What did you get away with?

[OUpearlgirl]

I thought this could be informative for all of our parents and funny for everyone! What did you do as a kid or teenager that your parents didn't find out about?

I wasn't a big drinker in high school at all, but it did happen a few times. My parents put a lock on the liquor cabinet, but it was one of those U-shaped locks. I quickly figured out that I could get inside by unscrewing the metal knob on the cabinet door. No key needed!

My parent's were hosting a cocktail party this weekend and couldn't find the key. I started laughing and told my dad I'd help him out as long as he didn't get mad at me! He started laughing so hard and said he never could figure out how the vodka would get replaced with water when there was a lock on the door! Oops..

What did you do?

 

[monarch64]

Honestly, I didn't get away with anything. I had an older (4 years older) brother who got away with everything first, including removing the screens from his first floor windows and escaping at all hours of the night to go do whatever he did. I wasn't allowed to get my license to drive until I was 17, although I was taught how to drive when I was 13-14. I was not allowed to ride in friends' cars who were under 17. I wasn't allowed to go to parties and I had a curfew of 11 pm on weekend nights. Needless to say, I went to college and never called my parents, pretty much went haywire/crazy for a couple semesters and went from living in the honors dorm due to high SAT scores to coming home 1.5 years later with a 1.8 GPA. And I had "older" parents who were both the eldest of their siblings! My parents really tried to protect me to the point of being overly protective and it did not benefit anyone involved. I am mostly glad that my parents kept me reigned in, but at the same time not letting me do ANYTHING resulted in some negative behaviors later on when I was finally "free" to do as I pleased. Just wanted to throw out my experience as a personal case of what "can" happen when parents overprotect.

I'm 33 now and engaged to a man with whom I plan to have children. We have discussed both our upbringings thoroughly and agree that there will be similarities and differences in our parenting styles vs. how my parents raised me. It is a tough nut to hatch, though, and I imagine there will be many challenges ahead for us! Parenting is certainly a blessing and a curse, imo.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I didn't get away with anything. My mom watched me like a hawk.

 

[steph72276]

I plead the 5th as to not incriminate myself

 

[steph72276]

Honestly, I didn't get away with anything. I had an older (4 years older) brother who got away with everything first, including removing the screens from his first floor windows and escaping at all hours of the night to go do whatever he did. I wasn't allowed to get my license to drive until I was 17, although I was taught how to drive when I was 13-14. I was not allowed to ride in friends' cars who were under 17. I wasn't allowed to go to parties and I had a curfew of 11 pm on weekend nights. Needless to say, I went to college and never called my parents, pretty much went haywire/crazy for a couple semesters and went from living in the honors dorm due to high SAT scores to coming home 1.5 years later with a 1.8 GPA. And I had "older" parents who were both the eldest of their siblings! My parents really tried to protect me to the point of being overly protective and it did not benefit anyone involved. I am mostly glad that my parents kept me reigned in, but at the same time not letting me do ANYTHING resulted in some negative behaviors later on when I was finally "free" to do as I pleased. Just wanted to throw out my experience as a personal case of what "can" happen when parents overprotect.

I'm 33 now and engaged to a man with whom I plan to have children. We have discussed both our upbringings thoroughly and agree that there will be similarities and differences in our parenting styles vs. how my parents raised me. It is a tough nut to hatch, though, and I imagine there will be many challenges ahead for us! Parenting is certainly a blessing and a curse, imo.

Monnie, I was just talking on the other site about how crazy it is these days with all the new technology. I can get online and see what my kid purchased for lunch or if he's marked absent. When he's old enough for a cell phone, I can put a GPS tracking system on it so I know where he is at all times. On one hand, I think it could cut down on a lot of trouble, but on the other hand, if you don't give them any sort of freedom, I think it often ends up with them going crazy the first chance they get. I think it is a very fine line to protect them, but also give them enough freedom to make mistakes and learn from them. Oh man, I am not looking forward to the teenage years!

 

[dragonfly411]

I didn't get away with much, mostly because I didn't do much. Drinking wasn't an issue, my parents had a pretty good rule that I think I'll use with my kids. They would rather me have experimented with one or two drinks at home, under their guidance, than feel like it was something to get away with. So they'd give me one or two (after the age of 17) here and there when they had them, at home, all together. I feel like I'm a responsible drinker as an adult and now feel like I can appreciate drinking now and again with my parents.

I guess I got away with making out with a boy?

I wasn't a very interesting kid.

My sister on the other hand.....

 

[Sabine]

Too much.

