20+ Stories Of The Worst Parents Ever

By Lou 2 years ago

1. An Eye For An Eye

I was 12 years old when my six-year-old brother and I played knights in the garden and threw spears at a blanket with a cross on it. At one point, I threw my spear without knowing he was hiding behind the blanket. The spear went straight into his eye socket. He survived—but the rest of the day was a blur.Blood everywhere, my parents screaming at me, then standing at the corner while crying for what felt like a million years as I waited for the ambulance to arrive. Everyone ignored me. We went to the hospital, and it only got worse. It was the guilt that was the worst. There was so much guilt. I was only 12, and the nurses were giving me the evil eye. However, the hardest part was still to come.
He went blind in one eye, but was perfectly fine otherwise. He had to go to a doctor for a prosthetic eye after about a year. My mother insisted on bringing me with them. Sitting in the waiting room, hearing him cry, "It hurts it hurts." It seemed like an eternity-but when my mother emerged, she looked at me and said, "Now you know what you've done.".

2. Wanderers

In my younger days, my brother, who was in his teens at the time, would wander off in public places like shopping malls. Although he probably wanted to look at video games, my father refused to take him or let him go alone. On one day, we walked through an uncrowded shopping mall in a very safe suburb. My brother wandered off.
My dad called mall security to find him, which they did in about 10 minutes or less. He was furious. He drove us home and made us wait. After a minute or two, he returned with a collar and leash in his hand. He drove us back to the mall and told my brother he had to walk around the mall wearing the dog collar and leash for about 20 minutes.

3. Just Like Taking Candy From A Baby

About an hour ago, this happened. While grocery shopping, I picked up a few chocolate bars, and that was when I heard what can only be an entitled child's shrill ear-piercing scream. He looked like he was between five and six years old. He began violently pulling on his mother's arm and pointing at my chocolate bars, yelling at her to buy him some.
Then the mom says to me, “Did you have to pick that up in front of him?” Me: Ummm…What??? Mom: Can’t you see it’s upsetting my child? Me: Well, that’s a you problem. Mom: (In between trying to get her demon spawn to act like a human being) You need to put them back. My son only started demanding chocolates when he saw you take them. Just put them back. Now! You can get some later. You shouldn’t make kids jealous! I just smiled at her and walked to the chocolate shelves. Rather than putting them back, I actually took a few more. This earned me a glare from her and another round of tantrums from her child. Petty? Yes. Satisfying? Heck yes!

4. Sheltered From A Wicked World

My mother tried to enclose me within her presence in order to shield me from the "wicked" world outside. She repeatedly told me that everything would go wrong, that everyone would reject me, and that I would always be hurt physically and emotionally. No matter what I did, she would tell me that she was the only safe place. At the same time, she used me as an emotional punching bag. The consequences were chilling.
After struggling for several years with being unable to leave my room, I was able to leave intermittently for a few more years, but lost the academic success that every single teacher thought I would achieve. Now that I'm back in school, I'm not attending regularly or on time, and my last chance in a few years to earn the degree I need to get into the careers that might interest me is at risk. I got fed up with my parents continually letting me down with promises. I understand they were unable to afford all the presents and other things they promised me, but I just got tired of their promises at a young age. It annoyed me when my parents would just keep swearing on their graves that they would get me certain birthday or Christmas presents by the time I was 10 years old. This kind of behavior extended beyond just gifts.

5. Her Lie Left Me Wondering

Around 15, I ran away from my mom and stepdad's house after an argument. I called my dad, he picked me up, and my mom found out pretty quickly where I was. She went to his house, physically pulled me out, threw me in her car, and started driving me back. When she was driving, she stared straight ahead, knuckles white on the steering wheel-and yelled something I'll never forget: "He's not even your real father. He's not your father!"
After screaming uncontrollably, I asked my mom what she meant. How could he not be my dad? She backtracked and said that she just wanted me to stop screaming, but the damage was already done. I later found out that one of the reasons my mom and dad divorced was that she cheated on him. I spent 15 years wondering if my dad was my real father, and if not, who was it?

