What did you buy as an adult because you were denied it as a child?

[u/purrinGurl18]

[u/DeaddyRuxpin]

My wife was never allowed to have PlayDoh as a kid because her mother was worried it would get stuck in the carpet.

When we bought our house, I got my wife a PlayDoh Fun Factory. She used it once. PlayDoh got stuck in the carpet.

[u/sixjasefive → u/DeaddyRuxpin]

With age comes wisdom. Not always but some times.

[u/GrumpyCloud93 → u/sixjasefive]

"But you'll shoot your eye out!"

[u/HarryTruman → u/GrumpyCloud93]

I once had a bb ricochet and do a 180 right back into my forehead. Didn’t hurt at all, buy was like, “Oh holy shit this is what they meant!”

[u/brigida-the-b → u/DeaddyRuxpin]

I never had play doh either and always had it for my kids. It’s a kitchen table only activity for sure. Had a friend who didn’t let her girls have play doh and they loved playing with it at my house, but she was all about glitter craft kits. I didn’t outright ban glitter, but definitely did everything I could to discourage interest😂
I love that you got her that as a gift. She felt seen and loved💜

[u/scutbuts → u/DeaddyRuxpin]

And I bet the world did not end through playdough in a carpet. I would always choose the loved ones joy over such things. I have a child and cats, so I have no fancy carpet. Problem solved :)

[u/DeaddyRuxpin → u/scutbuts]

Yeah we didn’t care. It was just funny that the very reason her mother wouldn’t let her have PlayDoh ended up happening.

We just scraped it out and the rest dried up and flaked out to be vacuumed up. No big deal. Besides, with three cats, that carpet wasn’t going to remain in the house for very long anyway.

[u/WaldoJeffers65]

"Exotic" foods like avocados, romaine lettuce, hummus, fresh fruit and vegetables, seasonings, etc. My parents were picky eaters so our meals were pretty boring standard fare, with a lot canned vegetables and fruits, variations of ground beef, spaghetti and meatballs, etc. I made up for lost time by trying as many new foods as possible, and ended up becoming quite a good cook in the process.

[u/Natural_Magic → u/WaldoJeffers65]

As it turns out I DID like vegetables. My parents were just shit cooks who were also a little closed minded and had very limited palates. Later I found out that drowning/boiling asparagus in balsamic vinegar is NOT the best way to cook them. 

My mom still thinks she's an excellent cook. She's gotten better, but she won't eat 75% of what we have for dinner because she "doesn't eat that".

[u/thoawaydatrash]

My partner grew up poor and always wanted the hand-crank Snoopy snow cone maker that all the cool kids had. A couple of Christmases ago, I bought them one. It is complete garbage for making snow cones, but it sits on our bookshelf as a prized possession.

[u/albertenstein22 → u/thoawaydatrash]

Wanted one when my only child friend Christopher got one from his parents. I lucked out as a kid because my mom bought one secondhand from a garage sale. I thought it was the coolest thing ever, but it was absolutely garbage for making an actual snow cone.

[u/kmk4ue84 → u/albertenstein22]

The tricks was to start smooth and work the speed of the ice shaver up slowly. Then when you had a good clip going on that microscopic handle while squashing down the beehive snoopy was wearing on his head for some reason it worked perfectly, right up until the tiny rubber tabs on the bottom failed shooting the bottom out and sending the whole thing across the kitchen table and throwing Hummingbird food all over the walls. 10/10

[u/Radiomaster138 → u/thoawaydatrash]

Yooo, I used to have a hand-crank Snoopy snow cone maker!!!
It was absolutely terrible. I think the handle broke because it was all plastic except for the ice shaver.

[u/chilicheesefarts]

Black clothes, shoes, purses, bedding, my couch, my kitchen, my car, etc…..

My mom refused to let me have any dark clothing growing up. Only pink and purple.

I let all my kids wear whatever they want. My son wore a Spider-Man costume for a year. Happiest little dude ever.

[u/13kat13 → u/chilicheesefarts]

My parents were terrified of me dressing goth/emo because they thought I’d end up involved with “druggies”. When I asked for stuff in black they’d give me navy instead. I was only allowed to wear all black once a week, but I’d hide the outfits and makeup I actually wanted to wear in my locker and just change into/out of them at school. They finally gave up when I turned 18 and I got to wear my dream prom dress (all black with black nails and dramatic black eye makeup of course lol). 90% of my wardrobe now is black with edgy/nerdy graphics. Only reason my bedding isn’t black is because one of my dogs is a golden and the hair situation’s bad enough with my outfits.

What’s funny is I was just a weeb who just liked black clothes for the projected “edginess” and never even touched a cigarette or alcohol till I was in college, and my perfect little sister who dressed “normal” and got good grades was friends with all the rich kids who stole alcohol and Xanax from their parents to give out at parties (which she told my parents were study groups).

[u/Kataphractoi → u/13kat13]

My parents were the same way. I also wasn't allowed to wear long cargo shorts because that's what skaters wear and skaters are unmotivated and only cause trouble.

[u/Cold_Inspector6450 → u/Kataphractoi]

This thought process is always so funny to me. Do you know how hard it is to do a kickflip on a skateboard? Takes hours and hours of consistent practice and dedication. Believe me if skaters were unmotivated they wouldn’t be skaters

[u/BokNuggetForeskin → u/13kat13]

Funny thing about most if not all actual druggies is they usually don't wear clothing like that. So many people are heavily misinformed. Speaking from experience being around them, not doing the drugs themselves.

[u/NoifenF → u/BokNuggetForeskin]

That shit is expensive. Druggies would rather spend money on drugs.

[u/Masters_domme → u/13kat13]

My friends laugh at me because my clothing, bedding, laundry, pets, etc are all black, so I’m constantly struggling to find things 😅. My husband ruined everything by bringing home a white dog he found on the side of the road. All the lint rollers in the world can’t keep me free of the white hair she leaves all over my black clothes. 😒

[u/goblueM → u/13kat13]

My parents were terrified of me dressing goth/emo because they thought I’d end up involved with “druggies”.

ironically, strict parenting over personal style and other stuff like that is probably wayyy more likely to push your kid away and to hanging with a sketchy crowd

rather than actually supporting your kid

[u/13kat13 → u/goblueM]

Oh yeah. I had a very strained relationship with them for most of high school over them policing my preferences so hard. It got way better after I moved out; I’m in my 30s now and we’re chill.

Though I think my sister finally getting caught sneaking out at 17 and coming back drunk also finally made them realize they’d been focusing on the wrong kid lmao.

