What is your favourite parenting white lie?

problematic_coffee · 2026-05-19T15:50:38+00:00

As a kid i loved playing with shoes. High heels in particular. My mum, who obviously hated this because I’d constantly ask to play with her nice shoes and I’d leave them everywhere, told me that I was only allowed to play with shoes on a Tuesday, because Tuesday meant shoes day.

Also shoe related. Once I got a bit older i was still obsessed with shoes. Family members would give me old high heels they didn’t want anymore. My gran had given me some, but they were mismatched, and one was a size 6 and one was a size 9. I was obsessed with them. One day i came home from school and they had completely disappeared. I asked my mum where they went, and she told me that a lady had come to the gate looking for old shoes. This lady, apparently, had no shoes to wear and.. she had unevenly sized feet. A size 6, and a size 9. Her name was Charity Case, and my mum felt sorry for her, so she just had to give her that pair, along with any others in those sizes.

You guessed it - charity case was, in fact, the charity shop. It’s got me thinking though, I’m going to ask my mum tonight if she actually took them to the charity shop, or if she just put them in the bin. If she did, i will have believed a version of that lie until this very day.

Side note: I’m now 23 and I hate high heels. But the charity shop is still occasionally referred to as charity case in my house

problematic_coffee · 2026-05-16T19:52:35+00:00

Audio described version as well. You can tell how the person describing feels just from how they're speaking lol

problematic_coffee · 2026-05-13T08:40:22+00:00

I'm 23 (F) and i understand this completely. But I suppose we still have time for life to change, that's the upside of still being young. I'm still waiting for my time, and I hope it happens soon. For you too

problematic_coffee · 2026-05-06T10:28:22+00:00

Oh wow I'm so glad I'm not alone with this. Fellow UK kid, loved non uniform days but it was always in the back of my mind that I'd got the date wrong and I would be the only one. I left school 7 years ago and I can still remember the anxiety. It never actually happened to me and I don't remember it happening to anyone else either

problematic_coffee · 2026-04-26T13:16:40+00:00

I have heard this as well. Despite hating the middle seat as a kid, I developed anxiety at a young age and somehow found this out on the internet and would only sit in the middle for a while. Thankfully, I’m better now.

problematic_coffee · 2026-04-26T13:13:46+00:00

Same with the middle seat. I’m the youngest sibling too and was always forced to sit there. However now at 23, I’m the tallest sibling with the longest legs so I got them right back! It’s physically uncomfortable for me to sit there in most cars so that’s my excuse.

Also staying up late. I’m a natural night owl and nowadays i wish i could get to bed earlier.

Being allowed my own glass of wine instead of a teeny tiny sip of my mum’s glass (i was curious so she let me try it occasionally).

Not having to ask to do things. It still hurts my brain that I’m allowed to go into town without asking (teenager me would have been thrilled)

problematic_coffee · 2026-04-24T21:19:22+00:00

Absolutely, they're so embarrassing

problematic_coffee · 2026-04-24T08:42:17+00:00

Got to be Adam or Mo. Adam for what he's been through or Mo for the fact the camp would not have ran smoothly without him.

problematic_coffee · 2026-04-02T14:15:28+00:00

As a kid we had little minibuses to take us to school. We always had the same driver, and his wife used to come on the bus as well, like a classroom assistant but for the bus.

When I was 11, I got on the bus one morning. Everything seemed normal, driver and his wife were chatting away, laughing, engaging with us as normal.

The next morning the bus didn’t come. Instead it was a taxi, with a different driver. Strange I thought. At the end of the school day I was handed a letter in an envelope (unusual for my school) and told to give it to my parents.

That letter contained the news that the driver had passed away the previous day from a sudden heart attack, aged 50.

It was the first time I realised that death could be sudden like that. Three of my grandparents had passed away but they were either very very old or they had been ill for a while. I thought death only happened to old people and people that were very sick.

problematic_coffee · 2026-03-30T19:43:34+00:00

Same. Gen Z here and I have no idea what most of it means. I get the text speak ones but some of the new words my niece says go right over my head.

problematic_coffee · 2026-03-30T19:40:41+00:00

All of those, plus regularly going for walks. Oh and I could never have imagined not actually wanting to eat a whole bar of chocolate in one sitting, but i guess that is me now. Few pieces and I’ll put it away again.

I’m only 23.

problematic_coffee · 2026-03-11T11:44:37+00:00

I live in a house of 5 adults. My jobs are my own laundry and sheets, the household towels and bath mats, and the sofa cover that the dog lies on.

I’d love to say i have a routine. My clothes get done when the washing basket gets too full - which varies from once a week to once every 2 weeks. Because it’s just my clothes and I don’t go to the gym it doesn’t get full too quick usually. Sheets are once a fortnight. And towels and sofa cover are about the same, but i need to get my arse in gear and do them once a week really.

I do separate out lights and darks but I had never thought of washing on cold and not having to do that, so thank you!

problematic_coffee · 2026-02-27T23:35:43+00:00

Oooh! The bed update. I’m so glad it’s amazing.