6. Sorry Mom And Dad

I'm a trans man. Every year for school pictures, well before I came out, I was forced to wear clothes that I wouldn't look at for the rest of the year, usually because they were itchy, tight, or otherwise made me feel self-conscious. I'm not a very masculine man, and I'm sure if my mom had asked me what I wanted to wear rather than just asking what other girls wore, we might have been able to find something semi-nice to wear.
My parents and I had an argument when I was about 13 or so about how I never looked like myself in any of my pictures, much less happy. I said something about how they would rather have false memories of me. One of my parents, I can’t remember which one, said, “I like the false memories better.” I’ve been out for eight years, and that line pops into my head every time one of them asks me if I’m feeling better.

7. I Didn't Know They Knew

I was about 11 years old, give or take a year. I was hanging out in the basement one day, enjoying my free time. Upstairs, I heard the front door open. As I was about to call out to say hi, I heard a familiar voice followed by the unfamiliar voice of a woman.
It's hard for me to remember any specifics about the situation, but I certainly remember feeling uneasy about it. For that reason, I stayed downstairs until they left about 30 minutes later. When my father returned home another hour or two later, he was alone, and I went to greet him. As far as I could tell, he never had any suspicions about me being home.
A few months later, I got into a fight with my father. He sent me a long rambling series of texts in which he detailed the various ways he felt my older brother was responsible for my parent's divorce. I showed my mom some of the texts and asked what she thought were some of the most significant factors that led to it.
She told me that for a few years before their divorce, they had tried an open relationship under the guidance of their marriage counselor. They had apparently agreed to seven rules regarding this experiment, and my mother says that my father had broken half of them within a month or two.
One of the rules he broke was not to bring their other romantic partners into our home at any time. My mother said he broke that rule while I was at home. I had forgotten all about that woman's voice over the years, but as soon as my mom told me that story, it brought back memories of that day. Her telling me this story definitely haunts me.

8. Ahead Of The Curve

When I was 15 years old, my mother told me something that destroyed me and my family. She told me she was leaving my dad a day before she told him. To make matters worse, she told him I knew. She also told me she was cheating on my stepfather months before she left him.
What a place to be in. I am battling so much misplaced guilt. He also told me when he slept with a married woman whose children I knew. It's really important for me not to overshare if I ever become a mother. Boundaries are important. And therapy. So much therapy.

9. Financial Problems

A time when my family had to tighten our budget was when my parents had spent their savings moving us into a new house. This was also around the time of the early 2000s recession. My mom became extremely stressed during this time, and, on a few occasions, she dragged us all into the living room to rant at us about how we couldn't afford things like eating out at restaurants, playing video games, and other luxuries.
I was horrified and felt very guilty at the time...like I was a major contributor to this issue, and would go to bed in fear that we were in danger. I was about ten years old at the time, and I don't expect parents to completely hide their financial situation from their kids, but the way she was acting, you'd think we were maxing out credit cards in her name.
My parents did not let me spend any of their money without their permission, and I never received or asked for an allowance. My younger brother, who was 13, asked for video games more often, but what do you expect from a 13-year-old? Just say no. I’ll forever be upset at her for how she handled this.

10. Tore To Shreds

When I was a young girl, Mom and Dad split up, and I spent time at both houses. Mom hated Dad, and mom can be angry. She hated the fact that I also loved him, and that I cherished our time together. She would try to get me to say I loved her more, didn't love him, etc.
That is awful enough, but there is one event that stands out: I was seven or eight and said something to set her off about weekend plans Dad and I had. She got upset, yelled at me, and got more upset when I didn't repent. When she looked straight at me, she grabbed a cardboard egg carton from the recycling pile and methodically tore it apart. As she stood there tearing the egg carton to shreds, she furiously said, "I wish I could do this to you."

11. Just Too Busy

In third grade, we had a homework assignment where we had to interview a parent for a paper. I couldn't interview my mom since she taught at that school, so I interviewed my dad. I went to interview him that night, but he was ticked off and watching television, so it simply didn’t happen. The next night, he was still too busy watching television. This went on for a week.
When it came time to turn in the paper, I didn't have one. My teacher asked why, and I said that my dad was watching television a lot. Well, this news got to him, and he was angry. I was spanked and grounded for two weeks. It still pains me to think about the emotional pain I felt. I now have a son, and I have made a promise to help him if he ever needs help. Even though I play video games and watch television, I will help my children if they need me. Sometimes people get caught up in routines and don't notice life happening around them. I don't want to miss my children's development.