[u/d3amoncat → u/13kat13]

Im a bit older but I wasn't allowed navy either. I grew up right by a very famous Harley dealership and my mother was terrified id become a biker bitch

[u/grptrt → u/chilicheesefarts]

> My son wore a Spider-Man costume for a year

Age 4: Cute

Age 28: slightly problematic

[u/snowman334 → u/grptrt]

Slightly problematic or the real Spider-Man?

[u/Kage_0ni → u/snowman334]

With great style comes great responsibility.

[u/Scarlet-Witch → u/chilicheesefarts]

I did the opposite! Tie dye shirts. Though I still love me my blacks and grays. For whatever reason my mother despised tie dye. 

[u/chitzk0i → u/Scarlet-Witch]

My mom loved tie-dye, but I had one rainbow spiral tie dye shirt that I loved the colors of, but she was convinced someone would think it was a gay thing and assault me on the bus. It mysteriously disappeared, so I think she snuck it out of my closet and threw it away.

[u/IggySorcha → u/chilicheesefarts]

Yep turned into the goth punk of my dreams and started doing my hair in vivids or black. No pink in sight for home decor either, which everyone tried to push on me instead of my favorite color. 

Also I was generally banned from geeky things like non educational video games and sci fi movies like Star Wars. Guess what I binged as soon as I moved out? 

[u/Pink_Millenial]

It’s really silly but Sylvanian Families. I was desperate for them as a child but we were very poor so couldn’t afford them but it didn’t stop me from putting them on my Christmas list each year.

A couple of years ago, I was in a shop and saw some really cute ones. I felt sad because I’d never been allowed to have them, and then I was like “wait a minute, I’m 30 and have a job so I can buy these and no one can stop me”. It was only a small family set but I literally felt like a kid at Christmas when I opened the box at home.

[u/boyproblems_mp3 → u/Pink_Millenial]

They are so adorable!

I got into collecting dolls as an adult as my mom thought so many of them were "slutty" and eventually just wouldn't buy them when I was too old for her tastes to get them as presents. It's very cathartic to get what you always wanted. Me and my sister regularly buy each other dolls we wanted for Christmas out of nostalgia!

[u/Formal_Dare9668 → u/boyproblems_mp3]

I was like that with stuffed animals. Idk why but as a kid I loved them. When I was like 9 my mom decided I had too many and vowed to never buy me one ever again. I’m 31 now and she’s held firm the past 22 years but my husband buys them for me so take that mom

[u/samanthasacidnussy → u/Pink_Millenial]

Omg, I didn't recognize the name so I looked them up and wow what a blast from the past. They were soooo cute, I wanted them too! Instead my parents and grandparents kept buying me 'collectible' barbies that I wasn't allowed to play with, they had to stay in the box to 'keep their value'. Not exactly what 6 year old me had in mind when she asked for a new doll for Christmas 😂

Years later I actually bought myself a $600 ball jointed doll, and insisted it was a practical purchase because as an artist it was nice to have a realistic doll for pose references. In truth I just wanted adult me to have the beautiful, wildly customizable doll of my 6 year old dreams. 

[u/Balfegor → u/Pink_Millenial]

Not silly at all! They're quite delightful. I went to a dollhouse miniature exhibition earlier this year, and a good proportion of the displays were sized for and included a bunch of Sylvanian Families figures. Lots of adults like them.

[u/TheBeanBunny → u/Pink_Millenial]

I did the same with an American Girl doll. I wanted one so badly growing up. I bought one in my adult years.

[u/Mysterious_Gap559 → u/TheBeanBunny]

That's how my granddaughter found out Santa wasn't real at 9 yrs old. She wrote him a letter asking for a specific American Girl doll. My daughter called me because she couldn't afford one. I found the one she wanted on Ebay and bought it for her birthday in October. So, she wrote again and asked for another one 🙄. My daughter had to come clean and tell her.

[u/Early-Reindeer7704]

New clothes, I was forced to wear my cousins hand me downs and she was nasty about it. If I was complimented on it, she made a point of saying she had worn it first.

[u/Ericovich → u/Early-Reindeer7704]

Clothes were considered "wasteful" for kids. We got one pair of shoes a year and if they wore out, tough shit. Should have treated them better.

I'll never forget my Payless shoes wearing out 3 months in or my toes literally throbbing from my feet out-growing the shoes.

[u/Margot-the-Cat → u/Ericovich]

We were a one-pair-of-shoes a year family too. Didn’t occur to me at the time that this wasn’t normal! I felt extravagant when I finally had three or four pairs as an adult.

[u/Apprehensive_Fee2280 → u/Early-Reindeer7704]

Early Reindeer, if your cruel cousin is still alive, go over to her house and kick her in the shins for me.

[u/Early-Reindeer7704 → u/Apprehensive_Fee2280]

She is and still unfortunately a woman driven by envy and jealousy. I see her infrequently and share very little info with her when I see her. I’m too old for her petty nonsense and leave the encounters wondering what caused her to be this way. Her mother wasn’t like this and would not have countenanced this type of behavior. Cousin was smart enough to make these types of comments when her mother wouldn’t hear them.

[u/various_necks → u/Early-Reindeer7704]

I had two sets of older cousins so my hand-me-down clothes had been worn by at least 2-3 people before they ever got to me. 

I was wearing basically threads most of my childhood. 

[u/rustygrunge]

Halloween decorations and all things skull related. My mom was uber religious and said those things were signs of the devil

[u/Pookiebubblez → u/rustygrunge]

I think it's so funny when people get upset about skull decorations being demonic or something. Like the skull... Inside your head? 😂💀

[u/trilobot → u/Pookiebubblez]

Nevermind centuries of Catholic relics lol Christians love bones.

[u/A_Miss_Amiss → u/trilobot]

If u/rustygrunge's mother was zealous Evangelistic-Pentecostal like mine is, she probably views Catholics as non-Christians and demon-worshipers, and doesn't associate with Catholicism and bones (or other relics). Those kind of mental gymnastics can't be reasoned with.

[u/rustygrunge → u/A_Miss_Amiss]

The funny thing is, she was raise Catholic, but turned to Evangelicalism in her 30s. We went to a mega church that definitely exploited parishioners for their money. They sold shirts that said stuff like “when does the devil lie? Every time he opens his mouth!” And “God is good, all the time!” The main pastor also got married in the church and “invited” everyone to attend. It was just a big money grab. It was like the Righteous Gemstones

[u/A_Miss_Amiss → u/rustygrunge]

she was raise Catholic, but turned to Evangelicalism in her 30s

And mine is Sephardim, but she and her parents converted to Evangelistic-Pentecostals. So technically she's a Messianic Jew who, like everyone else in her church, loves-hates Jews . . . but that's an entirely different can of worms I'm not going to open.

