I'm so glad to hear from many of you that you enjoy these discussion topics. Remember that they are only fun if you're participating, so please take the time to comment with your two cents! I truly enjoy reading all of your comments, and it has really helped me to feel re-energized again connecting with the blog reading community.
I saw in a Facebook group this weekend a mom inquiring about whether she should allow her begging teenager to have Snapchat or not. She said that her kid was the "ONLY one at school without it" which got a lot more responses in return about how other womens' children were the "ONLY ones" without so-and-so.
It really took me back to when I was growing up and, you know, life was sooooo unfair because of ... whatever it was at the time (far removed from Snapchat).
Tell me about your experience with this. Life was SO unfair because you were the only one who could not __________ ?
(Me? I was definitely the ONLY kid at school who wasn't allowed to go see PG-13 movies ... when I was 14. I remember asking my mom to go see the Brady Bunch movie and getting shot down -- and just feeling mortified!)
Same thing here! No PG-13 movies for me either.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't stay out past 10:30pm! Everyone else's curfew in high school was midnight and mine was 10:30pm. END OF THE WORLD!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't allowed to drive with friends in the car and I definitely did not get a phone with texting capabilities until I was in college. EVERYONE else was texting those last few years of high school.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't allowed to get rides from friends until they had their license for six months. It never stopped me (whoops!) but anytime we went by the car my mom drove I would duck in case it was her!
ReplyDeleteMy mom was a teacher at my high school and I was the only one not allowed to skip on senior skip day. I swear I was the only senior at school that day. I was so mad! She even walked down to my English class to make sure I showed up!
ReplyDeleteMy mom would call the other parents when I would ask if I could sleepover at so-and-so's house. Every time, without fail. Even my best friend who I slept over at her house once a week from 7th grade to 12th! And even graduation night...I would be so embarrassed. But now, I will probably do the same thing as a mother! Ohhh the horror!!
ReplyDeletei am DREADING the day i have to respond to those things like a wise strong adult parent!!!! i am thankful now for where my parents put their foot [feet? haha] down... but man it wasn't fun!!! mine said no repeatedly to more than one set of ear piercings.
ReplyDeleteI swear I was the only girl at my junior prom who wasn't allowed to have acrylic nails! I was so mad at my mom for that - I remember hissing that I hated her. I still feel guilty and cringe when I think of that moment and it was 14 years ago. And now I wouldn't be caught dead with acrylics ;)
ReplyDeleteI was 18, graduated, had a full time job and was paying my own car payment/insurance/phone and even two small utility bills at home and my mom STILL had a rule that I had to be home by midnight. No one else even had a curfew!
DeleteI was that kid who couldn't watch PG-13 movies and who had the earliest curfew out of all the kids I hung out with!! It was really popular to do coed sleepovers on the night of prom when I was in high school and you can bet that I was not allowed to be a part of those! I think my parents maybe extended my curfew by half an hour! Ha!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't allowed to read the Harry Potter books because (gasp) witchcraft! I ended up finishing them in college when I was on my own. Haha!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't allowed to watch Dawson's Creek - and I was 13 and all of my friends were watching it and I was strictly forbidden. It was awful & SO UNFAIR. Looking back now, I see that my Mom was completely right, ha-ha! With age comes wisdom!
ReplyDeletenatslife6@blogspot.com
Driving! And cell phones. I couldn't drive until I had the right grades(to my parents standards). When I had them, there were some more "rules", but it taught me a huge lesson in dedication and perseverance. My kids will learn that.
ReplyDeleteAnd I didn't get a cell phone until the 95 shooter was on the loose. I was driving to and from school and needed a way to call for help. My parents monitored my cell records, so they knew if I was making calls(yes, they sound strict-really, they weren't). I barely use my cell now and really only for "computer" stuff anyway. My kids won't get a cell phone for a LOOONNGH time either.
