“Forcing kids to hug or kiss.
It always made me uncomfortable as a kid.
Im 47, and to this day, Im not a fan of physical affection.”
Here’s what they said:
1.
Yup, they went to different churches.
My grandma went to a rather unhinged mega Methodist church every Sunday and Wednesday.
She devoted a lot of her free social time to it.
My grandpa sometimes went to a Lutheran church.
It drove her crazy, and he didnt like to go that much.
I usually went to his church because the priest liked to engage with the kids in funny ways.
She also didnt care what denomination it was as long as you went to a church.
“Pinching the chubby cheeks like quarters are gonna fall out.”
hailcthulhu
4.
“I used to sit right between my grandparents while they smoked cigarettes.
“My grandfather used to take my brother and me to stock car races in Iowa.
This was so he wouldnt have to pay our admission.”
“My Portuguese-American grandfather was a no-nonsense WWII vet and a former boxer.
He told the man that if he didn’t stop, he’d hit him.
He threw in some choice racist words, as well.
The Italian man didn’t stop, so my grandfather hit him.
The man fell backward over his fence, and my dad and grandfather walked away.
No cops were called.
It was just the regular neighborhood squabbling of the era.
Neither of these things would ever happen today.”
coffinsandroses
8.
“Longer hair was coveted and my grandma pretty much forbade my mother from letting us cut it.
How absolutely STUPID to not speak to a child for cutting her hair.”
“Forcing kids to hug or kiss.
It always made me uncomfortable as a kid.
Im 47, and to this day, Im not a fan of physical affection.
“Sadly, forms of animal abuse.
To keep a dogin line, they used fear and smacking in those days, and sometimes beatings.
Back in those days, no one blinked twice at a dog getting its ass whooped.”
“Not my grandparents, but my dad’s.
He tells me stories about when he was a teenager; they regularly drove around with a cracked beer.
If they got pulled over, the cop would just say to pour it out and get home.
That wouldnt swing these days…nor should it.”
“What used to be accepted as regular discipline of children is actually literal child abuse.
No, nana, hitting children with sticks is not okay.”
uncalum
15.
You’d get one spank for every year you’ve been alive.”
“When I was 13 and my grandfather was 77, we took a trip toDisneyWorld.
Oh, he was also the go-to chaperone for field trips and events at my elementary school.
A man in his 70s was running around with 5-10-year-olds and having the time of his life.”
“Anything that would be dismissed withtheyre just oldorthings were different for them.
As abisexualwoman, I will not tolerate being told that its a phase.
I will not have my grandparents age be an excuse for their ignorance.
I have corrected their statements in the past, and I will continue to do so.
I dont care if things were different for them; this is how the world is now.
If they wont learn to change or be more accepting, I wont interact with them.”
Anonymous
20.
“My grandpa used to steal bikes.
Just a couple of bikes off the rack, nothing too suspicious.
He would switch schools between the two towns.
His target demographic for people looking to buy his bikes?
People who had had their bikes stolen.”
“My grandma would drive all the grandkids to the lake.
There were nine of us, and it was a sedan.
“My grandma had nine grandchildren, and we were together ALL the time.
It was the greatest.
She was the queen ofgive zero fucks.
However, some of her choices with us are a little problematic now that I think about it.
She taught my cousin how to give people the finger when they drove past she was about 6.
She died of ovarian cancer when I was 13, and it was devastating for all of us.
Im 36 now, and to this day, I think, ‘what would Grandma do?’
When trying to make a hard decision.
I miss her every day.”
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length/clarity.
