‘What have you purchased as an adult that your parents have judged you negatively for?’ – 23 people who should mind their own business

Whether you adore your parents or couldn’t wait to get the heck out of their house, there’s no denying that there is a lot of joy to be found in being an adult and not having them on your back all the time.

Or is there? Because it seems that some parents don’t stop sticking their oar in even when you’ve long since flown the nest. Over on the AskUK subreddit PaddedValls posted this:

Have you ever purchased something, as an adult, that your parent has judged you negatively for? If so, what was/is it?

My father, who is a bit of a prick to be fair, called my wife and I “lazy bastards” because we pay for a cleaner to come and give the house a deep clean every two weeks. Keeping in mind that I have never once saw this man use as much as a hoover in my entire life. He always, ALWAYS leaves the cleaning to my step-mother. Like I said, he’s a prick. No point arguing with him either because he is insanely stubborn.

Wife and I decided long ago that, if we had the money, we would rather pay to free up every second Saturday instead of dedicating the whole morning/afternoon to a deep clean. So now we have a cleaner come every second Friday while we’re at work so we come home and start the weekend to a clean house.

Anything you’ve been judged for buying?

And plenty of people sympathised with this type of caregiver overreach, as the replies showed…

1.

‘For me it’s tickets to events. My parents think because I’m 41 (f) now that I should just not like and want to go to wrestling or rock shows.’
–Polz34

2.

‘I knew my mum would judge me for having a cleaner, it took my therapist to remind me I didn’t actually have to tell her!’
–Weird-Assumption-782

3.

‘On that note, you just reminded me that I made the mistake to tell them I had started with a therapist during the pandemic, it was short, just about eight months but it really helped me to process things at the moment. They thought I was crazy (hence the therapist) and got so worried about me, and when I told them it was to process things they said stuff like “thats what you have friends for”, “just go to the pub”, “just tell me”, etc. So, I did not tell them when I started with a new therapist last year!’
–TastyKing7411

4.

‘This is so relatable. My mum always says, “I didn’t need that.” Like she doesn’t medicate any negative thoughts or emotions she has with alcohol. But I could never say that.’
–Ok_Holmes

5.

‘Everything that was a bit expensive. Nice car? Nice holiday?

She was of the generation that felt that spending money on yourself was a sin for some reason.’
–Breaking-Dad-

6.

‘Probably pet geese? I thought they were cool AF and one of them was my best mate so tough shit.’
–Leader_Bee

7.

‘My mum is hilarious for this. If you buy anything above the bare minimum you get the whole “that’s expensive, I’d be happy with a black and white TV/secondhand jumper from Primark/static caravan by a petrol station for a holiday” speech.

She doesn’t actually do any of that though. She has a very nice TV and doesn’t holiday in static caravans by petrol stations. As long as I live I’ll never understand it.’
–Harrry-Otter

8.

‘I think we might have the same mother. Goes to Jamaica every year, but a trip to Athens for my 40th so I could see the Parthenon was, “Ooh, alright for some.”‘
–Spiderinahumansuit

9.

‘An air fryer. My dad absolutely slated it. Couldn’t understand the point. Living on my own it makes perfect sense sometimes rather than turning the oven on. He then asked to borrow it when I was on holiday last year but a friend gifted him their old one. Best thing ever now.’
–kittykat7931

10.

‘I spent my very first months wages on a bespoke suit… my Dad was furious and considered it a gross waste of money… but it changed and improved my life forever! No regrets!’
–jayphelps57

11.

‘My mum thinks I’m an idiot for having a Nintendo Switch with Animal Crossing in it, like enjoying a game is a sin.’
–escapeshark

12.

‘Food from the premium ranges in supermarkets. I’m a sucker for the Taste the Difference range in Sainsbury’s. She insists that I’m wasting my money and it’s not worth it, I do believe that you can taste the difference.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a cheapskate and buy a lot of the value stuff, but every now and then I like to just buy the decent stuff.’
–yolo_snail