Welcome to the Whacky Converted-Evangelistic Mom Club.

[u/Longjumping_College → u/trilobot]

Yeah I was gonna say, I've been to the Vatican and Notre-Dame, they have saints bones on display all dressed up

[u/regcrusher → u/Pookiebubblez]

My 2 year old LOVES skeletons. He doesn’t have a stuffed animal to sleep with, he has a Halloween skull that he likes to hold for bedtime

[u/bb_or_not_bb → u/regcrusher]

I’m convinced there’s this weird spooky stage some kids go through. My oldest loved skeletons. She called them Mr. Bones. I would decorate her nursery with them every Halloween. We joked that her best friend was one of those gigantic Home Depot skeletons that our neighbors have and keep up in their yard year round (they give it different hats for different seasons). We had to go visit it and say hi every day. She still loves skeletons though she doesn’t really like spooky stuff anymore. She has a pink skeleton this year that she dresses up and has tea parties with. My younger one is 18 months and also absolutely obsessed with skeletons as well. Especially skeleton dogs.

[u/Adventurous-Active63 → u/Pookiebubblez]

My mom and grandma didn't like skull decorations because they reminded them of the family members who had passed away and found it depressing

[u/newlovehomebaby → u/rustygrunge]

Can't let the devil get a foothold!!!

Ugh. I would hide by the windows and watch everyone trick or treat, and sob. My parents would turn off all the lights and barricade our porch. My mom said "you'll understand when youre older"

I'm now mid 30s, with 2 kids, and I send her pictures of my kids in their Halloween costumes every year.

[u/CheetoLove → u/newlovehomebaby]

Why are they like this? So many times I heard, "you'll understand when you're older" and I understand even less now and judge them harshly.

[u/LandLovingFish → u/newlovehomebaby]

Probably enjoy all the candy too.  And the coventions of people dressing up to walk around art booths

[u/Relevant_Bit8730 → u/newlovehomebaby]

Almost the same situation. I didn't cry because I learned early, that wouldn't do any good but I sat in a pitch black house, being quiet for all of my childhood and teenage Halloweens. Occasionally, we would have a persistent trick or treater that wouldn't stop beating on the door and that is when my mother would yank the door open and give the kid a full on sermon. I would hide even further, hoping it wasn't a classmate and hoping they didn't see me.

[u/ReverseMermaids → u/newlovehomebaby]

Can't let the devil get a foothold!!!

I remember asking my mom why Satan was so much more powerful than God. I got sent to my room for that question.

[u/seeseecinnamon → u/rustygrunge]

But let's go to church where there are statues of a bloody dead man NAILED TO A CROSS. 

[u/YuhMothaWasAHamsta → u/rustygrunge]

Same. I went crazy for Halloween when I was out of my parent’s house. Especially when I had my kids. My kids will never have to sit in the window like a sad puppy and watch every kid in the neighborhood trick or treat.

The devil is not in the candy Mom!!

[u/Square-Bumblebee3573]

video games!

[u/BabyBat07 → u/Square-Bumblebee3573]

My parents thought it would rot our brains, and this was in the late 80s-early 90s. Even though my dad was playing the very early versions of Doom on his government issued laptop.

[u/DiedraGrace → u/Square-Bumblebee3573]

My ma gave away my first and only console during my first and only “it’s my turn” fight with a friend.

My husband and I bought a switch last year. It’s the FUNNEST thing in the world giving him a turn… because his family had a console, but they also had a half dozen kids sharing it. It’s pretty cool sharing this experience as an adult.

[u/allenrfe]

We use the dishwasher. I grew up in a family with a dishwasher, but we weren't allowed to use it because it used too much water.

[u/Ackbar14 → u/allenrfe]

I'm pretty sure dish washers use less water and get things cleaner, it's basically a simple autoclave. I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir on this one though.

[u/allenrfe → u/Ackbar14]

I knew that even back then; I even showed it to him in the manual. The really crazy thing is that my wife still thinks they use more water. I can't get either of them to explain why they think they use more water.

[u/GreenHeel97 → u/allenrfe]

They probably think it fills completely up.

[u/lurklark → u/GreenHeel97]

This has to be it. I think now dishwashers only use like 4 gallons or something? Maybe less. Especially if you know how to load a dishwasher efficiently, they actually save a lot of water.

[u/WhipTheLlama → u/allenrfe]

I've only recently convinced my GF that they use less water, and we're in our 40s. People hear something that sounds true enough times, and it's hard to convince them otherwise.

I made my GF watch the Technology Connections videos about dishwashers.

[u/ender4171 → u/WhipTheLlama]

Babe, sit down, we are going to watch 3+ hours of a Midwestern guy ranting about dishwashers...and you are going to be totally glued to the screen 10 minutes in!

[u/MoriTod]

Hello Kitty. My mom decided when I was about 7 that I was all grown up and didn't need a little girl bedroom anymore. I had one of those pink princess bedrooms from Sears. And suddenly everything was orange and autumn colored and all my dolls were put away.

So when I got the chance (after a few decades) I did my bathroom in pink Hello Kitty... With rainbow unicorn accents. TAKE THAT!! 🌈

Edit: thanks so much for the love! I appreciate anyone who identifies with something like this. Not the easiest thing to make people understand, amirite?

[u/Kuraiam → u/MoriTod]

I'm sorry? 7 year old little girl? What?

[u/teamglider → u/Kuraiam]

I was shopping a couple of years ago, and this woman takes a cartoon backpack off the shelf and says this is the one he wants. The man with her said absolutely not, he needs a plain one, he's too old for that.

In first grade.

I practically cried right there in Walmart.

[u/creatyvechaos → u/teamglider]

What's even sadder os that that man is likely speaking from generational trauma. He himself was denied the good things, and never learned how to grow beyond that. He needs therapy. But he won't seek it out because he's a man—no, that is not a diss, I am pointing it out because it is an expectation of men raised by certain generations to NOT be emotionally vulnerable.

[u/teamglider → u/creatyvechaos]

💯

He was actually pretty young, but unfortunately some of those expectations refuse to die out completely.

