When I was a preschooler, the top 2 questions that various adults asked me were always “What do you want to become when you grow up?” (well, yes, a 3 Y.O. kid makes some Napoleonic plans…) and “Who do you love more, dad or mom?” (great, then why not ask which lung is more comfortable for me to breathe with?)
Decades have passed – and we, adults, still continue to ask children, our own and others’, questions of varying degrees of stupidity and inappropriateness, without even realizing that we’re unwittingly traumatizing them. So here are almost three dozen similar stories, collected by Bored Panda from this viral thread in the AskReddit community.
More info: Reddit
#1
Asking a teenage girl if she’s on her period any time she shows any emotion
Image source: futuristiccloudflap, RDNE Stock project
#2
“Why are you playing with [gender specific toy]? That’s for boys/girls.”
Image source: BicycleSalt2961, Polesie Toys
#3
Asking if another child of the opposite sex is their boyfriend/girlfriend.
Image source: rmsmithereens, Elina Fairytale
#4
Asking a question and rejecting any answer the kid gives unless it’s the adults own opinion.
Image source: triggeron, jonas mohamadi
#5
“why can’t you be more like your brother/sister?”
#6
i’m a young teenage girl, and both my step dad and his dad tell me all the time “can I marry you?” “If you don’t find a man soon I guess I’ll have to be the man!” “Have you found a boy yet?” followed up by “If not i’m single!” the worse one was my step dad: “If your mom ever divorces me then can you marry me?”
I don’t know why they say that all the time but God is it annoying.
Image source: ArByY7, Any Lane
#7
“Why wont you give me a hug?” At a family event where everyone is staring.
Image source: Melody71400, Ketut Subiyanto
#8
“Do you want to burn in/go to Hell?”
Image source: DavosLostFingers, Kindel Media
#9
When I got my period and they would ask “Don’t you feel like a woman?” or some c**p like that. I was 11 and not amused
Image source: runawaybluess, Marina Stoichkova
#10
I had pretty severe eczema as a child. Refused to wear anything but long sleeves and pants even during hot, humid New England summers because every single time I left the house, at least one grown a*s person would ask, “what’s wrong with your skin?”
My mother spent a lot of time correcting grown ups on their behavior. When she got tired of it, she let me do it myself.
Image source: EggWaff, Ketut Subiyanto
#11
“Why don’t you smile more?”
Image source: Atheist_Alex_C, Artem Podrez
#12
Asked by “family” most of the time: Do you really want to eat that (much)? Do you want to make me sad?
Image source: Keks4Kruemelmonster, cottonbro studio
#13
What are you going to be when you grow up? I’m 67, and I still don’t know 🤷♀️
Image source: NancyintheSmokies4, cottonbro studio
#14
“Are you a boy or a girl?” leave them the f**k alone
Image source: seeminglynormalguy
#15
“Do you still believe in Santa?”
All you’re doing is making them question Santa.
Image source: Nepo_Barbie, Владимир Васильев
#16
When I had my second baby, heaps of people asked my eldest (2) “Do you like your new baby brother?”
Apart from everything else, it’s irrelevant. Like, we’re definitely keeping this baby either way..
Image source: tremendouslymassive, RDNE Stock project
#17
“Can I go to the bathroom please?”
“I don’t know, can you?”
Image source: SuvenPan, RDNE Stock project
#18
Do you have a boyfriend?
Image source: hambonecharlie, cottonbro studio
#19
I saw a reporter ask a 13 year old if he wanted to go to the olympics. He straight up told her that the junior nationals and junior worlds were more realistic goals right now. What a solid head that kid has.
Image source: probably-the-problem, Oană Andrei
#20
anything that relates to the kid having a child when they grow up.
had this from my family growing up and it’s probably not a huge thing but asking a young girl if she’s going to have babies when she grows up is so (for lack of a better word) jarring. has made me want to practice abstinence 😐
Image source: elhusive, Andrea Piacquadio
#21
Parents that have broken up and use the child as a middleman to pass messages and get sneak peek into what’s going on in their ex life.
I define children as those who are under 12 years old.
Image source: poopyfingerinmyeye, Gustavo Fring
#22
Will you take care of us when we get old
Image source: Tangent617, August de Richelieu
#23
“Can you keep a secret?” Doesn’t matter what the secret is, that’s so confusing and puts a ton of pressure on the kid
Image source: Top_Temperature_6955, cottonbro studio
#24
If there’s family dysfunction & a kid is going through a rough emotional period with moments of lashing out: “Do you really want to be like your mom/dad when you’re older?”
Image source: Upbeat_Tension_8077, Ketut Subiyanto
#25
Do you love your mother or father?
Image source: d11ys, Vika Glitter
#26
Hi kids, do you like violence?
Image source: MoreGeckosPlease, cottonbro studio
#27
On the rocks or neat?
Image source: Comfortable-Battle18, Marcelo Verfe
#28
Do you like movies about gladiators?
Image source: SardineAbuser, Paramount Movies
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