 

[elrohwen]

I didn't get away with anything - I was really lame.

I drank and partied in college, but by then it didn't count as getting away with anything.

 

[choro72]

Bwahahahaha @OUpeargirl, that's too funny!

I was too much of a chicken to disobey my parents. I did stuff like pretending to study, but of course they knew and let me get away with it.

 

[fieryred33143]

I never did anything "bad." Never skipped class or lied to my mom about where I was going. Never drank underage. I did smoke once at 16 with my cousins when I went to NY alone but I told my mom about it when I got back. The guilt was killing me.

One time I did steal a candy bar from the store and the guy caught me. He said he was going to tell my mom. One day I saw him walking towards our building and I freaked out and told my mom. The guy never even knocked on our door lol.

 

[iheartscience]

I didn't really do anything too terrible in high school (no drugs or anything like that), but I did get away with a lot. I grew up in a rural area so whenever I wanted to do something I would just say I was "going downtown" and then go do whatever I wanted. That included partying, bridge-jumping (off a CRAZY high bridge!), etc. Plus my twin sister didn't drink in high school, so I had a built in designated driver! And she was always the one who went into my parents' room to tell my mom we were home safe and sound! I had some friends with questionable (okay, trashy) parents, so there was always easy access to alcohol. (For one friend's 18th birthday his parents threw him a keg party. )

I was also the kind of teenage driver everyone fears...I drove fast and wasn't very good at it. One time I was going to my friend's house and was driving too fast down a gravel road. I lost control of the car and ended up in a ditch right between 2 trees. I called my friend from my cell phone (my sister and I had cell phones before anyone else did because my mom is such a worrywart!), and he, his dad and his brother walked down to where I was and managed to push me out of the ditch. Thanks to them and the fact that I had an old Volvo 240, there wasn't a scratch on the car! I went off the road another time and rode in the ditch for a few seconds while I slooooooooowly eased the car back on the road. (Otherwise I would have flipped it!) I pulled some branches out from under the car and again, not a scratch!

Yes I am lucky to be alive...and I'm fully supportive of all laws that require teenagers to be older and have a lot more driving hours under their belt before they get their licenses!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I feel like I could have gotten away with quite a bit--I never had a curfew and my father used to joke with me that the rule about drugs in the house was to put them back when you were done. I was supposed to call them and tell them where I was at any given time, but I was a marching band geek who hung out with other marching band geeks, so I never got into trouble.

I grew up on a farm and when it stormed I would "ride the rivers" with my friend. Basically we'd jump into a swollen river and just ride for a mile or so, then jump out and walk back. It was stupid, we could have gotten sucked under or stuck in tree roots or something. That was probably the most dangerous thing I ever did.

I did sneak out a few times to ride around on my bike. How lame is that? I just thought it was fun to ride my bike in the middle of the night.

 

[noelwr]

naughty

in my senior year of high school, I would say that I was sleeping over at one my friend's place when I was actually spending the night at my boyfriend's. come to think of it, I'm actually surprised his mother had no problem with me spending the night and didn't check with my mother. I mean it was obvious what we were doing if we were sleeping in the same bed with the door closed.

I also started smoking my junior year of high school. after I graduated, before I went off to college, I was having dinner with my mom and her friends and she turned to me and said, "I have a secret. I started smoking again. Do you mind if I smoke?" and I replied, "Only if you don't mind if *I* smoke." so luckily I didn't get in trouble for that. I went on to smoke for 7 years and then quit. my mom also quit around the same time but she was more of a social smoker.

 

[Kaleigh]

Everything!!!

 

[Nashville]

I never got away with anything. My mom is a human lie detector.

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Everything!!!

Ditto! I was a pretty bad kid, but I was smoooooooth . . . never got caught! I'd post some of the things I got away with, but it's too embarassing!

 

[KimberlyH]

My sister and I used to leave notes in front of my parents' door if we left the house late at night. We never went anywhere exciting, we walked the neighborhood or went to Denny's, but if my parents didn't pick up the note we assumed they didn't know we'd gone and come back so we trashed them.

My sister signed my school forms for my senior year of HS because my parents were out of town, they knew she had but didn't think about the possibilites, once a week she signed me out of school early and we went to lunch somewhere.

I didn't drink in HS and I've never done drugs but I did smoke. My sister (wow, she was a bad influence!) bought me my first pack of cigarettes the night we went to a Pink Floyd concert.