Basically, I'm going to be the mean mom. I don't really care. If I'm paying for it and it isn't really necessary to school, then why not have them wait and earn it. With that being said, we had a blast growing up. My parents let us spread our wings and go for opportunities. That, I will get on board with for my kids. I want them to be successful, of course!
My mom wouldn't let me go see Clueless with my friends in 8th grade and I felt like such a loser!! I remember being so mad at her about it for weeks.
ReplyDeleteGah, I love these comments! I look back now and WISH my parents had said no to more things. They were VERY lax with the rules, and I got myself in to trouble and had to learn the hard way more than once.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm one of those moms with an almost thirteen year old who is "SO strict" and ruining her life on the daily. She's the only one without a phone/snapchat/boyfriend/etc. To all that I say "Whatever, man. You'll be fine." :) These older kid years are emotionally tough, but they are pretty stinkin' fun!
I think I was most like this over getting a smart phone than an iPhone! I wanted a smart phone so bad, but wasn't allowed to get one until well into grad school. I used that old flip razr phone for FIVE years before finally being allowed to use my dad's old hand me down blackberrys. I eventually finally ended up buying myself an iPhone which ended up being pretty cool!
ReplyDeleteI was not allowed to celebrate Halloween. (very religious parents.) And I was so upset. It was a right of childhood! Now my husband and I go all out, it's way to fun of a holiday to not :D
ReplyDeleteAs a freshman in college I had to give 24 hours notice before leaving the house while home on break. Enforced because I broke my 10:30 curfew once when I locked my keys in the car.
ReplyDeleteThat everyone could make friends so easily in middle & high school and I couldn't make friends. I always felt that it was unfair that I would eat lunch by myself and didn't have any friends to hang out with outside of school.
ReplyDeleteAmy @ http://befilledwithj0y.blogspot.com/
I remember being soooooo mad that I was the onlyyyyyy one (insert dramatic pre-teen whine :))without 3 way calling. End of the world, late 90s style :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Monday!!
Mary @ www.littlebabybiglove.blogspot.com
In 5th grade every girl in my class had a pair of white K Swiss style sneakers. Being a total sheep, I begged my mom for some, and one day she surprised me with a pair. But I was SO upset (I was also kind of an ass back then) that she bought me the actual K Swiss brand, since "everyone else has generic!" 🙄
ReplyDeleteMy parents were strict about TV and movies too... we could sometimes watch PG-13 (after age 13 but definitely no R rated movies - even in high school!) We also didn't have cable growing up so we missed out on a lot of regular TV shows that everyone else was watching.
ReplyDeleteNo Pg-13 movies before 13 And then no R until I was of age. I always hated saying no to friends when they would ask. Also my parents were always the ones to call up when I was going to a friend's house to spend the night. It was so embarrassing but I know I'm going to do the exact same thing with my son!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't allowed to watch MTV until like 8th or 9th grade! My brother and I would sneak and watch Daria (haha remember that show?!) when my parents were in the other room and then quick change it back to Nickelodeon when they walked back in!!
ReplyDeleteI was the only one in high school whose curfew was 10 pm. I felt like everyone else got stay out much later, which was often only 11 pm.
ReplyDeleteI definitely had parents who were very conservative about TV shows and radio stations (I've still never seen a full episode of The Simpsons!). My Mom wasn't even a fan of me watching Boy Meets World! Too much Corey and Topanga lovey dovey-ness, I guess!?! I also got a cell phone much later than all of my friends. And I wasn't allowed to get my ears pierced until I was 10!
ReplyDeleteI was the only one of my friends to not be allowed to go to my best friends birthday party... at a hotel.. overnight. We were juniors in high school maybe? Thinking back.. who the HELL lets their kid have an overnight party at a freaking hotel?! Of course I wasn't allowed to go but oh my gosh it CRUSHED me at the time!
ReplyDeleteThe biggest was that EVERYONE had their ears pierced and I had to wait until 2nd grade. :) However, I survived to tell the tale!