12. Alone From The Very Start

When I was around 11 or 12 years old and started realizing how bad it was, I would have days where I wouldn't see my parents. I would be home alone with my younger brother who was six years younger than me for a good half of every week. I would prepare him dinner, put him to bed, do my own laundry, and get myself to school.
It was because my parents were at the bar so often. There were days when I would walk up to the bar to see if they were there, or if they just up and left us. I've only been to the bar twice in the ten years my child has been living with my in-laws, and that was only after he was secure with them. I never missed my child's birthday because I was drinking. I spent every day with him, so he doesn't feel abandoned like I did growing up.

13. I'm Coming Out

My dad was an ex-high ranking officer who always acted violently toward my sister, mother, and me. At 15, he said the scariest thing to me that has remained with me as long as I can remember. My parents assumed I was gay, which I am.  I wasn't yet ready to come out because my dad used words such as "fruits" and "fairies" a lot.
One day, he said to me, “If you ever come out as gay, I will put your head through that window and book you a bed in the hospital.” Considering his mistreatment towards my mother all my life, I didn’t question it. I came out a year after he made that comment. He ignored me for about six months after that. Then something unexpected happened. A few years later, I left for travels and found a note he had written in my backpack. It was an apology letter.

14. This Is Me

I had a huge argument with my mom about LGBT people. She claimed it goes against God's will and isn't natural; I said it's natural and shouldn't be debated. When I asked her what would happen if I were gay, she said she would kick me out and I would be a stranger to her. As it turns out, I am bisexual. I was shocked that my mother could and would do such a thing to me.
I’m only ever coming out when I eventually move out, which is probably not going to be for a long time. While I have no tertiary education, a low-paying job, and no marketable skills...when I do move out, I will send her a picture of me kissing a girl while flipping off the camera.

15. A Total Embarrassment

In my childhood, I suffered from anxiety and panic attacks, and my parents couldn't understand what I was going through. I remember having a panic attack during swimming lessons. My mom pulled me aside and just said, “Why are you embarrassing me like this?” or something along those lines. But my dad’s reaction was even worse.
Basically, he would just leave me in my room until I could calm myself down. Since I'm not a psychologist, I'm not sure if that was the right thing to do...maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. As an adult, I have learned mental cues to calm myself down whenever I have a panic attack, which are now much less frequent and intense than when I was younger. For everything else on the parenting checkbox, I believe they did a decent job. If I had kids, I probably would put more effort into talking to them if they ever had anxiety issues, especially since I could relate to them.

16. Never Came Back For Dinner

I remember my father canceling plans because he would get too drunk. During my sophomore year of high school, my dad promised to take me to a Thanksgiving dinner at a friend's house. My parents had been divorced since I was in third grade. My mom left to spend time with a friend. I waited for my dad two hours after the pickup time but he never showed up.
I finally received a call. He was too intoxicated to drive and said we weren’t going out. I ate a bowl of mac and cheese all by myself that Thanksgiving. It was 18 years ago, and it was the last straw. He did this a lot. He is currently undergoing prostate cancer treatment and I will not call him.

17. If I Like It, You Like It

My parents pushed me into their hobbies, making me socially awkward and unable to relate to my own age group, and so I rapidly grew up and had to adjust to adults and their ways of communicating. I was forced to participate in medieval reenactments with my parents, not because I had a choice, but because I was too young to stay at home.
So, instead of going to birthday parties and making friends, I was forced to hang out with adults. But there was a side effect my parents didn’t predict. All the adults would get drunk and talk about stuff, and I just happened to be there. As a result, I spent my formative years without friends, not interacting with others, and failing in school...all because my parents wanted to go off and play make believe and "have fun." I became painfully aware that me being around and them dragging me off to different places was very much a “you just happen to exist, don’t ruin our fun because you’re unhappy” situation.

18. I Feel Pretty

At the age of 13 or 14, my self-esteem was terrible. I felt my sisters were prettier than I would ever be, and I just felt unattractive in general. Then I found this amazing satin mauve skirt that flowed like silk waves. When I put it on, I felt beautiful for the first time in a long time.
I went to show my mom because she always complimented my sisters on how beautiful they were, and I thought I'd finally get that same attention. She took one glance at me and said, “That skirt will never look good on you. Better give it to your sister.” I did. Each time my sister wore it and was flooded with compliments, I almost died inside.