[u/Phyrnosoma → u/teamglider]

I’m in my 40s with a preteen boy that loves pink and played with Barbie’s a few years. Made me confront attitudes I didn’t really know I had tbh.

[u/Kataphractoi → u/teamglider]

Damn. I used my Darth Vader trapper keeper up into high school and only got rid of it when the zipper failed.

[u/Randallb21 → u/MoriTod]

Similar story. My dad divorced when I was around 11. I had a good size collection of original Transformers toys. They conveniently got “lost” during a move to our new home after we had spent time living with my grandmother.

I now have a fairly substantial collection. I’ve taken back one of my favorite pieces of my childhood and then some.

[u/Intelligent_Whole_40 → u/Randallb21]

Off I was in children’s aid and my foster parents tried to pull that and I called the cops lol obviously not a good route for most people though (cuz I assume your parents were otherwise good parents despite being ehm ageist)

It got fixed cuz they technically didn’t purchase them or own them so it was actually “my property” and children’s aid was my guardian not them (also it wasn’t worth the fight for them and they also realized “oh shit he actually cares this isn’t going to blow over”)

Funny that being in children’s aid despite the shit show did protect me from abuse of power

[u/Impressive_Age1362]

My mother never bought pop tarts , Hawaiian Punch or other types of sweets, we occasionally got a bottle of pop or candy bar, ice cream was a real treat ( later found out they couldn’t afford it) my first grocery run after I moved out, I bought a box or pop tarts and Hawaiian Punch,long story short. Never bought them again, they were terrible

[u/FancyFeller → u/Impressive_Age1362]

Yep. You needed to have gotten addicted to them as a child and had nostalgia to enjoy those trash level snacks made of sugar on sugar on sugar as an adult in any quantifiable manner. If you've never had em they suck. I realized this about a lot of children snacks and candy and drinks.

[u/Fyrrys → u/FancyFeller]

Pop tarts used to be good. Like basically everything from the early 2000s, they've been cheapin out on quality and quantity (filling) and they honestly are nowhere near what they used to be.

[u/SmallSet8838 → u/Fyrrys]

The ‘super stuffed’ ones are the amount of filling the used to have, still does not have enough icing

[u/mercurialpolyglot → u/FancyFeller]

Even nostalgia isn’t strong enough to make me enjoy 95% of the garbage I loved as a kid. Although to be fair, it’s not all growing up, they’re also all worse quality. Rip old Reese’s

[u/Oldsodacan → u/Impressive_Age1362]

If this was something you did in the past decade, pop tarts are no longer what they were in the 90s by any stretch.

Toaster Strudel was always far better though

[u/Suspicious-lemons]

Adopted a cat, then two.

I was always not allowed growing up because I was severely allergic.

As soon as I moved out on my own, before my mattress from IKEA even got dropped off, I had adopted my first cat.

Almost 10 years later and being on 5 different meds to manage my allergies, I don’t regret it at all.

[u/New_Eggplant_8495 → u/Suspicious-lemons]

This will be my son im sure. Hes very allergic, severely asthmatic and needs to be physically restrained from petting neighborhood cats, and tells me daily about the types of cats and their names he's apparently already picked out for when he moves. He's 6. 🤣 

[u/FairyFartDaydreams → u/New_Eggplant_8495]

Get him allergy shots now. It may help reduce allergies when he gets out on his own. Also do not get him a cat while he is getting the shots. It will make him feel like he has a low grade flu.

There are now foods that help the cats reduce the amount of allergic protein they produce Purina makes it in the PurinaOne and ProPlan lines called Live Clear I believe. Takes about a month to work

[u/Snoo-94289]

I was the only one abused out of my 3 siblings by my mother.
She loved to use food as punishment making me watch as they ate snacks and treats.
As an adult I love the freedom to occasionally spoil myself with the childhood foods I missed out on.

It’s actually very healing not having someone control my food.

[u/SmokeyCatDesigns → u/Snoo-94289]

My mom restricted my food because my “brothers need it more.” Only daughter and my mom has issues with the female sex because of childhood trauma.

One time her lack of properly feeding me did lead to a CPS call (teacher overheard me bitching to a friend).

I got a lot healthier and put on significant muscle mass when I went to college. Got beefy legs which really helps with my disability I’ve since been diagnosed with.

Anyway, shortly after I started dating my now husband, I warned him my mom would bitch about me taking too much when we went to dinner. She did. She took food off my plate and gave it to my brother who didn’t finish his plate. I threw a fit (and actually ate all my plate). She finally stopped. Only took 25 years lmao 🤦‍♀️

[u/PuzzlesNCats → u/Snoo-94289]

Why do abusers use food so often for their abuse tactics? I loved that “chocolate chip cookie dough” ice cream, mom would buy me a tub, it’d be in the freezer and I’d have a bowl here and there throughout the week. Obese stepdad used to revel in eating it all and then asking me later, soo gleefully, if id tried to find it but it wasn’t there bc “oopsie lol!” He ate it all again drunkenly in front of the TV. Didn’t understand why my sisters stuff was never like that.

[u/UncleNedisDead → u/PuzzlesNCats]

Because food is life. It’s something that people have preferences for, and it’s essential.

[u/MrBarraclough → u/Snoo-94289]

Yikes. That sounds awful.

[u/Boggie135 → u/Snoo-94289]

That is seriously fucked up

[u/UnicornOnMeth → u/Snoo-94289]

I got abused with food too. If I didn't like something (like it would make me gag and vomit), I'd have to sit at the table until bedtime, which happened a few times a week. I also wasn't allowed to have seconds of anything that I did like. So I was quite underfed as a child.

As an adult I can cook a lot of amazing meals and eat what I want.

[u/kittyk0t]

clothes that fit and shoes that are comfortable, rather than the first thing that my mom deems as being "good enough"-- despite the pants being too short or the shoes being too big.

Also: whatever birthday cake I want. We usually had chocolate cake for my birthday, though I did not like chocolate cake, because it was what my dad liked. This year, I had ice cream cake. Another year, it was lemon cake with raspberry icing and a lemon curd filling.

[u/Born-Entrepreneur]

Nerf guns. My mom was very much against violence, I couldn't have them growing up, couldn't watch Power Rangers, etc.

Coincidentally, nerf guns were a lot cooler in the 201X's than they were in the 90s. 12 yo me would have lost my goddamn mind at a belt fed battery operated tripod mounted machine gun. Which I bought with my own damn money as a responsible adult.