ReplyDeleteMy mom wouldn't allow me to dye my hair (no sun in either) until after I graduated from college. Now I'm thankful she made me wait - I saved money and don't have too many bad hairstyle photos :-) Now that I have to dye it to cover greys, I have no idea why I wanted to so badly when I was younger!
ReplyDeleteha!! i forgot how huge "sun in" was! i wasn't allowed to use anything either!!! and still have never touched my hair with dye, to this day! thanks for the memory!
DeleteI couldn't have pierced ears until I was 15! At 15! Oh and I remember it hurting! My parents also had the rule of no dating anyone older and no going to another schools dances...whomp, whomp! Although realizing that all these other ladies had similar sentiments makes me happy!
ReplyDeleteHaha, same! My parents were really selective about the movies they would allow us to watch and I remember being 16 and all of my friends were going to see Something About Mary (which was, of course, rated R) and I was the ONLY one who wasn't allowed to go! And I was ALMOST 17. I was so embarrassed. Lol.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't allowed to go trick or treating as a child. However, by the time my brother came around (9 years later) my parents realized it was ok and we had switched churches. I still nag my parents about it to this day each Halloween.
ReplyDeleteI was the only one not allowed to get my ears "double pierced" in middle school! Oh the agony! Ha ha ... but super thankful now :)
ReplyDeleteshave my legs!!!!!! i felt so uncool when my mom made me use nair because she was petrified i would cut my leg open shaving... i totally stole a razor from my grandmother's house and did it anyways ;)
ReplyDeleteFor me it was definitely all about clothes! I couldn't shop at all of the "cool" stores-- it was all about Kohls for me. So I had to be creative and try to "fake" the cool clothes with knock offs. Or wait and buy them at a thrift store once they were no longer cool. Luckily, by high school, I stopped caring about what was cool and found my own crazy style :)
ReplyDeleteI was not allowed to have a cell phone until I turned 16. I thought that was SO unfair because all my friends had them (and this was before cell phones had cameras and internet, so all you could do on them was text and call, lol!) Now that I am a mom, though, I have to say - we are going to do our best to keep cell phones out of our kids hands until 15 or 16 because it seems like once they have those things, all parental control goes out the window. In hindsight, my parents were pretty darn smart!
ReplyDeleteFor me it was getting a smartphone! I wasn't allowed to have one until halfway through my senior year of high school. Everyone in my school got one when they were in middle school pretty much! I used to get so mad at my parents... I even remember making powerpoint presentations on my computer trying to convince them why I was mature enough for a Blackberry or iPhone. ;-) Hahaha!! Love this prompt!
ReplyDeletexoxo A
www.southernbelleintraining.com
Hmmm...I guess I'd have to go with not being able to stay out past 10:00pm during the week and 11:00pm on the weekend. Also, I wasn't able to buy any bottoms (shorts or skirts) that came up higher than 3 inches above my knees and I couldn't shave my legs above the knee (very embarrassing at the pool that summer). Let's just say I pretty much broke that last rule pretty quick.
ReplyDeletewww.flipflopshanna.com
Our house had the typical "no PG-13 movies until high school (and even then Mom could veto them!) but the rule that made life SO unfair was that I could only wear jeans once a week to school!!! Now, I was in middle school during the "grunge" era when jeans and flannel shirts were all the rage, and our school did not have a uniform, so everyone else was in their "grungy best" :) and I was in cordorys and cardigan sweaters. Oh the horror ;)
ReplyDeleteWear flip flops to school when I was in high school. I used to change in the parking lot!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't allowed to ride with teenage drivers or have others in the car with me, even as a senior in high school! My mom was insistent teenage drivers only pay attention to music and passengers so I spent a good deal of time being chauffeured around by my mom or following behind in the car by myself. End of the world in high school, but now as a mom, I get it. Probably won't tell her that ��
ReplyDeleteThere were so many!!! My parents were really strict but it was the end of the world when all of my friends had texting and I didn't! I bet teenagers now can't even contemplate that!!
ReplyDeleteThere were so many!!! My parents were really strict but it was the end of the world when all of my friends had texting and I didn't! I bet teenagers now can't even contemplate that!!
