You know that weird thing you do that makes all your friends stare at you in shock and horror? You probably picked it up from your parents, didn't you? A Reddit thread asked users to share the strange thing their parents did that they never realized was totally weird. Here are some of the most notable ones from the thread.
1. The Talk
"When we had 'the talk' it wasn't about the birds and the bees . . . instead, my mother sat me down one day just before the start of sixth grade (around age 11) and had a very serious talk with me about search warrants and police jurisdiction. I was given specific instructions on what to do if the police ever knocked on the door, and also taught strategies on how to stall the police. I was never told why this was necessary. I didn't really think much about it until I got a few years older and started coming across pounds of marijuana hidden around the house and well, let's just say A LOT of weird shit from my childhood suddenly started making sense."
![Strange Things Parents Did That You Didn't Know Were Strange Until You Grew Up]()
2. No Touching
"We're not a touching family, i.e. no hugs, no 'I love you,' no lounging all over each other on the couch. I had no idea that was strange until I started staying over friends' houses for sleepovers. To this day, if I try to hold my mom's hand she'll slip away in short order. I guess it's just not how we do things, but man I'd love a backscratch apropos of nothing."
3. Mom Interview
"When my brother or I would say something gross at the dinner table, my mother, instead of chastising us, would use her silverware as a microphone and pretend to be the host of a talk show she called 'Poopy Chat.'"
![Strange Things Parents Did That You Didn't Know Were Strange Until You Grew Up]()
4. The Towel
"My controlling father would only allow one bath towel to be in circulation at a time. This meant that every morning, four people would use the same towel after showering. He got it first (dry, of course), then mom, then older brother, then me. I thought it was normal to use a soggy towel that had been up someone else's butt crack until I was 17."
5. Drought
"Not flushing the toilet immediately after peeing. Saved on water costs."
![Strange Things Parents Did That You Didn't Know Were Strange Until You Grew Up]()
6. Jealous Mom
"My mom gets extremely jealous and upset at the slightest HINT anyone dislikes her.
Like, 'My favorite person is DADDY!'
'OH well if you don't like me that's fine I just raised you and loved you your whole life while he does almost NOTHING, EVER!'"
7. Playing House
"When my parents played house with us, instead of limiting it to the fun stuff like cooking like most parents did: my parents typed up pay stubs, bills, and printed checkbook registers as part of 'playing house.' Also made us practice writing checks.
I didn't know it was weird until I grew up and talked with a few of my friends about adult responsibilities. When I said that I knew how to balance a checkbook since middle school they all looked at me like I had 7 eyes.
Even though it was weird I'm kind of glad they did it. Made me much more prepared for adult responsibilities than most people my age were."
![Strange Things Parents Did That You Didn't Know Were Strange Until You Grew Up]()
8. Brag Dad
"My dad loves to brag about his sexual exploits. I always thought it was the coolest thing. Now I think my dad is a sexual deviant."
9. Too Much Information
"I'm glad I'm not the only one who had a horny dad. I was just a kid when we were in his truck and he flipped down the visor. I see a picture of this blond woman, fully dressed. And he told me he was cheating on my stepmom with her. I don't know why he felt the need to tell a ten-year-old but he did. And people wonder why I have trust issues with men."
![Strange Things Parents Did That You Didn't Know Were Strange Until You Grew Up]()
10. Family 'Friends'
"We would very frequently have parties with the same adult couples that would come over who I just considered our family friends. All of them very young and attractive. But the adults would all disappear towards the end of the night and we never thought much of it. Turns out they were swingers."
![Strange Things Parents Did That You Didn't Know Were Strange Until You Grew Up]()
11. Batteries
"Kept batteries in the fridge. We'd have a whole drawer's worth of new batteries, but they'd keep them in like a side-crisper or something on the door. I didn't realize it was weird until I moved in with my SO and went to put them in the fridge. She asked me WTF I was doing and I couldn't really answer. It was second nature."
12. The Cuckoo Clock
"In our first home, our parents had a large cuckoo clock in the main bathroom -- mounted on the wall opposite the toilet, so you were facing the cuckoo bird as you sat on the toilet.
Dad used to tell us to note the time on the cuckoo clock when we sat down, so we didn't 'tie up the bathroom too long.' If the cuckoo sounded while we were in there, he'd knock on the door and say, 'Did you fall in? How much longer?'
Perhaps this was the downside of having just one bathroom in the house -- but looking back, it seems weird."