19. Was It Really Worth It?

My parents kept me in a school close to their job while we lived in the East Bay. In order to avoid traffic, they would wake up early. From fourth grade until the eighth grade, I was dropped off super early and picked up two or three hours after school. After school, I would wander around the nearby shopping mall. One time, a teacher caught me and I had to lie.
Then, my mother decided to move two hours away. Again, they kept their jobs in the Bay, so we were having to drive two hours each way, plus wait till they were out of work. I had my brother with me this time, and we literally wandered around the city before ending up at the park next to his school. When my brother and I moved away without warning, my mother didn't have much to say to us.

20. Disciplining My Diagnosis

I had a checkup with my doctor and told him I was surprised at how well I was doing since I was back in school. After asking me several questions, he handed me a stack of tests. It was confirmed that I had ADD. It was no wonder I always had trouble in school. I called my parents with the news, and my mom said, “Oh yeah, we knew.”
When I asked why I hadn't received any medication, she said that they didn't want to drug me. I asked them why I had always been in trouble for my grades. Apparently, they thought they could discipline me out of my learning disability.

21. Dad Of The Year...

My parents almost got divorced when I was about six years old. My dad told me he would move to the United States while we were living in Europe. I asked him if he would be willing to take a picture of us together so that I could have one of the two of us.
He told me he wouldn’t because he wanted a fresh start. That one really hurt at the time, and I still remember it as if it were yesterday. But that wasn’t the worst part. Years later, when they finally did divorce, he told me, “I don’t want you. I want the house.” Not the best dad.

22. Time To Give It Up

My dad would reluctantly agree to let me have a pet. Then, once it became any tiny problem, he came up with a gutting solution. He would make me give it up. After I asked him for the third time, I vowed never to ask again. I would not get a pet until I was old enough to have my own home and in a place where someone or my landlord could not make me give it away.
I did not adopt my dog until I was in my early 20s. In our household, we believe that it is important to think carefully before adopting an animal. Once an animal passes our front door, the pet is home for life, good or bad.

23. My Dad's Words

Despite my best efforts, I have never been good enough for my dad. Over and over, I’ve heard the same rant: “Why can’t you be as successful as them?” “You are supposed to set the example.” “You are so lazy they work 10 times harder than you.” Well, I’ll tell you why. It could be because I had to start working at fifteen because my dad couldn't afford to pay for three kids' education.
This may be because his ex-wife gave all the money to her kid or drank it away. 
If I had the time to study instead of wasting my nights making fake IDs, I could have gotten better grades.
 Maybe then I'd be able to do something with my life besides retail and food.

24. Deprived Of Good

I used to be deprived of good food by my parents. My dad is an extremely fussy eater, something I only discovered after I left home. Anytime I was asked if I wanted to try a new food, he’d say “You won’t like it.” Genuinely believing I wouldn’t, because I was also “fussy” due to learned behavior, I didn’t try it. It wasn't until I was 11 that I tried pizza.
Every meal was bland with no seasoning other than salt and pepper, and we basically ate the same food every week due to his fussy eating. For example, we would have pie and chips, gammon and eggs, sausage and mash, spaghetti Bolognese, roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and mash, over and over and over again. I now try to encourage my dad to try new foods, but he refuses to eat poultry or fish, and any foreign food other than Chinese is off limits.

25. Mind Your Own Business

My dad drank a lot. He suffered from childhood trauma and had a short temper. For many years, he cheated on my mom until she finally filed for divorce. He immediately began dating the woman he had cheated with most recently after getting divorced. Even though he was happy, he always asked my brother and me about my mom's dating life.
I confided in my mom that it made me feel bad when he asked that, and she told me to simply say it wasn't his business. To my eight-year-old mind, it made sense since it was none of his business. One night, on the way home from visiting my mom, he asked about her new boyfriend. My brother said nothing.
After a few silent moments, I said, “Dad, that’s not your business.” He immediately got angry and yelled, “You’re a little pill,  just like your mom and your sister.” I remember exactly where we were, what road we were on, that it was dark, where I was sitting, my jacket—everything. It’s something I’ll never forget and was a very pivotal moment in my life.