[u/Timeflyer2011]

I grew up in the late fifties and early sixties. I had one of those tin Marx dollhouses. I loved playing with it, but there was just something lacking. When I was 70 years old I bought myself a Calico Critters dollhouse, a Calico Critters mouse family, and lots of Calico Critters furniture and accessories. I love them! They are so adorable, and I love finding outfits for them on Etsy. They are all named after different cheeses.

[u/Cyfoeth]

At 19, I finally bought the hamster I begged for my entire childhood. He was the best little guy. I hid him in my dorm and he would run around in his ball in the dorm/in the hall while I studied. He gave me a great four years.

[u/Pomegreenade]

Not buy but got myself. I adopted a cat because I was denied on having my own pet. I became friends with a stray but my parents didn't allow me to fully adopt him. He was hit by an awful pickup truck driver who purposefully sped through the apartment ground. My poor poor cat. Now my current cat looks exactly like him especially the hooked tail. Some part of me believe he recarnated into her

[u/thirtytwoutside]

All of the toys I wanted as a kid but my parents couldn’t afford. Transformers, mostly.

[u/Bitinglysarcastic]

All of this and I still do —
Books (“The library is full of books!”)
Chocolate (“Your teeth are gonna rot out of your head!”)
Toys or things that fascinate me in the moment (“waste of money”)
Yarn (“You aren’t saving money by making that sweater yourself!”)
I can still hear my parents admonishing me . But I am happy with my purchases

[u/darent13]

Books. But I’ve come full circle now and mostly only buy them at thrift stores or use my local library. Books get expensive if you read a lot. Sorry mom 😂

[u/firebreathingsquirrl → u/darent13]

"What do you want for Christmas/birthday?"

"Books."

"I won't buy you books because you'll just read them in one day" - direct quote.

Edit to add: this was after I had read through the entire public library at 8th grade, except for the adult section.

In graduate school she asked what I wanted for Christmas and I said the Oxford Russian-English dictionary and she said "no, I'm not buying you something that's just a dictionary."

[u/darent13 → u/firebreathingsquirrl]

This basically exactly. I visited my school libraries almost daily. I just read an entire book over this past weekend. It’s not sustainable to purchase.

[u/Kiyohara → u/darent13]

Do you not re-read them? I have a small library and I keep reading them over the years.

[u/imrunninglate0hno → u/Kiyohara]

This is where it pays to be forgetful. I just reorganized my bookshelf and re-read a few series i own. I remembered a few key plot points and spoilers but mostly it was like new to me lol

[u/bideodames]

Not for me but for my wife. When she was 6, she asked for a superman birthday party. She really loved superman as a little girl. She got Barbie stuff. She was happy for the party but it isn't what she wanted. She was not heard. This year in like February she told me about it and so in June I gave her the superman birthday party she wanted back then. I got her a superman themed cake with a little action figure to go with it. I got her a superman onesie and a cool cape to match and I played the superman John Williams theme when she got home from work that day. 

[u/swankyfish → u/bideodames]

This is so cute. You guys are so cute.

[u/haveabunderfulday → u/bideodames]

You win Spouse of the Year.

[u/fukkdisshitt]

I set the AC as low as i want

[u/Apprehensive_Fee2280]

What I really needed, you can't buy. However, if my shoes pinch my toes, I can buy a pair that fit me better. It wasn't that my parents didn't have enough money. They had plenty of it.

[u/kerfufflehooligan → u/Apprehensive_Fee2280]

I feel this. We often went hungry, not because we didn’t have money for food, but because mom and dad weren’t hungry, so why should we be hungry. Grocery shopping done by dad and I only once a week, on Saturdays. Mom never ever went to the grocery store. It’s not like they didn’t have time, they were both home by 4 o’clock every day. But for some reason, they refused to leave the house once they got home, even if that meant no one ate. Now, I grocery shop whenever and wherever I feel like it. I probably go too often, but I’m okay with it.

[u/sm3llslik3m3anspirit]

Im about to paint my room orange because I wasn’t allowed to as a kid. “Orange is the color of madness” my grandmother would say.

[u/GalaxyPowderedCat → u/sm3llslik3m3anspirit]

Wait, what? Where did she get that from? It's the first time I hear about it and I would love to know if you know where her beliefs come from.

[u/Throwaway91847817 → u/GalaxyPowderedCat]

Oldies say the darnedest things

[u/Ginger4life23 → u/GalaxyPowderedCat]

Once, I was going to paint my bedroom for the first time, and I was probably overthinking it. However I went down rabbit hole of color and effects. So like red is an aggressive color, having a red room can an anti-calming effect, while blue was supposed to be the “best” as it was said to produce calm and peaceful feelings, plus the added bonus of staring at the color blue was said to heighten orgasms. Wearing a blue tie makes you seem more trustworthy. And stuff like that, didn’t looking into orange much, but did find this:

“Brands use orange to appear friendly, energetic, and accessible without the aggression associated with red.
Different shades matter: muted tones like terracotta and peach feel grounded and nurturing, while neon orange feels urgent and youthful.
Orange stimulates appetite and visual attention, which is why it shows up so often in food packaging and safety equipment.”

But as far as “madness” I could only find correlation’s to Halloween

[u/snownative86]

Things I want, when I want them. A nice telescope, a onewheel, a 3d printer... We grew up in a home where anything resembling a weapon was banned as toys, and we couldn't have branded clothing or clothing with media characters on them. We also grew up in a lower end blue collar family so buying nice things was a rarity and often treats were like a cooked breakfast with bacon.

I built the exact lightsaber I use in the Jedi games, it's now hanging on my wall.

[u/Relevant-Package-928]

Pretty much everything. My parents were weird. They had money, they were pretty well off. We lived in a nice house and they drove nice cars. Somehow, they didn't believe that should extend to their kids. I had clothes, enough to last a week and a nice outfit for church. Usually, those were hand-me-downs until I was in junior high. I had everyday shoes and nice shoes. If the clothes weren't second hand, they were irregular or overstock. I wore a lot of pants that weren't second hand too short and a lot of t-shirts that said Virginia is for Lovers. One or two haircuts a year, so my mom had it cut hella short. I got gifts for Christmas and my birthday. Generally, I got what I asked for but the cheap generic version. They made it clear that their money was their money, not mine. As an adult, it has caused a lot of problems with over-shopping and hoarding. Clothes and toys and literally everything. Heck, I wasn't even given real shampoo until I could buy my own. I got dish soap. I had enough and really never lacked for anything and never realized it was an issue until I had my own kids and enjoyed spoiling them. To this day, my mother bitches about my spending habits which are actually better with therapy and meds. It's just bizarre.