ReplyDeleteOh man, there were so many! I couldn't watch Home Alone, I couldn't get my ears pierced (thankfully, my gramma gave me pierced earrings for Christmas one year, so that got all shot to heck..lol..Mum caved..lol. I couldn't date until I was 16...i know..my life was horrible :) Did I mention that my 4 younger brothers and sister got away with MUCH more than we three older ones did?
ReplyDeleteMy curfew was a STRICT 11:30pm when EVERYONE else's was 12am. If I was one second past 11:30, my Dad would be out on the porch WAITING for me to hand over my keys. I wish I could say I learned my lesson after the first time, but, it took me two times to know that he meant business. I would also like to mention that my other four younger siblings on the other hand had zero curfew (or rules really!) one of the "perks" of being the oldest I guess!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't get my ears pierced until I was 13! I was SO mad!!! And these days [a "grown up" version] life feels so unfair because I'm the ONLY one who can't get pregnant (note the exaggeration). But seriously, I struggle with this daily! I know it is just a season but I think we all go through stages comparing our lives to others', even when we are adults, and life just seems soooo unfair when in reality I am SO very blessed!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't allowed to have texting until I was a sophomore in college!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy dad stopped me from wearing a pair of THIN gray leggings as pants when I was home from college once and I about DIED... I had a sneaking suspicion they were totally unacceptable and that just further proved it. The most embarrassing part? I had totally been wearing them for weeks at school, so countless people had been seeing my naked lower half. Sometimes you need that discerning Daddy eye.
You know, there is nothing that rings out for me but my stepdaughters both had fits about their dad & I not allowing them to wear thongs before the age of 15. We just didn't feel that it was appropriate for a girl that wasn't even in high school to wear thongs. If they were bought & worn before that age, I have cut them up & tossed them even when "they were someone else's". We've gotten the "well, all the other girls are wearing them" line but we didn't budge. My youngest even used "Mom doesn't care". Ugh. The horror of pantylines for a 14 year old! *gasp* Ha!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't allowed to go to the House of Blues on a Friday night when I was 16. I don't remember who was playing but all of my friends were going and I couldn't believe that I was going to miss out! Looking back - as a mom now, I completely understand their response!!
ReplyDeleteOMG that's so great you weren't allowed to see PG13 movies then!! My parents were the same way!! They LITERALLY made me wait until my 13th birthday to see Pirates of the Caribbean (they didn't believe me when I said they already showed the "scary" parts on Movie Surfers lol) There were so many things... cell phones, ears piercing, driving on the interstate and of course my little sister got to do everything earlier than my allotted time
ReplyDeleteHaha I feel your pain! I couldn't see PG-13 movies FOREVER. Also, I had a curfew when I was 18 and had graduated high school. Finally, when I went to college I could stay out to whenever lol :)
ReplyDeleteI grew up 5 miles outside of DC and I remember being SO MAD my mom wouldn't let me metro into the city with my high school friends for a concert. That and the summer before my senior year of high school she wouldn't let me drive 5 hours to summer camp by myself. Lots of door slamming because of that one.
ReplyDeletewellbeintouchblog.blogspot.com
Oh geez, where do I begin. No friends in the car, didn't have a cell phone until Iwas almost a senior in high school, curfew was 11 and then they so generously gave me 11:30.
ReplyDeleteI had the generous curfew of 10 pm my senior year of high school, no driving in the car with friends, and no phone calls after 9 pm on school night were just some of the rules I grew up with. #so lame
ReplyDeleteBecause we lived in the COUNTRY, it was LONG DISTANCE (i.e., $$$$) to call my friends. So - the ever-popular phone calls in those pre-teen / teen years? Nope. Not here.
ReplyDeleteWith extremely overprotective parents, I have a list a mile long. I will go with "You can't eat Honeycombs because you'll choke." Surely you remember all those kids who died in the 80's from cereal related incidents?
ReplyDelete