26. Duty One

After my father passed away, my mother moved to Florida in hopes that her real mother would take care of her. My mother refused to work, so she called different family members begging for money. Everyone got fed up with it and told her to pound sand. She then called my Nanna. Mother: I need money. Give me some.
Nanna: We have no money to give you. Get a job. Mother: Fine! Give me my inheritance! Nanna: What? Mother: The money I’ll get from your life insurance and the sale of the house. Give it to me! Nanna: There is no life insurance and we are still living in the house. Mother: YES THERE IS! GIVE ME MY MONEY! My Nanna had enough and gave the phone to my pappa and explained the whole situation. Pappa: We raised your children. That’s your inheritance. 
hangs up phone
Sadly, this wouldn’t be the last time she called begging for money.

27. It's Everybody's Problem Now

Rather than solving their own problems, they made the whole family's problems. Everything they did involved us. A kid shouldn't have to deal with that. I was sometimes asked directly to resolve things between them. Kids shouldn't be responsible for their parent's relationship or fix things that are wrong between them in any way. That’s so messed up.
We all have problems. We’re all just human. No one expects perfection. If you have a problem with your spouse or husband, don't involve the kid. Don’t make it the kid’s problem. Don't make the kid responsible for the pain of the household, which they're going to feel anyway. It was just totally wrong..

28. Everything Is Broke

It was the end of the world if even the smallest thing broke at home-I remember breaking a clothespin once. Dad would fly off the handle about it. Even worse, if something broke around him, or he broke it, it was still my fault. I remember, once, my brother spilled an entire carton of OJ and it was my fault for “putting it back in the fridge wrong.”When a door handle breaks, it's because I touched it three turns ago and I was "too rough" with it. And so on.
 
Things were my fault even after I moved out. After my 18th birthday, they never gave me a dime, but if they couldn't pay bills, it was because they had me. One time, their house flooded, and I was responsible because two weeks prior, I was at their house, and I washed my hands and caused damage to the faucet.

29. Putting Makeup On

My mother is very traditional. She's the type of Southern woman who wakes up early, even on a Saturday, to put on makeup and curl her hair. From the time I hit puberty, so let's say when I was 12 or 13, she was telling me to wear makeup every day. “You just look better with makeup on,” and “You’re too plain to go without makeup,” or my personal favorite of “Some girls are beautiful without makeup, you’re just not one of those girls.”
As a young and impressionable teen, it really wrecked my confidence to go and be seen by my family or, God forbid, in public without makeup on. To this day, she still says that to me, but I am happy to say that now, at 21 years old, I feel completely comfortable going out in public bare-faced. A mother should never tell her child that they don't look good without makeup on.

30. In-Law Inheritance

Recently, my husband and I visited our in-laws' house and, as usual, I got stuck with my mother-in-law while my husband and his dad grilled outside. During our conversation about luxury handbags, my mother-in-law talked about wanting a $7,000 bag. Her unique trait is that she does nothing all day and has done nothing with her life, yet acts like she is the queen and expects her husband to spoil her.
In describing this super expensive bag, she says, "I'm just waiting for someone in my family to pass away for me to afford it."....I'm not joking. She said that word for word, and of course me being tired of her nonsense, I asked her, “What do you mean by that?”. Cue her stumbling over her words, saying things like “Oh…you know…inheritance…” as she turns bright red.
I about fell out of my seat just hearing her selfishness. She continues to back pedal, and I just sip at my drink with my eyebrows raised. I said “Ohh, ok,” and acted super unimpressed while I was screaming on the inside, debating if I was really hearing what I heard.

31. No Good Reason

My parents would never give them a reason for anything. My parents always told me, “Because I said so,” or, “I don’t owe you an explanation.” Yes, actually, as a matter of fact, it is indeed your job to tell me why certain things are bad to do or say…Not just, because you’re in charge.
Telling your kid to not play in the road “because I said so” vs. “because you could get hurt,” the one given a reason is leagues less likely to actually do it. If you ask me, “because I said so” is a lazy response that you tell your kids when you don’t actually have a good reason for what you’re telling them.

32. All Wigged Out

When I was 16, I used to wear a wig to cover my dyed pink hair at school. My father came in one day, put it on, and mocked me by looking at my outfit in the mirror. Fluffing his hair, turning to check different angles, bending the way I would to ensure my skirts would not ride up, all of it.
I could hear his girlfriend laughing from where she was watching it all from their room. I started crying and crying until he finally stopped. He got annoyed at my being upset and said, “I was just teasing you.” He threw my wig on my bed and stormed out. I sometimes think about that when I look in a full-length mirror, bend to fix something on my outfit, or just randomly.