[u/PrayForMojo_ → u/Relevant-Package-928]

Dish soap as shampoo really took this from annoying but frugal to nearly abusive.

[u/Relevant-Package-928 → u/PrayForMojo_]

One of the memories that really upsets me is getting a stereo cabinet for Christmas. I actually had a component stereo that was pieced together over the years and some nice hand-me-down speakers. So, I had a stereo and I can't deny that was a nice thing to have. But... I got the cabinet and was putting it together when my dad realized it was nicer than he realized, said it was a mistake and gave me their old one.
I honestly grew up thinking it was a pretty normal thing for parents to be that way. Once I had kids, I realized how bizarre it was to live in a nice house, with nice stuff, that we couldn't touch because it didn't belong to us. Once I started babysitting at 13, I paid for all my clothes and school supplies. They paid for room and board and I had 3 jobs in high school.

[u/IgnatiusRileyFreeman → u/Relevant-Package-928]

Your father was abusive, I wish you the best of luck in finding the shittiest nursing facility to dump them in. Make sure it's not nicer than your place. 

[u/HeathenHumanist → u/Relevant-Package-928]

Oh wow, taking your Christmas stereo away because it was nicer than they thought is so shitty!! I'm so sorry

[u/creatyvechaos → u/PrayForMojo_]

Not nearly. Is. Everything about this is abuse. The only reason you are not considering it that is because basic needs were met. But that's the thing. Raising a kid is way more than basic needs. This was absolutely, 100% abuse.

[u/iDidNotStepOnTheFrog → u/creatyvechaos]

Thank you, I needed to hear someone say it out loud. It’s so psychologically damaging to be treated this way

[u/yesterdayschild92 → u/Relevant-Package-928]

Omg did we live the same life? My dad would put cheques worth 20-100k in my hands and be like "that's the most money you'll ever hold in your hand" and then refuse to give me 10 dollars to go to the movies with my friends. Between grade 9-10 I went through a massive change physically. I gained a ton of weight, my chest went from -A to a DD in the span of like 3 months.. they STILL didn't want to get me new clothes, I broke down crying in the guidance counselors office while spilling out of my clothes and she called my parents and basically said get her clothes or we're calling CAS for neglect. This man HAD MONEY. (I got 2 new pairs of pants and 4 tops, and 2 bras lol). When my first car became A DEATH TRAP!!!! he wanted me to go look at another car. I said I wasn't interested because I was barely making ends meet and didn't want a new bill I couldn't afford. I told him over and over no. He ended up buying me a new car. The nicest thing he's ever done for me. Truly. Or so I thought. About 2 years later he handed me an invoice and asked when I would start making payments back to him for the car. I have no relationship with them anymore.

[u/steffie-flies → u/Relevant-Package-928]

My parents were the same. They both wanted a huge family, but treated us like crap. I don't get it!

[u/Relevant-Package-928 → u/steffie-flies]

It was just me and my brother but I remember my mom telling me that I was a burden when I was little. I guess we were like pets. I think if they could have made us live outside with the dog, they would have.

[u/Burghpuppies412 → u/Relevant-Package-928]

Something that helped me was not buying items the first time I saw them, but making a list of what I wanted and prioritizing them. It was a good coping mechanism to help me confront why I was buying them, and to make decisions accordingly.

[u/Hexspinner → u/Relevant-Package-928]

Well… repay in kind when it’s time to select a memory care I guess.

[u/BorkBorkAmDog]

Whole milk. We only had skim growing up, which is just water lying about being milk

[u/MollyJ58 → u/BorkBorkAmDog]

What a great definition of skim milk.

[u/AssistantManagerMan → u/MollyJ58]

It's a Parks & Rec quote. Ron Swanson said it.

[u/Rich-Preparation5466]

Derwent pencils, I used to dream of having them when I was a kid.

[u/essjay2009 → u/Rich-Preparation5466]

I went to the museum and got full marks on the quiz which had a selection of pencils as prizes. Greatest achievement of my life.

[u/SorbetSufficient141]

For me, it was Lego. Grew up poor and couldn’t afford it. Now that I’m old and have a career. I can buy all the Lego I want.

[u/Potential-One-3107]

I was denied lots of things because "that's for boys". Aside from not gendering toys for my own children, I bought myself a Radio Flyer red wagon.

[u/PuzzlesNCats]

Shake n bake and hamburger helper. The commercials looked SO good but my mom was hellbent against them (and Tang, etc). I think she thought they were for “poor” people but erm ma’am we were in rural Oklahoma stop playing.

When I moved into my first apartment these were on heavy rotation, they were as good as they looked on commercials, still love that shit

[u/Chanocraft → u/PuzzlesNCats]

If hamburger helper is for poor people I don't want to be rich

[u/Sad-Foundation1915]

Not that I grew up in extreme poverty, but money was very tight, my mattress was a hand me down from my grandparents, and I always wanted nice bedding. So when I got older and got married, I still couldn’t have anything because my ex-husband turned into a controlling abusive monster, after we divorced , I purchased a nice mattress and spent an insane amount of money buying nice quality sheets, duvets, down comforters, and blankets. Kind of sad, isn’t it, but it made me so happy.

[u/Karate_donkey → u/Sad-Foundation1915]

You spend 1/3 of your life in bed. Totally makes sense.

[u/catn_ip → u/Sad-Foundation1915]

It's hard to be sad when turning down an impeccably made bed to reveal the cool, crisp sheets...

[u/Pearlfiction]

A whole box of cereal just for myself. No sharing, no permission, just me and my childhood trauma. 😂

[u/TMNT81]

Rc car.

[u/Bright_Alarm_7461]

All. The. Pets….🦔🐕🐱🦎🐉

[u/good_sandlapper]

I bought my kids something at every checkout. I wasn't even allowed to look at the stuff at the checkout when I was little. So when I had little ones, I always acted like they were supposed to get something. They never even had to ask. It healed a piece of me one chocolate bar at a time.

[u/Unusual-Bee5370 → u/good_sandlapper]

ditto with stuff at convenience stores

[u/OldTrafford2315]

Brand name anything.

[u/Moal]

Dolls and frilly clothes. Grew up with a really sexist dad who lamented never having any sons, so he tried to mold me and my sisters into boys. We weren’t allowed to play with dolls, not allowed to wear skirts or makeup, not even allowed to braid our hair. There were no pink toys or clothes in our room at all. We were always dressed in super baggy boyish clothes, and even had our hair cut short like boys at one point. 