![Strange Things Parents Did That You Didn't Know Were Strange Until You Grew Up]()
13. Mr. Tree
"My dad did this thing around Christmas time that was called 'Mr. Tree.' Basically, my mom would bring us to the window and he would stand behind the Christmas tree and pretend like the tree was talking to us. After Christmas, they would tell us that Mr. Tree went back to the Christmas tree farm. Imagine my horror when I learned that Mr. Tree was not a thing that other kids had."
14. Maybe the Strangest of All
"We have a family verse to the birthday song. Took me a number of years to realize how odd that is."
Related: 21 Tweets That Hilariously Sum Up What It's Like To Be A Parent
1. The Talk
"When we had 'the talk' it wasn't about the birds and the bees . . . instead, my mother sat me down one day just before the start of sixth grade (around age 11) and had a very serious talk with me about search warrants and police jurisdiction. I was given specific instructions on what to do if the police ever knocked on the door, and also taught strategies on how to stall the police. I was never told why this was necessary. I didn't really think much about it until I got a few years older and started coming across pounds of marijuana hidden around the house and well, let's just say A LOT of weird shit from my childhood suddenly started making sense."
2. No Touching
"We're not a touching family, i.e. no hugs, no 'I love you,' no lounging all over each other on the couch. I had no idea that was strange until I started staying over friends' houses for sleepovers. To this day, if I try to hold my mom's hand she'll slip away in short order. I guess it's just not how we do things, but man I'd love a backscratch apropos of nothing."
3. Mom Interview
"When my brother or I would say something gross at the dinner table, my mother, instead of chastising us, would use her silverware as a microphone and pretend to be the host of a talk show she called 'Poopy Chat.'"
4. The Towel
"My controlling father would only allow one bath towel to be in circulation at a time. This meant that every morning, four people would use the same towel after showering. He got it first (dry, of course), then mom, then older brother, then me. I thought it was normal to use a soggy towel that had been up someone else's butt crack until I was 17."
5. Drought
"Not flushing the toilet immediately after peeing. Saved on water costs."
6. Jealous Mom
"My mom gets extremely jealous and upset at the slightest HINT anyone dislikes her.
Like, 'My favorite person is DADDY!'
'OH well if you don't like me that's fine I just raised you and loved you your whole life while he does almost NOTHING, EVER!'"
7. Playing House
"When my parents played house with us, instead of limiting it to the fun stuff like cooking like most parents did: my parents typed up pay stubs, bills, and printed checkbook registers as part of 'playing house.' Also made us practice writing checks.
I didn't know it was weird until I grew up and talked with a few of my friends about adult responsibilities. When I said that I knew how to balance a checkbook since middle school they all looked at me like I had 7 eyes.
Even though it was weird I'm kind of glad they did it. Made me much more prepared for adult responsibilities than most people my age were."
8. Brag Dad
"My dad loves to brag about his sexual exploits. I always thought it was the coolest thing. Now I think my dad is a sexual deviant."
9. Too Much Information
"I'm glad I'm not the only one who had a horny dad. I was just a kid when we were in his truck and he flipped down the visor. I see a picture of this blond woman, fully dressed. And he told me he was cheating on my stepmom with her. I don't know why he felt the need to tell a ten-year-old but he did. And people wonder why I have trust issues with men."
10. Family 'Friends'
"We would very frequently have parties with the same adult couples that would come over who I just considered our family friends. All of them very young and attractive. But the adults would all disappear towards the end of the night and we never thought much of it. Turns out they were swingers."
11. Batteries
"Kept batteries in the fridge. We'd have a whole drawer's worth of new batteries, but they'd keep them in like a side-crisper or something on the door. I didn't realize it was weird until I moved in with my SO and went to put them in the fridge. She asked me WTF I was doing and I couldn't really answer. It was second nature."
12. The Cuckoo Clock
"In our first home, our parents had a large cuckoo clock in the main bathroom -- mounted on the wall opposite the toilet, so you were facing the cuckoo bird as you sat on the toilet.
Dad used to tell us to note the time on the cuckoo clock when we sat down, so we didn't 'tie up the bathroom too long.' If the cuckoo sounded while we were in there, he'd knock on the door and say, 'Did you fall in? How much longer?'
Perhaps this was the downside of having just one bathroom in the house -- but looking back, it seems weird."
13. Mr. Tree
"My dad did this thing around Christmas time that was called 'Mr. Tree.' Basically, my mom would bring us to the window and he would stand behind the Christmas tree and pretend like the tree was talking to us. After Christmas, they would tell us that Mr. Tree went back to the Christmas tree farm. Imagine my horror when I learned that Mr. Tree was not a thing that other kids had."
14. Maybe the Strangest of All
"We have a family verse to the birthday song. Took me a number of years to realize how odd that is."
Related: 21 Tweets That Hilariously Sum Up What It's Like To Be A Parent