33. Not Even A Thanks

My mother has told me two things that stick out in my mind. The first happened when I was a child.  She would constantly reply, “That’s stupid,” to every interest I had my entire childhood. The other happened much later after I had turned my life and new home upside down to move her in with me. She was no longer capable of cleaning or taking care of her apartment.
So, I cleaned her disgusting apartment for her. In addition, I was able to get her the assistance she needed for her medical issues and I drove all over the city numerous times in order to get her medication. But I never got a thank you. Instead, she said, “You have never done anything to help me. Ever.” Just more mistreatment.

34. Idle Threats With Grave Consequences

As a little girl, I still remember threatening to report my parents to child protection services in the late 90s. My dad never said anything, but my mom sure did. My mother explained to me that my sisters and I would all be sent to separate foster homes.
She said they would probably treat us even worse than our parents did. She told us we ought to be grateful to have them as parents. My sister and I don't even remember any of the things we threatened them over. Even though they were trivial, my mom's reaction was worse.

35. A Look Of Horror

My mother was a Karen both by name and by behavior. My dad had a massive heart attack. The oxygen in his brain was depleted, so we weren't sure if he would live. We didn't know how well his mind would function as well. He was intubated, sedated, the whole works for days. My toddler nephew visited the hospital. He was dad’s special buddy.
My dad managed to get up from his severely ill state to wave his fingers and say a few words to my cute nephew. A miracle! My mom tried to get my dad to talk to her, and then she did something absolutely appalling...she slapped him on the chest pretty hard because he wouldn't speak up. She was jealous of a two-year-old. I mean, she hit a man who was in intensive care. The nurse was in a state of complete horror.

36. Karen Vs Carl's Jr.

My mom is a Karen. According to her, everyone else is wrong and the world is supposed to cater to her. We went to Carl's Jr. once and she ordered four burgers for the four of us. What she did next made me so angry—she pulled one burger out of the bag while the guy was getting our drinks and hid it. After pulling out the remaining three burgers in the bag one by one and counting them in front of him, she complained that he forgot a burger.
He kept swearing up and down that he put them all in the bag, but she threatened him, saying "If you don't give me another burger, I will call your manager." I was speechless, but it happened so fast. She got a free burger and laughed as we drove off. During the drive home, we just stared at each other as she opened the bag to eat it. She ate her actual burger like the fifth one never existed. I can't even explain how she feels when she's in the hospital. It's like she's in a luxury hotel.

37. Minors Must Be Accompanied

I was halfway through a counseling session with a couple with a four-month-old baby. I asked about the baby, and the mom said, “She’s in bed at home.” I said, “Ah, grandparents babysitting?” The dad went, “No, she is at home alone. Nothing can happen to her. We bought a special mattress. One where she can’t suffocate.”
At this point, my jaw was on the floor, and I was just staring at them for a couple of seconds. Then I asked how long it took them to get here. They told me about 15 minutes, so I said, “Alright, the session’s over. I want you guys to go home immediately and call me when you arrive. Please hurry. And never ever leave your baby alone!”

38. The Monster Mother-In-Law

Recently, a member of my family got Zika, and she was six months pregnant. For years, she had given up hope of ever having a child, but by some miracle, she was able to conceive. She told her mother-in-law about the Zika, and the horrible woman said, "I should have known this would happen when I first met you and saw how you dressed."
Yes, she really implied that she wasn't a worthy mother because she wore short-shorts and tank tops. The poor girl was devastated and blamed herself for getting Zika even though no one knew it was in the area at that time. Although devastated, she decided to deliver the baby. He was born two weeks ago. No microcephaly. No health issues of any kind. Also, and this is the real kicker, he tested negative for exposure to Zika.

39. Mother Lover

I never told my wife that her mother once tried to sleep with me. It was early in our marriage when we were living with her to save money for a place of our own. The marriage she had been in for 28 years ended badly, and she was emotionally fragile.
She was very tipsy and was absolutely horrified at what she had done when she sobered up. I promised not to ever tell my wife and I never did, even when she and I were fighting near the end of our marriage. Whether you are trying to hurt each other or not, there are some things that are too cruel to do.