Now I’m known to everyone as a super girly girl, and I have a sizable collection of dolls sitting in display cases in my house worth around $10k. 

[u/FancyFeller → u/Moal]

Are we talking about a truckload of dolls or hyperspecific collector edition dolls not made any longer costing like 400 a pop?

[u/Moal → u/FancyFeller]

The latter. I have around 20 dolls, most worth around $300-900 a pop. I handle them with gloves and even treated the windows in the room I keep them in to prevent UV damage. 

[u/CurvyTornado]

You better believe my kids got a trampoline the day they were old enough.

[u/OGMoonshiner]

Every major video game system on the market. My parents hated games. I'm 40 now and can play anything I damn well please, dad.

[u/Wadawawa]

The big Crayola box with the sharpener.

[u/halfSpinDoctor]

A motorcycle 😎. And then an airplane ✈️*

All because my parents wouldn't let me ride the neighbor kid's power wheels.

(I actually have two motorcycles and a 1/5th share in a Cessna flying club. It's not as outrageously expensive as you might think, and I'm an otherwise fairly frugal and responsible adult!)

[u/MadHatter06]

Stuffed animals as souvenirs of a fun day.

My parents were so weird about money. Getting something at a gift shop after an outing never happened and I was always given grief about wanting or asking for anything. Now I get myself stuffed animals, or even just a magnet… something to just look at and smile.

[u/throwawayzzzz1777]

Goosebumps books and Boy Scouts handbooks

[u/a_lee4]

I read all the harry potter books at 19. Was a kid when they were coming out and huge - very religious parents said no witchcraft 

[u/ausername_8 → u/a_lee4]

When I was in middle school I made a new friend who happened to be the neighbor up the road, very religious family, Harry Potter was witchcraft, and they even had some strict rules with food (almond mom), no junk food, no ice-cream etc. She was coming to my house a lot for sleepovers. She'd read my copies of Harry Potter and we'd watch the movies, while eating ice-cream and other snacks. My mom debated with herself if she was doing the right thing, but she didn't think it was fair a kid was getting denied something based off religion + thought my friend was being given ED issues by being told ice-cream and chips were bad. She wasn't a bad parent for letting Harry Potter and ice-cream into my life. She let the guilt roll off her shoulders. My friend certainly felt less smothered at my house. Today she has no relationship with her parents, surprise surprise.

[u/TXSyd → u/a_lee4]

I remember going to the house of some friends of my mom, super religious, the kids couldn’t read Harry Potter because it was witchcraft (HP was my entire personality at the time) so instead we watched some girls gone wild type stuff on the grainy 12” TV in their bedroom… I was like 10

[u/chuckakoury1155 → u/TXSyd]

this sums up growing up religious. kids can't watch mainstream trending media but we were all for sure being exposed to something way worse than harry potter. ugh.

[u/grptrt → u/a_lee4]

This was a controversy at school. Bunch of parents brought it up at a meeting. One teacher asked if any of them actually read it before complaining. Nope. The books were allowed.

[u/monpetitfromage54 → u/a_lee4]

Mom can I read a story about how goodness and love conquers evil? The main character is a special person who was chosen by a higher power to change the world and ultimately sacrifices his own life to save everyone else.

Oh hun, do you mean the Bible?

Uhhhh.....sure.....

[u/JeffH13]

When I first moved out I insisted on buying real butter.

[u/LostUnderARock]

Fruit. Any and all fruit.

[u/PooGoblin69420]

Sugary cereal! When I was little anytime my grandmother was watching me our first stop would be to the store to pick out sugary cereals I wasn’t allowed to have at home. Then to the video store to pick out a few movies. Then I would spend all weekend swimming, bike riding, watching Pauly Shore movies, and eating Cap’n Crunch. Now sugary cereal is one of my favorite sweet treats and it always makes me think of my grandmother

[u/ieatdeadpixels]

A dog and a real Christmas tree!

[u/wakeandflake]

Teddy Ruxpin. I didn’t plan to get it, but saw one at an antique store and wondered if my kid would get a kick out of it

[u/One_Requirement_5832]

Costumes, fun dressing up. Was absolutely forbidden including trick or treating.

[u/PYCHYOUOUT97]

eat all the sugary cereal and candies my mom wouldn’t buy us as kids. like pop tarts, Froot Loop….

[u/thepackerss]

Polly pockets

[u/Ok_Profit_16]

Mostly candy, breakfast cereal, good ice cream, nice cuts of meat.

I think having a frugal upbringing has lead to me remaining frugal as an adult, but I can splurge a little

[u/emmettfitz]

A digital SLR camera. I was into photography and wanted a 35mm camera. I had my own money but my parents said no. After my mother died (my father was the first), I got a small inheritance. I used some of the money to get a nice digital SLR camera setup. "You wouldn't let me buy it with my money, I'll buy it with yours.

[u/LimpSwan6136]

Fast food. But after eating too much of it, gaining a bunch of weight and having high cholesterol now i understand why they didn't buy it.

[u/Sufficient-Lie1406]

I built a pool. Growing up, the next door neighbors had a pool, and since everyone in the neighborhood hated my mom (TBF she was a nutcase) we were never invited over. Every summer we'd hear splashing and fun all day long while we sweated inside our house.

[u/InspectorHuman3044]

When I first moved out on my own I bought a can of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and ate every one of them myself.

[u/slimersnail]

Food at the airport. I was always starving because we got to the airport way too early and i wasn't allowed to eat there because the airport food was too expensive. Now I always eat at the airport.

[u/weirdkidomg]

Makeup and dresses, basically anything “girly”.

My mom was one of those NLOGs and hated women, so anything feminine was looked down upon and actively insulted.

[u/tchieko]

Video games. Lots and lots of video games.

[u/sreg18]

Pretty bandaids with patterns.

[u/Schmancer]

Nice clothes. Growing up we only got underwear and socks new, everything else was thrifted and hand-me-down from cousins.

As an adult I still get a lot of second-hand clothes because that childhood taught me how to value my work and my dollar but I now occasionally splurge and I read the care instructions and put in lots of effort to maintain my nice clothes

[u/Starkat1515]

Glow sticks.

I remember as a kid going to the town fireworks, and the people would be walking around with handfuls of the long skinny glowsticks, twirling them around, selling them to the crowd. I wanted one SO BADLY, but mom and dad would never buy me one.