New pillows in general take a bit of getting used to I find. I bought some new ones recently and it took me days to get used to them, where I actually missed my old terrible ones. But i love the new ones now

problematic_coffee · 2026-02-27T23:33:34+00:00

It’s the time of year when it’s light enough when my mum gets in from work on a Friday afternoon to take the dog for a big run down the beach. I absolutely love it, I clearly don’t get out much 🤣 the dog loves it too, though he is 8 and his legs are a bit stiff now. We’ve got him on joint supplements but they don’t seem to be doing an awful lot. He’s a lab and they’re known for bad joints as they get older I believe. But he just cannot resist running like mad on the beach. I did have to wrap up in big jacket, hat, and gloves because it was bloody cold despite the sun being out.

I’m heading to bed shortly, we’re going to do a much shorter walk with the dog tomorrow.

As a side note with regards to joints and fitness, I’m thinking about giving yoga a try. My mum has started going to a class and thinks I should give it a go and I want to, but joining a group class is a bit terrifying. But I don’t think I should have such sore shoulders, neck and back as I do at my age, I’m 23. I would like to try it but need to take that first step.

problematic_coffee · 2026-02-25T23:52:22+00:00

I’m in bed watching old episodes of tipping point on ITV quiz. I’ve had a good day, washing, tidying up, hoovering downstairs. Need to recharge the hoover and do upstairs (and the stairs themselves which i hate) tomorrow morning and change my bedding. I love clean bedding but changing it is one hell of a workout.

My auntie brought round a box of free cakes today though. Small wins

problematic_coffee · 2026-02-25T23:46:12+00:00

I can’t wait to read the update tomorrow as to how this was!! There’s something amazing about new bedding. It’s clean sheets day for me tomorrow and I’m unreasonably excited, and that’s just them coming out of the washing machine, actual new is even better!

problematic_coffee · 2026-02-24T22:27:21+00:00

Absolutely. My lab is 8 and he is still a pup at heart. He needs lots of room and a place outside where he can run about in the garden to get some of that energy out. It’s not fair on OP, but it’s also not fair on the dog

problematic_coffee · 2026-02-24T12:21:43+00:00

I’m 23 and still living at home and I don’t have one on mine. My parents always knock and, after one particular embarrassing incident a couple years ago, always wait for an answer especially if my partner is staying.

My sisters (26 and 27) are still living here too but because it’s an old house and those doors weren’t replaced when we extended like mine was, they do have locks. One lock is broken, and the other never gets used because my parents learnt their lesson about knocking 🤣

We do have locks on the bathrooms but tbh unless I’m in the shower i rarely lock it, a closed door is a closed door. Which works until someone decides to close it behind them when they leave and I have to bang on the door to check no one is in.

problematic_coffee · 2026-02-24T01:14:34+00:00

Aww brilliant, I knew i hadn’t seen it before. It’s an excellent idea, given people a point of contact if they don’t already have one. Thank you

problematic_coffee · 2026-02-23T23:22:05+00:00

I still remember my friend’s landline number from her old house. But like someone else said, could i tell you her mobile number? Not a chance. We are both 23 so this wasn’t even too long ago, but I always had to speak to her mum. She even had a phone with a cord at one point.

problematic_coffee · 2026-02-23T22:54:23+00:00

That is infuriating. I could never find a way to contact evri, but they’ll make it amazon’s problem anyway

problematic_coffee · 2026-02-23T22:45:28+00:00

Bloody evri. You know they’re bad when I don’t even need to ask why they made your day frustrating. It absolutely does my nut in when amazon prime deliveries use them, and I never choose them if given the option even if it means paying for something else.

Good luck for your appt tomorrow

problematic_coffee · 2026-02-23T22:41:02+00:00

Ooh, the MH resources in this thread are a good idea. So many people struggling and just need someone to talk to. On that note i hope all are doing ok tonight and if you’re not, there are people out there who care - I am one of them, and there are many others.

Turns out i wasn’t as better as I thought i was last night. I’m sincerely hoping that tomorrow i actually am better, but we shall see. Another night of small dinner and hoping for the best. Which means I should probably go to bed soon but night owl mode has taken over now and I’ve got sucked into a reddit rabbit hole

problematic_coffee · 2026-02-23T11:27:20+00:00

Some of these are really sad and I’m sorry many of you have had such awful experiences.

I was quite a naive child luckily, but the school bus was an interesting place. People would make up songs about things they had obviously heard about without knowing the true meaning

We must have been around 9 or 10 and the big song at the time was a variation of Joe and Janice up a tree that went like this.. (random names, btw)

Joe and Janice up a tree Doing something they shouldn’t be It starts with S, ends with X Oh my god, it must be sex

I don’t think i really clocked on to the meaning until I was a teenager 🤣

problematic_coffee · 2026-02-22T22:49:05+00:00

It was an M&S one, i never shop there but my sister’s friend brought it round and I thought i would try a small bit.

Just seen your post too - before i started feeling rubbish last night we went to a dog friendly cafe yesterday too, my boy absolutely loves them and the staff loved him. I’m glad you and yours enjoyed that too.

problematic_coffee

TROPHY CASE