40. Daughter-In-Law-Disguise

She is the kind of person I wish my son would never meet. We lived on the other side of the country from them, so we didn't get to see them often, only one or two times each year. In our visit, our daughter-in-law was great to be around, the house was clean, and the kids were well taken care of. However, once we left, life went back to “normal” for my son and grandkids.
She would say she was going to the store and would not return for a few days. She wouldn't cook or clean. My son traveled for business and when he was gone she had many visitors in the house. He would come home to a trashed house, a trashed car, and everything else trashed. She would put the kids to bed and then leave to party.
She kept the two oldest kids home from school when he traveled since she was too busy sleeping from partying all night to take them to school. As he was planning to leave her and take the children, our worst nightmare came true. She fatally injured the youngest child and is now awaiting trial. We didn't realize how bad it was until it was too late.

41. Diary Of A 6 Year Old

I kept a journal when I was six. My mother found that journal recently and read one of the entries.  It stated that I wanted to kick her so bad that I was mad at her. She then sent me a long text telling me she would keep her distance from me, wished me well, and prayed for me.
I had to explain to her quite a few times that I was SIX. She called me a week later and said she was a bad mom and couldn't sleep or eat and didn't know how many times she had to apologize to me. Again, I was SIX.

42. The Ugly Duckling

My mom pointed at a guy on TV that was the “ugly” character of a show we were watching and told me, “In life, there are people like him,” and pointed at me. She then looked at my brother. She waited for the super handsome telenovela guy to show up and then said:
“And him,” and pointed at my brother. I was only 11. I grew up to be an extremely insecure teenager and adult. For some reason, I’ve been called ugly by uncles, cousins, and my brother. However, strangers have always had the opposite opinion of me. I was extremely confused growing up.

43. Only A Few More Years

The lesson my parents taught me was that one day I'd be on my own, and nobody else would take care of me except me. They wanted me to be prepared for life. As a result, they would remind me every day that my time with them was running out and that I would be out in the cold. When I would anger my dad, he would look at me, then at his watch, then at me and say something so disturbing it's unforgettable. He’d tell me, “Four more years,” meaning until I turned eighteen.
That's how everything was framed. Whenever I wanted something expensive, they explained that I would need to be careful with money once I was alone. When I had a girlfriend, they warned me not to get her pregnant, because they wouldn't help me raise my child. That sort of thing. In other words, I have felt unwelcome and unwanted ever since I can remember.
There was something that had happened to them, and yet they kept having children, on purpose. I felt, and still feel, like an outcast from the family. I never ask for help or money. I deal with my own problems. If I can’t afford something, I go without it. And now, they don’t understand why I never call.

44. Mommy's Little Monster

At the time of the incident, I was playing a Minecraft server with five friends. This new kid joined our game and our Skype call. He kept breaking our builds and demanding stuff from us. We originally intended to ban him, but we wanted to have some fun, so we kept taking him out. It was basically six guys laughing and a little kid screaming, calling us hackers on Skype.
We were talking on Skype when his mother called. “LET MY SON PLAY ON THE SERVER, YOU UNGRATEFUL JERKS.” “No,” we all said at the same time. “MY HUSBAND IS A LAWYER AND HE WILL SUE YOU AND I WILL CALL THE AUTHORITIES FOR HARASSMENT!” “Shut up, lady!” “DON’T YOU TALK TO ME LIKE THAT! MY SON DESERVES ALL YOUR ITEMS MORE THAN ALL OF YOU COMBINED!”
“Screw off, woman!” “YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SWEAR! ONLY ADULTS ARE ALLOWED TO USE THAT KIND OF LANGUAGE!” One of us makes a Christian Minecraft server meme and she gets really angry. “HOW DARE YOU INSULT MY RELIGION!  ALRIGHT. WHERE DO YOU LIVE?” We start making up addresses. “THAT’S IT! I’M LEAVING!” “About time.” She left and blocked us. We still joke about that incident.