We had one friend who was really close to my parents, he came over wasted one night (was at a party at our neighbors' house where the parents played bartender on a regular basis), army crawled across our front lawn, as usual, came inside and jumped into bed with my parents. My parents weren't stupid, they befriended our friends and always knew what was going on. Our friends were always welcome in our house, but were not to come over drunk (the one kid was an exception, my parents adored him and he useed our house as a place to sober up) or high and they were not allowed to smoke in or around the house. Every one of my friends adored my parents and I would frequently come home to find them hanging out with my parents, though they knew I was at work. I hope to develop the same relationship with my daughters' friends (but I will draw the line and any of them crawling into bed with us, my husband would flip his lid).

 

[FrekeChild]

My (ex) BF snuck into my room through the window one night after my parents were in bed. His best friend lived less than a block away, and he was spending the night with him. Anyway, he'd been drinking and smoking, and he absolutely REEKED of cigarette smoke. He laid down on my bed, under the covers with me, and we heard some moving around outside the door. My DOG loved my BF and he had heard him, rustled enough to wake up my mom, and she came and checked on me...twice! Luckily my BF stayed under the covers, and I pretended to be sleeping. She never knew. I was 16.

There was also a lot of "Yeah I'm spending the night at BFF's house." and I'd be at BF's house.

I drank one winecooler at 15, and then didn't drink until 2 months before I turned 21.

I've had something like 7 speeding tickets, first at 15, less than a month after getting my license. Having said that, I'm a crazy safe driver...I just drive really fast. I have never been in a major accident, and the one accident I was in was because my tire got punctured by a orange construction sign that was lying in the road. I lost control, and drove up onto a curb--my car only has 6 inches clearance. Only my car was involved, and there wasn't any damage to anything but my car. If you want an excellent getaway driver, I'm your woman.

I've never done drugs, or smoked anything. But when it comes to cars and boys....

 

[Kaleigh]

Everything!!!

Ditto! I was a pretty bad kid, but I was smoooooooth . . . never got caught! I'd post some of the things I got away with, but it's too embarassing!

I wasn't a bad kid. I was a kid who wasn't parented. There is a difference.. I did the normal stuff nothing over the top.

My parents were out later than I was many times. I had zero supervision...

I didn't get into trouble, and was a smooth operator as well, like you Irish..

My kids didn't get away with much.. I didn't suffocate them with my hovering.. I let them make some mistakes, it's a right of passage, you can't keep them in a bubble. BUT we watched them like hawks..

 

[Keepingthefaith21]

I got away with a lot. But getting away with a lot meant that I got cocky and wound up getting caught quite a bit too.

 

[lyra]

I got away with everything, and my parents somehow got the impression that I was an angel just because I got good grades in school. I always felt that they were too lax. Even as a teen, you know when your parents are too lenient. You know the limits, and if there are none, well you do dumb stuff sometimes and feel like they don't care enough. With my kids, I tended to watch them as closely as possible. End results (they are no longer teens): one I had to actually push a little to at least enjoy herself more; the other managed to do a few things I was very upset about when I did find out about it. I always find out eventually...

 

[packrat]

My parents had eyes everywhere. I still got away w/a lot. Drank a lot, and often. Tried pot a few times, didn't like it. Tried speeders a few times, didn't like it. Drank some more.

I had a job in high school, and I was allowed to leave early for work-first I was supposed to bring a note from mom stating I had to work, and then they just took my word for it. First it was just my last period study hall, then it was earlier and earlier if my classwork was done..hahahaha. My bff at the time and I spent a lot of afternoons hanging out eating Casey's pizza at her house watching movies.

I periodically asked mom for $20 for my lunch account and used the money to buy cigarettes. I brought a nutty bar to school every day for lunch, and then if it was a super good lunch day I'd have one of my friends get an extra sandwich and wrap it in napkins and stick it in my locker. Us smokers went to a friends house to light up over lunch hour.

 

[taovandel]

I never did anything to get caught! I never skipped class, did drugs, drank or anything like that. I was quite boring.

Actually at my rehearsal dinner my Great Uncle was telling stories of how he would sneak my Dad and his brother out of the house when they were like 5 years old and take them to get ice cream and then he would bring them home and tell their mother that she couldn't be mad because he wanted to hang out with them. So he asked my brother and sister (and me) what we did that was bad and he told our parents they couldn't be mad. I had absolutely nothing to say!! My sister had a few stories and my brother told a story that my mom still gets upset about sometimes but she promised our GU that she wouldn't be too upset.....my brother had taken her car out at night and drove to a friends house a few blocks over!

I hope my children are a nice mix of me and my siblings....I don't want them to not have a story to tell, but I don't want them to steal my car!!