Strict ParentsI always thought my parents were quite strict, but I can't think of anything they actually banned me from doing, whereas a good friend was under no circumstances allowed to watch ITV because of the adverts.
This week's Time Out mentions some poor sod who was banned from sitting in the aisle seats at cinemas because, according to their mother, "drug dealers patrol the aisles, injecting people in the arm."
What were you banned from doing as a kid by loopy parents?
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chthonic, Thu 8 Mar 2007, 12:37)
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Where to startMy brother and I weren't allowed to watch music videos on tv in case we decided to stick safety pins through our noses.
We also had no "secular" music in the house, just christian stuff. I finally plucked up courage to buy my first single, Meatloaf's "I would do anything for love (but I won't do that)". Even this had to be hidden because the b-side was "Bat out of Hell" :o)
I was told I couldn't have my ears pierced until I was 18. The reasoning for this was that earrings were bad, and if I got them done any younger other people would think my parents let me (?). I put my foot down at 17 and said I was going to get them done at 18, so I might as well do it at 17, and who cares what people think.
And make-up? My mum didn't experiment with make-up until she was in her 40's, so as a child I wasn't allowed any at all. I was told that lipstick sucked the colour out of your lips so you had to wear it all the time, and as a result I had a huge phobia of lipstick and gloss for years. At a school play the teacher put some "moisturiser" on my lips to make me pretty, but when I saw in a mirror that it was lipstick I nearly had hysterics, refusing to go on stage until it was removed.
Swearing on tv? Forget about it. The christmas we got a video recorder, my parents decided to record Return of the Jedi on one channel while we watched Back to the Future on the other. 5 minutes in they turned it off because the language was too bad (??!??) I got my mum back years later by taking her to the cinema to see 4 Weddings and a Funeral (remember the opening scene?).
Films with a 12/15/18 rating were completely out too, naturally. Thankfully at the age of 13 we moved to France where, at the time, the cinemas didn't have ratings, and anyone could see anything under an X. (Actually gave me a healthy respect for the British Classification system, some of the stuff I saw gave me nightmares for weeks.)
Might post more if I can remember it, but digging into childhood memories maybe isn't a good idea, I get on ok with my parents these days...
F x
(, Wed 14 Mar 2007, 17:27, Reply)
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