45. She Didn’t Quite Give It The Old College Try

I was raised by my grandparents until I was seven so my mom could party and have a "college experience." We were filthy poor and lived in roach-infested apartments and sometimes got evicted and lived in the car. I mostly spent the day at the library, and she picked me up an hour or so after the library closed.
Being a newcomer who was semi-transient, I got browbeaten pretty badly at school. In the evening, I was alone for about two hours outside the library waiting for her. It was cold. I had just come back from another long day of school, being verbally and physically abused by the kids and yelled at by the teachers for not playing with the other kids.
It just got to me and was more than I could handle at eight years old. So I climbed into the back seat of the car and began to tell my mom that the kids at school were mean to me. Her insane reaction was so demented. She whipped around to face me in a fit of anger and rage that came from nowhere. She said, “I can’t fight your battles for you!” So I shut up and never came to her about my problems again.

46. What I Want, You Want

My parents used to project their own wants on me. All my life, I thought I was only supposed to do what my mom wanted. This extended beyond reasonable goals of success, such as getting a good education, a good job, etc. It took over my relationships and friendships. She tried to control who I hung out with in elementary school.
I even heard her talk badly about my closest friends just because they weren't Christian. I spent a great deal of my teenage years battling her to accept my best friend as my best friend. Then, college came around and my mom started to control my relationships. For three years, I dated a great guy and she absolutely hated him because of his race and religion.
During our relationship, she constantly criticized him, told me I was dating a loser, and persuaded me to break up with him after calling him a demon. My mom is a radical Christian and Caribbean woman. It’s her way or the highway. In my life, I spent a great deal of time simply earning a name for myself and realizing I can have my own wants and needs apart from my mother's.

47. Never Good Enough

Despite my love for singing, I was very shy. At the same time, I was bullied a lot and made fun of a lot. In high school, I finally joined choir and it helped me come into my own. I took first place in the State Solo and Ensemble Competition, was student of the year in choir, and received even the Director's Award, the highest honor. My mother did not attend any of my performances. Not until Senior Night when I was the only performer singing a solo.
I did the cliché song “Memory” from the musical 
Cats
. I got a standing ovation! People who would normally avoid me approached me to say that they never would have imagined I had such a strong voice. As I approached my mom, I was filled with pride and happiness. Her reaction was devastating.
When I asked her what she thought, her face twisted like she’d bit a lemon and she wiped out all my good feelings with the words, “Well, it probably isn’t a good song for you. You sound like you were ATTEMPTING to sing opera and it’s not supposed to sound like that.

Furious young mother in a discussion with her teenage daughter. Problems between generations concept

48. Front Float

I worked as a lifeguard at a lake. There was a mom with a baby and a toddler, and the mom had her friend with her. The mother was sitting in the shallow water with her newborn, talking to a friend and facing away from the water toward the beach. I kept an eye on her toddler because I was annoyed that she wasn't paying attention to him.
He dropped his ball and the small waves started taking it out. Of course, he reached for it and fell over. He slowly started floating and struggling, face down, getting father and farther away. After jumping down, I ran in and grabbed him and probably terrified him by patting his back over my knee while he vomited.
The poor kid kept trying to look at me. His mom didn't notice anything until I was carrying him back to her. Her response was a casual thank you, and I tried warning her about the possibility of dry drowning. Her response made me so mad I wanted to scream. She shouted at me, telling me that she was a nurse and that she would take care of her son. I saved her son’s life, and she repaid me by yelling in my face.

49. Dad Plays Dead

When I was a kid, my father used to do this one thing that scared and shaken me. He’d pretend to have a heart attack and “die” every now and then in front of me. He would play dead until I started crying, and then he would miraculously come back to life and console me. I guess it was his very strange way to see how much I loved him by provoking an emotional response from me.
Unfortunately, now that I’m a grown adult, it’s only made me extremely anxious the older and older he gets. What’s sort of funny, too, is he keeps his medical history close to the chest as a way of not worrying me. Okay, thanks, dad, I certainly wouldn't worry so much if I didn't believe you were dead a lot when I was younger.

50. Not Well Socialized

I was always grounded. I think it was a convenience for my parents. I think they couldn't handle two worlds at once because they had small children and then me as a teenager. So, as soon as I was invited to something with actual notice—something bizarre would happen. I would be grounded two to three days prior to the event.
They now wonder why I don't go out all the time like my cousins, or go on dates, or get invited to parties/weddings. My answer is always, “Hmm, because I missed out on the appropriate times to navigate my way through them and now as a 30-year-old people can tell I’m not “socialized well” and I’m basically that awkward person that you say hi to in the breakroom, laugh at for their social mistakes and then walk away going ‘Thank god I only have to talk to them at work.’”

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