Recently, Redditor u/Blueguyy_reddit asked the good people of r/AskReddit, "What is a childhood experience that everyone agrees was terrible?" Here are some of the most-upvoted replies:
1. "When your mum runs into another mum at the grocery store and you know you're gonna be stuck there standing around for half an hour."
"Standing in line to pay for groceries when your parent realises they forgot something and leaves you in line. Instant fear as line moves."
2. "That final week of a long school break."
3. "The first death of a pet."
4. "Calling your teacher mum."
5. "Getting karate chopped in the leg by a scooter."
6. "Having to ask permission to go to the bathroom in class."
7. "Your dad screaming about how math has changed while trying to help you do your math homework."
8. "Getting your eyes checked and having them shoot air in your eye."
9. "Getting lost in a store or crowded place. The overwhelming panic and fear of being separated from your parents, even for a few minutes..."
10. "Getting chicken pox."
11. "Getting braces."
"Genuinely some of the worst pain I have ever experienced."
12. "Stinging nettles."
13. "Waking up at 6 am-7 am to get ready for school."
14. "Stepping on a LEGO brick barefoot."
15. "Our parents all making us drink that gross cough medicine and standing there with a threatening aura waiting for us to drink it."
16. "The heart-stopping moment when you're swinging too high on a swing set and feel like you'll flip over."
17. "The universal dread of hearing the ice cream truck's music, rushing outside with coins in hand, only to watch it drive away before you could catch it."
18. "The lice checks."
19. "Having to finish your plate at dinner, even when you're full or dislike the food."
20. "Group punishment at school. You know, the whole class sitting out recess or missing the field trip until someone confesses — or gets ratted out by the rest of the class — to whatever evil, heinous, despicable act was perpetrated by a seven-year-old."
21. "Being picked last for a team in gym class is like being left behind in a zombie apocalypse."
22. "Going to another class and interrupting to ask for something while the entire class stares at you."
23. "Falling over outside and scraping your knee. I swear that sh*t was the most painful thing ever as a kid."
24. "Metal slides."
"And those slides reflect the sunlight, grilling you alive."
25. "Track and field day, or sports day, or whatever you called it. Just a 'fun' day of being forced to compete at physical tasks I hate doing and have no practice at. Three kids who somehow are great at all of it win everything. Everyone else feels sh*tty. The reward at the end of the day is one of those crappy vanilla ice cream pots with the wooden spoon that sends a gross shiver through your whole body."
26. "Having to pull a wobbly tooth."
27. "Getting chased by an animal which, at the time, was as tall as you are."
My note: where I was from, this was ALWAYS a rooster.
Shout out to u/Blueguyy_reddit and r/AskReddit for having this discussion.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.