"It Drives Me Mad": 17 Things Adults Really, Really Wish Their Parents Would Stop Doing
When we're children, it's normal to idolize our parents and forget that they're just humans. It isn't until we become adults ourselves that we realize our parents aren't perfect, they too make mistakes, and maybeeee they still do things that grind our gears.
I came across this Reddit thread full of people sharing specific things their parents do now that they're adults, which drive them wild. Here are some of the responses:
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
1."Act like children."
"This. Growing up you start to realize how many times your parents throw a tantrum and act childish when things don't go their way."
2."Giving unsolicited advice about everything from my job to my dating life as if I haven’t got it somewhat figured out by now."
3."Constant bickering. My parents are 88, and they have been married 67 years, so I don't expect them to change, but it drives me mad."
4."Learned helplessness towards technology. My mom will wait weeks to use the printer until I come home and change the toner cartridge instead of reading the directions how to do it."
5."My mom never has anything nice to say about my husband. Literally, everything out of her mouth regarding him is negative. Then she wants to act heartbroken and surprised when her grandkids ask, 'Why don’t you like my daddy?'"
6."Make everything about them."
7."They still ask if I've made any new friends like I'm still rocking the lunchbox and playground combo."
8."Turn everything into politics."
9."My mom likes to cry (literally cry) about things that have a 10-minute solution if she would listen. She remembered my late dad telling her not to keep too much money in a bank account because the IRS would find out. I'm sure my dad cheated on his taxes. So, she keeps about $2K in each bank account and then shuffles money when property taxes or major bills show up. But since she doesn't know apps or computers well, she goes to the bank, does all of it, and stresses out to the point of crying. She worries about money and bills every day. It's not about having enough, but about the logistics stuff. She rents out two places, but my late dad thought property managers were crooks, so she gets duped by people and doesn't know how to do simple things like call a plumber."
"Her whole life, her mental sanity is consumed by this. She cries about it every time she calls me, saying she is so stressed. I tell her to just keep a whole bunch of money in one of her checking accounts as the IRS will not go after her (my wife and I do her taxes and we are legit), I can set up auto pay for all her bills, I can pay property taxes online for her every six months, and just get a property manager which I can interact with. She never has to worry. She has enough money to relax and live a peaceful life without any worries.
She completely ignores this suggestion and then cries the next month about being so stressed. I just avoid her calls now."
10."Not respect privacy."
11."My mother also used to treat the freezer as 'indefinite' storage. If it could be frozen, we had a surplus. Whether that's soup, bread, corn, wtf ever. 'No, mom, after 12 months, it's not just as good."
12."Freaking out and calling my partner to see where I am if I don't reply to a text or call within like 10 minutes. I have asked them repeatedly to please stop doing that. I don't always have my phone with me, or I just don't hear the buzz. It doesn't mean I'm dead. I'm in my 40s. Then they were so pissed that I made them worry. It drives me wild. Whatever happened to 'Leave a message and I'll call you back?' Both do it, but my mum is the worst. She will call over and over and over again, dozens of times, within a few minutes. Then, start with my partner if I don't answer. Even if he is at work."
13."Not that I wanted to live with them forever, but I have my own place and life, and they complain to me all the time that we don't do enough together. Also that I never call, when they also never call me. When I try to explain that phones are, in fact, two-way devices, they come up with general reasons as to why it should be my responsibility. Admittedly, I haven't spoken to either of them for a few months. The last time I did, I asked my stepmother what she wanted to do for her birthday, and instead of getting anything helpful, I was guilt-tripped about how I apparently don't include my step-sister and her kids in my plans. Was I supposed to invite them to some undisclosed event on an undetermined day at an unknown time and location?"
14."My parents treat my children like gold, which I'm cool with, but they act like there's no difference in how they treated me and my siblings. If we bring up the experiences they gaslight us or minimize it."
15."Hinting about grandkids. She's been told I'm infertile, but she seems to think that my husband and I made that up. I thought it would end after my nephew was born, but it seems to have doubled her resolve to get one from me."
16."They don't trim meat. I never liked the chicken or pork chops my mom made because they always had fat or gammy trims. Once I started cooking, I realized I could clean my meat and trim off the fats and gristle bits before cooking. I just went to have dinner with my dad and watching him just throw two frozen chicken breasts in a skillet made me gag slightly. Like, I'm sure I'm probably not the majority, but I just prefer to take the extra minute to trim the meat, and it's a major reason I hated food at home as a kid."
17."Constant phone calls for help. 'What's my password for X?' 'App Y is saying it needs an update.' 'Can you set up the new firestick?' It's every time I get a day off. I have a wife and a child, and I'm 26. It's at a point where it's impacting my marriage but if I say no, I'm treated like the worst son in the world."
Is there anything your parents do that annoys you? If so, share it with me in the comments below!
