"I Texted My Dad To Immediately Pick Me Up": 23 People Are Recalling The Bizarre "House Rules" They Experienced At Someone Else's Home When They Were A Kid
"At my best friend’s friend’s house, the kids have to say 'I tooted', or 'I popped' instead of 'I farted,' or they would get in HUGE trouble."
While it's completely normal for people to have certain house rules for guests to follow, some people set rules that may take things a little too far. So when asked: "What's the most bizarre 'house rule' you've encountered at someone else's home?", the BuzzFeed Community shared some of their most weird experiences. Here's what they had to say below:
1."In 5th grade, I spent the night with my best friend for the first time. She had four other siblings (they were a blended family), and we all were told to a take bath because we had somewhere to go the next day. It was my turn, and I found out that they had a rule that they reuse the bath water. (I’m guessing to save money/conserve water?) So, I had to bathe in cold bath water that had been used once (or more from how dirty it was). I then left the water for the next kid. I didn’t spend the night over there much — and I definitely never bathed if I stayed again. It still bothers me, and I can still remember vividly the scum of the bath water as I sat in it and how dirty I felt, even as a kid wondering WHY?!?"
2."It was in our own home: the internet had to be off at 8 p.m. because 'all the good websites shut off and the only websites left were porn.' My dad wasn’t a very smart man, but he was a very definite one."
3."My great-aunt wouldn’t let kids inside during the day, and when we visited, if it was mealtime, she’d just hand the plates out the window to us (her kids were only a little older than us)."
4."I had one friend who, every weekend, had to still wake up early and clean the house from top to bottom both days even though it was cleaned the day before and her mom was a stay-at-home mom and cleaned every day. The kicker is when I slept over, I learned the girls (guests included) had to clean but her brothers and father got to sleep in and never cleaned."
5."Not a house rule, but when I was really young, I didn't know better and desperate for an apartment, I wound up in a lease where we couldn't light incense or candles. Not even if the power went out; not even birthday candles on the kids' birthdays — and they really meant it. Someone gave me a bathroom candle as a housewarming gift, so I put it in my bathroom even though I had no intention of lighting it. Maintenance came in for something and saw it. The next thing I knew, I got a letter from the office saying it had been 'noticed' and reminding me about the rule, suggesting I dispose of it. Once the power went out after hours on a weekend, you wouldn't believe how many people had 'contraband' candles in their apartments."
6."My friend’s parents had a rule that you had to say 'No, PLEASE.' So when her brother was harassing me by pulling on my hair, and I told him 'no,' they stood there watching and told me that I had to say 'please' at the end, or else he was allowed to keep going. Mind you, this was her older brother (probably around 12 years old at the time, not a little kid). Looking back now, I realize how effed up that was."
7."My mother visited a long-time friend and stayed at her apartment. The bathroom at night was off-limits as it would 'disturb the cat.' She was given a bucket instead. My mother never went back."
8."I went over to a new friend's house after school once, and when I got there, I asked to use the bathroom. The mom handed me two squares of toilet tissue and directed me to the bathroom. There was no toilet paper in the bathroom, and you only got two squares."
9."I slept over at my friend's house when I was 14 and her mom confiscated our phones (which I needed to text my dad for safety), forced me to pray at every meal with them, and tried to make me go to church with them in the morning. I eventually found my phone and texted my dad to immediately pick me up."
10."When I was a tween, all the neighborhood kids would hang out and eventually hit up a house for a snack. We usually tried to avoid the one girl's house because of her mom. All the kids would have to sit in the living room on plastic-covered furniture and eat quietly. The mom baked cakes as her side hustle. We couldn’t make noise because that would stress the mom out while she decorated. One day, I sneezed and was quickly escorted out of the house. From that point on, the neighborhood kids could only sit on their deck."
11."I was probably 10 or so, and I went over to a friend’s house. We were in her room, and I decided I wanted some gum. I had brought some with me and offered her a stick as well. She took it, and we continued playing whatever we were playing. We go downstairs later and her mom starts yelling at both of us for chewing gum. Apparently, that’s not allowed in their house. I did not go back."
12."I slept over at a friend’s house when we were, like, 9 or 10. We were not allowed to go outside of the bedroom until the parents woke up the next morning. I was a latch-key kid, so it was odd for me. I never slept there again."
13."I was a foster child for a while. One foster mom had a rule that you weren't allowed to use toilet paper or tissue to wrap your pads up, only aluminum foil. I still have no idea why."
14."At my best friend’s friend’s house, the kids have to say 'I tooted', or 'I popped' instead of 'I farted,' or they would get in HUGE trouble."
15."My neighbors growing up were really unique and always had really weird rules. I was eating lunch over there during a play date and it happened to be tomato soup and crackers. I grabbed some crackers and crushed them with my hands over the bowl and the mom told me, 'Oh, we don’t do it that way around here!” She proceeded to tell me that they put the crackers in the soup and crushed them with their spoon. I always remember this when I eat tomato soup and it was over 20 years ago."
16."My ex and I lived with his mother for a while, After a couple of months, she talked to me privately, saying, 'I should have told you this when you first moved in, but we have delicate plumbing and, as a rule, I'd prefer it if from now on you don't flush your tampons down the toilet.' I had to tell her that I only used pads (which went in the bin), and I didn't know who was clogging their drains with tampons, but it certainly wasn't me."
17."In middle school, I went over to my best friend’s house for a sleepover, and I got in trouble for taking my shoes off when I entered their house. They had a strict 'shoes on all the time' rule except when sleeping. It was really strange."
18."My younger sister wants me to announce myself before I come into the house. She and her three children live with my mother, and she claims the house is half hers."
19."In middle school, I stayed the night with my neighbor friend. The mom kind of reminded me of the grandma from Flowers in the Attic. She was very stern and severe. The house was filthy and the girl's mom would brush her teeth for her at night. She said it was because she got a cavity once, and she wasn't allowed to brush her teeth anymore."
20."My father-in-law used to turn the Wi-Fi off at nine p.m. every night, so it wasn't 'wasted.' He wouldn't listen no matter how much we explained that's not how it works. Then, one visit, he just stopped doing it and refused to admit that he ever did because he is a giant ass and can never admit when he's wrong."
21."I slept over at a friend's house in middle school and her mom made me sleep on a towel because I had my period. It was so embarrassing and everyone in the house knew because the towel was down."
22."She lived across the street, and we were friends from ages 4 to 12 when she moved away. Since she lived so close, we shared a lot of meals together. Every meal we had was healthy food my little kid palate could not understand (like super restrictive cabbage soup or lean fish with veggies). They also insisted I drink milk with every meal even though I was lactose intolerant and didn't like the taste. They had a room we weren't allowed inside, we had to go to bed at 8 p.m. until we were 12 (even on New Year's Eve), and despite always eating healthy at the house, we also went to McDonald's, like, four times a week."
23."I slept over at a friend’s house when I was, like, six or seven. In the morning when we went down to breakfast, his mom had made muffins. The only way you could get a muffin is if you sang “The Muffin Man” song. I did not know it, so I didn’t eat."
Have you ever experienced a bizarre house rule while being in someone else's home? Tell us what it was and what happened in the comments below.
