 or 11 when I started needing a bra and sanitary products. Her comments were really inappropriate and weird.
Unsurprisingly, I ended up being a loose teenager because as soon as I had freedom, I wanted to explore what had been made so shameful. And guess what, I’m not ashamed! I love my womanhood and hope I one day have a daughter to teach about all things womanly instead of shaming her for them.”
The Homeschool Kid
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“I had a friend with SUPER strict parents. He was homeschooled until his junior year of high school when they decided that he needed some socialization.
He was a cool dude but his parents were insane. They didn’t let him stay the night over anywhere but home and had a curfew of 9 pm.
We had just graduated high school and our group of friends decided to have a long weekend of camping before we all went our separate ways. His parents said no. We explained to him that he was 18 and a high school graduate on his way to college, he didn’t actually have to ask for permission. He was still afraid to ask. I had him call his mom and had him hand over the phone to me.
I was very polite and said something along the lines of, ‘Hello, Mrs. X, we’re all going camping up in Easton for four or five days. We’re just going to leave from here and we already have everything we need.’
She said ‘friend’ wasn’t allowed to go and I said something along the lines of, ‘Ma’am, you’re misunderstanding me, “friend” wasn’t asking your permission, we’re just informing you as a courtesy.’
She threatened to call the police so I gave her my cell and said feel free to give them my number.
We went on the camping trip, he went to college. He’s married now and has a couple of kids, so I think he more or less survived his crazy parents.”
This Rule Sounds A Lot Like Child Abuse
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“I was not allowed to use public restrooms. I ‘ruined’ our Disney trip because of how many times we had to go back to the hotel (not on site) when I was 6 years old. And I quite honestly had accidents when I was far too old to do so because my parents had my teachers reporting bathroom use to them, too. There was no place I could safely use the restroom other than home without getting into trouble.
Finally, I got to use public restrooms without punishment when I went to college. I got pretty good at hiding restroom use in high school because the school refused to report it to my parents. Why did none of these teachers spot the abuse?”
The Evil Step-Mother
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“My stepmother tried to boot my brother (12) and me (14) out of the house because she didn’t want us living with her. My dad realized if that happened, he would end up dealing with child services, so he ‘compromised.’
As the female, I was allowed to live in the house but had to remain in my bedroom unless asked to come out for dinner. I had to ask to use the bathroom. My door had to be open at all times and no phone allowed. I was never allowed to have cash, so all of my stuff (school bus tickets, sanitary products, etc.) were bought for me. I often went without lunch as she wouldn’t make it for us (only HER son), and we weren’t allowed in the kitchen. A teacher at school worked this out pretty quick and started bringing me food each day.
My brother was not allowed in the house. He lived in a van (I mean a literal work van) around the side and had allocated shower and bathroom times. He had to eat outside. He thought it was cool.
One day, when I was 15, the police came to my school and said I couldn’t go home. When I found out why, I could not believe what my stepmother got away with!