25 Abnormal Childhood Experiences That People Grew Up With

Not everyone’s childhood is the same. We all go through unique experiences that are heavily influenced by our parents and family. These influences can be positive or negative, but we don’t always realize the repercussions until much later in our adult lives.  Some sensitive issues came to light in a recent Reddit discussion that went viral when someone asked community members to share incidents from their childhood that they didn’t realize were inappropriate or messed up until their adult years. The candid answers rolled in about challenging childhood moments and we’ve shared a few that stood out from the rest in the gallery below.  Warning: some of these posts can be very uncomfortable to read for anyone who had a troubled upbringing or a traumatic past.

#1 Still processing it because you dont hear much about a mom sexually abusing their daughter and trafficking them across state lines during roadtrips.

Image source: bluenervana, Pixabay / pexels (not the actual photo) I called a childhelp line once and they told me “moms dont r*pe their daughters”. I was 12. We had just gone over a lesson in school about abuse. I trashed my room and she beat the hell out of me, I dont remember what happened after. I told some friends of mine after I got into college. I call them my big brothers. One encouraged me to press charges but only if I wanted to. Theres a case file out there but its not like active or whatever cause I chickened out. F**k that was a lot harder than i thought.

#2 My mom using me as a confidant/therapist from the age of 12 to 21.

Image source: musicallyours01, Emily Garland / pexels (not the actual photo) When I told her at 13 that I was depressed, all I got in response was "what do you want me to do about it?" Then proceeded to scream at me and call me lazy whenever I was having a depressive episode. Even now as an adult, I feel guilty for sitting around and not doing anything. I constantly feel like I have to do or clean something in order to feel productive. Took me years to let my brain and body rest when it needs it.

#3 That's it's not normal for moms to leave on vacation for 2 weeks and leave their 12 year old in charge of their 9 year old at home alone.

Image source: dieloganberries, Jessica West / pexels (not the actual photo)

#4 My Dad left shortly after I was born. I’d sometimes see him at weekends if he was sober enough to turn up. When I was 11 he told me he didn’t want to come see me anymore as that means driving and that means being sober (or not getting caught drink driving)

Image source: SPWatts87, cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo) He told me he would pay for train tickets and I could go to see him. So from age 11 I used to catch the train on a Friday afternoon from Nottingham into London then get the under ground then another train out to Essex. Where my dad would encourage me to drink and send me home drunk on a Sunday evening. At the time I just thought I was cool and independent.

#5 Having an older brother that emotionally and physically abused me. My family was very much ‘all siblings fight it’s normal’ about all of the things he would do. He’s now 23 and recently diagnosed as having antisocial personality disorder.

Image source: lezemt, Kindel Media / pexels (not the actual photo)

#6 My dad used to like to go hunt for antiques in abandoned houses. He took me with him a couple of times. Turns out the houses were only abandoned between 8-5pm M-F.

Image source: Shouty_Dibnah, Susan Flores / pexels (not the actual photo) EDIT: my top comment ever is about being a 4th grade B&E man!

#7 Anti-vax. I seriously had my 8yo foot impaled by a 4 inch rusty nail and didn’t even go to the doctor. Bitten by spiders, fallen from roofs, gotten various infections, no doctors. Ever.

Image source: DragonsStrong, cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo) Colloidal Silver was a cure all tonic, I gargled vinegar, and ate “fortifying foods”… veggies. A lot of them. That’s not medicine. As an adult I’m missing all but 5 shots, but no one knows which because my medical records are all kinds of f****d and I don’t remember what I got. I got four childhood vaccines when I was 17 and had run away from home, and one later on as an adult because I was getting my kid vaccinated and they offered me a jab. Yes, my kids have regular doctor visits, a PcP, are completely vaccinated, and healthy. I’m on a mission to be a better dad.

#8 Being punished with isolation for having negative emotions.

Image source: Obibrucekenobi, Allan Mas / pexels (not the actual photo)

#9 Apparently, when my parents would make me stay in extremely uncomfortable/painful positions for hours on end, that is called “stress positions” and was a torture technique utilized by the CIA on terrorists after 9/11.

Image source: 1nc0gn1toe, Mikhail Nilov / pexels (not the actual photo)

#10 Apparently, not everyone was babysat by bar staff every night. My mother used to distract me by giving my quarters to play on the touch screen bar top games. Staff used to give me free cherry cokes. While she drank and danced and talked to guys.