THEN, one year we were in another town visiting family, and the town had fireworks. We went with a bunch of people and a friend of my relatives bought me a glowstick. It was glorious, it was beautiful, it was everything I wanted it to be.

Now, I buy glowsticks all the time, mostly for the children in my life. Bonfire? Glowsticks! Camping? Glowsticks! Fireworks???? You better believe there's gonna be glowsticks!

I don't know why that stuck with me, but my gosh, it did! I'm almost 40 and I still think about those glowsticks, and how mom and dad wouldn't buy one for me, but the people I hardly knew did.

[u/edahs]

I grew up poor and ran away from home when I was 16. Then I was super poor, homeless shelters, soup kitchen, living in homeless tent cities, section 8 housing, etc. until I was in my 20s. I wasnt denied anything, just couldn't afford anything. Now im in my 50s, net worth north of 3m with my only debt being my wife's car making 500k+ a year and a paid off house, a paid off condo in Alabama and a paid off townhouse in Florida. I deny myself and those I love, nothing. Wife wants something, bam. Friend needs a few grand to get out of a jam, bap. Kid wants to go to X college, splap. Life taught me that money is stupid and you can make due woth anything, just depends on your point of view. Thats not to say i don't have my future secured, the other thing i learned was to secure your mask before attending to your child.

[u/ShowmethePitties → u/edahs]

Damn can you adopt me? I need a house

[u/Cervical_Plumber → u/edahs]

Assuming this is an actual true story, you've got to fill in the middle part here for everybody else. How did you go from that start to where you're at now?

[u/edahs → u/Cervical_Plumber]

I had a bunch of issues growing up. Physically and emotionally abusive father (both towards me and my mother), adhd (since diagnosed as audhd) and was terrible in school. But due to my "disabilities" I am top notch with understanding how things work. I started taking things apart in my home when I was super young. After rehab, my girlfriends uncle asked if I wanted to make some money doing data entry. He taught me how to use databases (ms access). I started teaching myself php and perl (he had a web hosting / internet access company (dialup, frame relay, bana circuits, etc)). I learned a ton (im really good at learning things and have excellent recall). They were a FreeBSB shop so I learned Unix. Then when Linux came out, he tasked me with understanding it. I fashioned myself into a Linux engineer and started working in different places running their Linux environments. Every failure was a lesson. Every crazy issue I came across was another notch in my belt. In my late 20s I decided to put my mind toward engineering my career, making deliberate choices as to where to work and what new knowledge to pack in. Im lucky in that I love to learn things. I write music, bake, do photography, etc etc etc. Due to my not really caring about money gave me freedom to run basically in any direction I wanted. My wife has always been supportive, trusted me to work things out. When we decided to have a kid, I decided to move into finance. It was hard as most places wanted a degree and experience in finance. I was lucky to get into a Japanese securities place as the sole Linux engineer. I cut my finance teeth there running the Linux infra for securities, equities and futures. A ton of late nights. In at 6am or so, sometimes not clocking out until 1am. It got to the point that they gave me a card for a car service as it was hard to get trains that late. After about 6 years there, another hedge fund asked if i wanted to join as their senior engineer (SAC Capital, now known as Point72). I was there for about 6 years and moved on to another high profile fund (AQR), after 6 years there I moved again. And again. Im at a place now that's SUPER low key. Work is easy, place is quiet, perks are out of this world. Good place to wind down. Full freedom to do what I want. For the past 5 years or so I have moved into management (head of infrastructure) at a few places. It was the next step. In all this, I learned to invest and save first, free to buy shit second. When i first started in finance, I treated it like any other job. Although I was making more, I focused on saving and investing. Granted during bonus season, I would have a chunk left over to spend on vacations or whatever. Im pulling back a bit now while selling one of my condos and preparing to send my kid to college. For further clarity, homeless and drug addicted does not mean dumb and crazy, although it can. Ive always been the smart one in my group (figuring out how to get to X party to sell Y drugs or whatever). Of all the people I ran with, most are running in place, dead or struggling. Im lucky I was smart enough (and lucky enough) to be able to pull myself out. In all of this I was glad to be shown doors to get to where I am and glad to have the wherewithal to use those doors.

[u/I-used2B-a-Valkyrie]

A car, a home, safety, food, clothing, a pet (two dogs. Does an adoption fee count as “buying?”)

[u/Foxhole564]

Food for my kids, like whole meals every night. Shoes for everyone. A watch/jewelry once in awhile. Vacation once/twice a year. Letting the kids get a pop or snack when we are out. New underwear.

Mostly just good and healthy food for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks on a daily basis.

[u/sebrebc]

In the late 70s, early 80s the one Star Wars toy I really wanted was the Millennium Falcon. We were very poor and that was out of reach.

In 2004 they released one that looks like it was from the same Kenner molds, but with upgraded lights and whatnot. I bought it, spent an afternoon putting on it's stickers, and played with it. I was 31. A few weeks later I gave it away to a friend with a young kid. I didn't want to keep it. I just wanted to enjoy setting it up and playing with it for a little while.

[u/sargent_balls_lol]

Cookie Crisp. I finally tried it as an adult. It's awful.

[u/Expensive-Simple-329 → u/sargent_balls_lol]

it was awful when I was a kid too, if it makes u feel any better lol

[u/bangersnmash13]

When I was a kid, I really wanted that peanut butter that had the grape jelly in it. My parents always said it was too expensive. I bought it when I got my first job at a grocery store. I had one small spoonful of it and it was absolutely disgusting lol. The rest of it sat in our pantry untouched for about a year before my Mom threw it away.

[u/No-Lobster-5120]

3 square meals a day

[u/CappnMidgetSlappr]

Cocaine.

[u/AlwaysMask → u/CappnMidgetSlappr]

Mom said no,huh?

[u/ba_an]

Braces to straighten my horrible teeth

[u/uuusagi]

My mom never let me play with Legos as a kid because she decided they were for boys only. Guess who has a Lego obsession and adult money now.

[u/Mannymac2000]

Light up heels (I wore them to my wedding)

[u/harleyqueenzel]

Food.

At 17, I had already put in 13 years as a "parent" to my brother who was a year younger. We did the best we could with what little we had, which often meant scavenging in our cupboards for dry oatmeal or nuking bread and a cheese slice as a "grilled cheese". So being out on my own wasn't weird; buying my own food was. I remember my first cart of groceries having juice & bananas & milk & cereal in it. I was finally allowed to drink milk!

[u/TongaGirl]

Lunchables. My mom insisted they were overpriced… and they are. But boy are they convenient.