What’s ‘normal’ for you and your family or us might be completely weird for someone else. And vice versa! That ‘someone’ might live nearby in your neighborhood. But the way their relatives behave at home might be completely at odds with your own experience. Whether for good or ill.
Inspired by user u/itsbilliebrown, the members of the popular r/AskAnAustralian online group opened up about their childhood experiences. They revealed what traditions and behaviors they thought were completely normal, only to later realize other households did things very differently. Read on for their candid stories, ranging from the hilarious to the heartbreaking.
#1
Its not necessarily "not normal" as a lot of people have it.
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#2
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#3
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According to NCHS, family traditions form a strong foundation and give kids a sense of stability and predictability. These traditions make children feel connected with their families and like they belong. The result is that they grow up with a stronger sense of identity, higher self-esteem, and overall better mental health.
Probably the best way to get a sense of what society considers ‘normal’ is to spend more time around other people. If you went to your friends’ homes after school or had sleepovers, then you probably noticed how awkward everything can be. It’s very likely that their parents had different routines, rituals, and ways of talking to each other. Some things feel… slightly ‘off.’
#4
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Similarly, your friends probably thought the same thing when they came over to your own place. When we’re stuck in our comfort zones and routines, we hardly ever consider that other folks might live very differently from us. What’s ‘normal’ for us is simply what we’re used to. It’s what we see every day.
When we step outside our family or social bubble, we realize that life is very paradoxical. On the one hand, everyone’s daily lives can be quite different from what we’re used to. On the other hand, many things remain fundamentally the same. No matter what part of the world you live in, what your culture and background is, you’re still a human being. We tend to have lots in common, once we move past our superficial differences. Our traditions might be different, but at their core lies our love for our family members.
#7
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#8
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#9
The exact traditions you foster aren’t as important as the fact that you have some traditions in the first place. They can be something as simple as eating dinner together every Sunday or entirely silly like doing a talent contest on the same day every year. They can be taken from earlier generations of your family or created from scratch to fit your life better. It’s also a lot of fun if you involve your children in creating these traditions. After all, they’re going to be a part of them (hopefully) their entire lives.
What are your favorite family traditions, dear Pandas? What did you think was ‘normal’ in your home, only to realize how bizarre it was later down the line? How different was the daily life in your friends’ homes? If you’re feeling up to it, share your thoughts in the comment section at the bottom of this post.
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#16
We regularly ate “egg bread”. I didn’t hear the term French toast until after I finished school.
BrotherBroad3698: My parents called it ~eggy toast~ and I now call it the same with my own kids.
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#19
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#21
Moving houses almost every year, trying to find the cheapest place to live. Also d***s, I was introduced to it in primary school and my friends didn't even know what they were at the time.
e_castille: Having to move schools every year was rough. I began high school the most popular girl in my grade and by the time I graduated (five schools later) everyone knew me as a loner. It became a lot more difficult to make friends over time, and I just didn’t see the point anymore when I knew I was going to move on eventually.
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#31
I didn't realise that not everyone automatically turns off lights when they leave a room/area. My dad drilled it into us when we were kids. When I went to other kid's houses, I was astonished that they had all the lights on all the time. I thought it was NUTS and that their parents must be really rich to afford the power bill.
bl00ph00h00: My Mum was really electricity conscious but we had some energy saving bulbs that apparently took the same amount of energy to turn off and on as to run for four hours continuously? So the rules in our house were like: Always turn the lights off, unless you think someone else will enter the room in the next four hours, in which case leave them on.
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#32
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#33
In kindy I would use Swedish words that I picked up from my grandparents, I couldn’t grasp why the other kids didn’t understand when I would use these words. I had no idea it was another language.
denkapuma: I got into a whole argument with another kid in kindergarten about the pomegranate I brought in as a snack one day. I'd only ever heard the Arabic word for it up until that point. [I had] no clue I wasn't saying the English name
not_the_chosen_onee: I grew up with first generation parents so that meant to little me that everyone else’s parents were also first generation. The idea that some of my friends could only speak English used to shock me, like what do you mean you don’t have native language? Or like your own culture/ food at home. No one's just Australian, right?
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#34
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#35
My family has this really long ritual that involves singing multiple songs, clapping and chants when celebrating someones birthday. Most other people just sing Happy Birthday and leave it at that.
Examples include hip hip hooray, for he/she is a jolly good fellow, why was he/she born so beautiful...and clapping while counting out the age. Most other people just sing Happy Birthday and leave it at that.
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#36
#37
Raspberry cordial and milk. Crushed disprin with jam. Pillowcases at the end of the bed to put Christmas or birthday presents in.
AnnaSoprano: My mum did crushed Panadol in honey for me.
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#40
My father was a control freak about decor. I only realised when my mother left him that it was not usual for a stay at home mother not to have at least 50 percent control over decisions about furniture, towels, cushions, plates, glasses, etc.
worker_ant_6646: When we were 17, my ex's dad flew off the handle one time we made footprints in the freshly vacuumed carpet before he did. We also went into the formal lounge room and rearranged the decor on the coffee table. It still looked neat and tidy but the ducks were swapped with the coasters and it was unacceptable. My ex was grounded for a week.
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How controlled our food was.
Partly a whole heap of family allergies followed by I think fear that if we weren’t eating super healthy then something bad would happen, I’m not really sure to be honest. I do remember being amazed that friends were allowed juice and other sugary stuff.
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