Image source: SubieBrina, Luis Poletti / pexels (not the actual photo)

#11 My dad once took me into downtown LA to make me sit next to some homeless guys while berating me for getting a bad grade. He said I was gonna grow up to be just like them, lazy, poor, and stupid. A random guy in a business suit had to pull him to the side to tell him that what he was doing was abusive and would not give him the result he was looking for.

Image source: innit2winnit, MART PRODUCTION / pexels (not the actual photo)

#12 My parents were always pretty abusive. Mentally and physically. One particular instance sticks out in my head.

Image source: _gotrice, Pixabay / pexels (not the actual photo) My dad beating my a*s when I was in grade 2 or 3 (i said 4 originally but that was a different a*s whooping also with a hockey stick). Made me kneel on tile for hrs and beat me with an aluminum hockey stick for close to 2hrs (i only know the time interval because of my friends). I screamed so loud, my friends all sat outside the side of my house crying. After my dad went to bed, he told me to not move so I stayed kneeling on the hard tile floors all night crying. No sleep that night. The next day, both my legs from my hips to my ankles were completely black and blue. I couldn't walk for several days after. It was just normal for me and I didn't realize the extent of all the a*s whoopings until I was a teenager. I tell my wife some of them and she cries every time lol I only laugh because man, to be raised where child abuse wasn't normal is literally unbelievable.

#13 The drinking. I remember them telling me so many times how they wanted me to get my license to be the DD. I remember my dad being drunk and talking bad about me.

Image source: Pushbrown, Andrew Patrick Photography / pexels (not the actual photo) I remember the time my mom was drunk as f**k and fell into a pile of trash bags. I remember my dad taking me golfing and always stopping by the gas station on the way to get a soda cup and a beer and drink it on the drive to the golf course and continue to drink there(then obviously drive me home. I remember thinking it was normal, but thinking back... pretty sure that is how I became and alcoholic. But oh well, I'm 17 days sober now, hopefully for good. Edit: Thanks for the support guys. If anyone is struggling with alcohol or questioning its role in your life, take a look at the subreddit "stopdrinking" (on mobile and forgot how to link it). If you have any questions or need someone to talk to about it, or anything really, my DMs are always open. Alcohol doesn't have to run your life.

#14 Apparently the naked tickle game my aunt liked to play when she baby sat me wasn't something that was that common with other folks.

Image source: HighlightOk8695, Emma Bauso / pexels (not the actual photo)

#15 That I was expected to care for my little brother who was 8 years younger than me and my grandma with dementia. My dad worked long hours and my mom worked in the basement all day. During the summer I cooked, cleaned and took care of everything while they worked. Even gave my grandma insulin shots and changed her adult diapers. This started at age 12 and went until I was 15. That’s f****d up.

Image source: EnvironmentalLife762, Meruyert Gonullu / pexels (not the actual photo)

#16 Not showing physical affection to your children. I don't remember being hugged, kissed, or told "I love you". I probably needed it. I make sure to do that with my daughter every day. I don't care if we've had a bad day, that kid is going to know how loved she is.

Image source: Correct-Feed4893, Ron Lach / pexels (not the actual photo)

#17 As a teenager my family had a cat that loved me but was hesitant with everyone else. My parents put him down while I was on vacation with a friend. I had no idea. I never got a chance to say goodbye. Worst part is that I was called a disappointment when I got furious at them for what they did.

Image source: Stetson_Bennett, Dmitry Egorov / pexels (not the actual photo)

#18 When I was about 7, my mom didn’t let me in the apartment one day after school. She just opened the door a few inches and stuck her head out. She had me give her my violin and book sack and told me to go play. She shut the door and I went and played.

Image source: CaptainReynoldshere1 I always thought it was weird, but I never gave it more than two thoughts. One day, my much older brother casually said “don’t you remember when Mom was a prostitute?” Yeah, that was a little bit of a shock. Almost up there with her wanting me to take a nude photo of her with my birthday present, the newly released Polaroid One Step camera. I guess you could say there were signs.

#19 Apparently most parents don't just have a stick lying around somewhere on every floor that they primarily use to beat their kids with.

Image source: yeetgodmcnechass, Denniz Futalan / pexels (not the actual photo)

#20 Does being a teen count as being part of my childhood? Being 14 and men in their 20s driving slowly behind me and asking me out or waiting outside my school and following me after school.

Image source: Greedy-pineapple3292, Truman Rexti / pexels (not the actual photo) I was so flattered back then. I know how gross it is now. Or when I was 16 and we were in a community picnic of hundreds of people and a group of guys in their early 20s thinking it was funny when they waited outside the bathroom for me and my friend and one of them hugging me from behind and grabbing my breasts while the the rest of the group laughed. Some of these guys I’ve known for a while too. And honestly I didn’t realize how much sexual abuse I went through until I was an adult. Some of the abuse was as early as maybe 3 or 4 years old.

#21 My mother would forget to pick me up from school. They would sit down at the dinner table and realize they had forgotten.

Image source: AnybodySeeMyKeys, RDNE Stock project / pexels (not the actual photo) My father never had an actual conversation with me until I was about to graduate from college. Yes, he would get on me about stuff. Yes, he would tell me what to do. But have an actual conversation? Nope. When I was in the high school play, on stage delivering lines, they got up and left to meet friends for dinner. I have three happy, well-adjusted children in their twenties. They all have jobs, places to live, and health care. Just as importantly, they like coming by and hanging out with the folks. Part of it is because their mother is an amazing woman. But part of it is because, in any given situation while raising them, I'd ask myself, "What would my parents do here?" And then I'd do the opposite.

#22 Well, there’s a lot but when I was 6 I got hit by a man speeding in a Firebird. Thankfully I was okay physically (got tossed to the other side of the road and hurt my wrists/knees.)

Image source: shrtnylove, Tolga Ahmetler / pexels (not the actual photo) A nice man in a work truck saw what happened and took me home. My mom opened the door, said thank you to the man and that was it. No visit to a doctor, no hugs, no comforting. It wasn’t a big deal to her so it wasn’t a big deal to me. It was like, yeah I got hit by a car. who hasn’t? I’m 43 now and I’m healing my traumas one by one. I processed this event in trauma therapy (emdr) late last year. The entire week after felt like I got hit by a bus. My body finally released the trauma of that event. I’m living my best life now. Without her.

#23 I was born with cerebral palsy and used a walker as a child, this required me to hold on the walker to stand up and walk. All the way up till the 7th grade, they made me play all the sports in gym class (basketball, volleyball, badminton, etc).

Image source: CrippledRage, RDNE Stock project / pexels (not the actual photo) I was never told of wheelchair sports, nor was I ever offered an alternative to the sport we were practicing that week. As a consequence I have hated most sports until I became an adult and found that I could just watch on the sidelines far away from the ball and most harm that could befall me and enjoy the spectical. As an adult, I've come to realize that this means multiple gym teachers over the span of 6 years set me up to fail over and over and over again.

#24 In October 2001, my fam and I went to Disneyworld. I was 6 years old, my brother was 1. One night, we’re at some restaurant in the park, and I get chicken fingers and fries. For whatever reason, I didn’t finish my dinner. My dad was b*tching to my mom about how I wasn’t finishing the expensive chicken fingers (I have no idea how much the chicken fingers and fries cost on the kids menu, but it can’t be more than $30 in 2001 I’m guessing).

Image source: NeitherEntrepreneur3, Nadin Sh / pexels (not the actual photo) Anyway, my dad leaves the table for about 5 minutes, comes back and whispers to me “hey [name], I just saw a little boy sitting outside the kitchen missing his fingers. They were all bloody. I asked him what happened, and he said the chef cut’s off little boy’s fingers if they don’t eat their chicken fingers.” He then said that the chef told him that they turn little boy’s fingers into chicken fingers. I was absolutely terrified. I didn’t want to have my fingers cut off. We left the restaurant, and I wouldn’t let go of my last chicken finger. I held onto that damn thing during the nightly fireworks over the castle, it was all I could think about. I refused to let my mom take the chicken finger out of my hand, I thought if I threw it away that the chef was gonna come cut off my fingers in the night. Finally I had to go to the bathroom that night and my mom threw away the chicken tender. I completely forgot about that until last week and it just hit me with that feeling of “wtf.” P.S., my brother and I haven’t had a relationship with our dad for several years (not because of the chicken tenders lol) but because he wasn’t really that great of a dad and has a 2nd family. Is it any wonder I’ve had chronic anxiety since I was around 5?

#25 It took me until I was 37 to understand how unhealthy my relationship was with my mother. My whole life she treated me as a friend not her child. My counselor called it parental emotional molestation. The woman is an alcoholic. I feel like I was never a kid. I became a mother at 15.

Image source: 1998Sunshine, cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo)