Have you ever met someone who seemed to be kind of unprepared for the life of an adult? Maybe they struggle with certain social skills, are a little naive, or something else that you can find mentioned in today’s list.
Well, turns out it might stem from a person’s childhood. To be more specific, it might be a sign that they had a pretty sheltered one, which “forces” them to exhibit these quirks. And while it can sometimes be a tad endearing, in other cases it’s pretty troubling. Read up and decide which sign is which!
More info: Reddit
#1
As someone who actually grew up sheltered.
My answer is having no social skills or any real life experience.
I am still trying to undo the damage of growing up the way I have has done to me, and I am 26. Don’t shelter your children.
Image source: Dearly_Beloved_Moon, freepik
#2
I s**t you not I went to high school with a girl who thought people only died in movies. Her parents wanted her to “stay their little girl” as long as they could. We had a say no to d***s showing and she passed out.
Image source: awful1999, RDNE Stock project
#3
Have made no mistakes to learn from,
Assume all of their knowledge is all of everyone’s knowledge and that the sources are legitimate.
Image source: GeneralConsulting, ArthurHidden
#4
They have little to no social life because they weren’t allowed to go outside and play with friends growing up.
source: me. Most of my childhood was spent in front of a television or reading books.
Image source: VintageStrawberries, freepik
#5
Have a friend ive known for 25 years, he has an insane helicopter mom
> refuses to eat anything that isn’t a plain, well done burger
>has never traveled, explored hobbies outside of games, interacted with women.
>very socially stunted because he has no passions or experinces to draw from
>deathly afraid to try anything new, especially foods. Very inconvenient
>still working minimum wage at 33 because mother doesn’t let him take a manager job
>strict curfew at 33
> very poorly dressed.
Image source: shootanwaifu, EyeEm
#6
They get a little nervous when a show or movie for adults comes on. In my experience a lot of these types of people were never allowed to watch anything rated PG-13 or higher and they subconsciously still fear getting in trouble over it.
Image source: the_mad_atom, freepik
#7
Never locking the doors of their house.
I know someone who grew up in a very sheltered little suburb, what you might call a bubble. They now live in a somewhat dodgy area, but half the time they don’t even bother locking their doors. I don’t understand why… It’s such a tiny amount of effort, and it could save you a lot of trauma, your possessions, and possibly your life.
Image source: themorbidtuna, Wavebreak Media
#8
They have strong opinions yet they can’t explain why they have them.
Image source: 616_89_075, Drazen Zigic
#9
My husband bless his heart one of the most intelligent person I know, grew up middle class, and thought if you missed the due date on a utility bill they shut it off the next day. He had no idea they don’t shut off the day it’s due and that you could go in person at a cash checking place and pay part of it and that if they do shut it off because you so late, you get charged a reconnection fee. He was appalled by all of that.
Image source: bellabbr, freepik
#10
A colleague once told me, very seriously, that there is no such thing as a bad parent.
Image source: oifghkoper, seventyfour
#11
Once they’re exposed to the things they were sheltered from (the opposite s*x, d***s, alcohol), they go completely off the rails overindulging in it.
Image source: Rarashishkaba, senivpetro
#12
They think just call the police solves everything. Like ma’am… this isn’t a Hallmark movie.
Image source: PrincessGodessx, daniel-007
#13
They think that if they lost at something (like an election) then the other person must have cheated.
Image source: alwaysrunningaround1, jhatiprio
#14
Inability to admit to being a nepo baby.
Imo there’s actually nothing wrong with that and it doesn’t mean nepo babies can’t work hard and have their efforts recognized. If I were really wealthy and decided to have kids I would absolutely provide them with as many tools to become as successful, well rounded adults as possible. But it grinds my gears when someone refuses to admit how much easier it was to get to where they are because they were given better opportunities.
My SO and I had an ex-friend who is a recently graduated and board certified dentist and works full time at his parents’ clinic… both of whom are also dentists. He is an only child, only ever went to private school in Canada, studied at NYU for undergrad and dental school, but never had to work to afford tuition AND had a healthy allowance from parents as an adult. The only work experience he ever had was dental admin work for his parents during the summers in between. One time he told us that one time a patient of his called him a nepo baby and it really upset him because he “worked really hard”. Seriously??
Image source: emotionalbun, Kireyonok_Yuliya
#15
I met a 23 year old woman who lived in Miami her whole life and she said Panera Bread was her favorite place to eat down there.
Image source: Bloom-with-grace, Mike Mozart
#16
Primordial sense of humor. Easily impressed and shocked.
Image source: _Norman_Bates, EyeEm
#17
-acting like manual labor workers are “dumb”
-complaining about waiters, tipping poorly and making comments like “well, they should have gone to college”
-general lack of empathy and an overstated feeling of righteousness.
Image source: theFireNewt3030, Drazen Zigic
#18
Guy I knew in college grew up very wealthy, where even his parents were even living high on the hog off their parents earnings. None of them worked a day in their lives as their earnings were all passive. Anyway, he couldn’t feed himself. Literally starved for several days before he was taught about the cafeteria. He always just had food brought to him by servants at the appropriate times and when it didn’t appear he didn’t know what to do. He was also just generally clueless about life and living, no independence bone in his body.
Image source: noodlyarms
#19
Seeing someone’s way of life that’s different from yours and automatically deeming it as weird or assuming stereotypes.
Image source: thezombiejedi, EyeEm
#20
They act shocked about consequences, literally shocked.
They are baffled when people don’t want to do stuff for them. They truly think others should be completely onboard for catering to them.
They constantly seek out someone to fight their battles. .
Image source: mommawolf2, pvproductions
#21
They don’t know how to clean anything.
Image source: sonia72quebec, freepik
#22
Automatically believing everyone you meet is benevolent and has good intentions.
Image source: lalahair, marymarkevich
#23
When they tell you something that is common knowledge as if it’s some obscure fact because they just learned it.
My roommate seems to have never been taught how to clean as a kid. Like, he’s not lazy or a jerk. He just legitimately *does not know* how to recognize when something needs cleaning or how to go about cleaning it. When he’s trying to be helpful, he still asks me pretty much exactly what he should do because he can’t just look at something, recognize it needs doing, and do it.
Anyway, he’s been trying to be more independent and pro-active, and the other day he was like “so it turns out that because bathrooms get wet, the dust that accumulates in them kinda gets matted down, and then you have to really scrub or wipe it down in order to get rid of it.” He was telling me this like it’s a little-known fact or some kind of revelation. I don’t want to make anybody feel stupid for learning new things, so I was just kinda like “oh yeah, that’s a good observation.”.
Image source: MrDownhillRacer
#24
Saying they don’t do something because their parents wouldn’t approve, even though they’re an adult.
Worrying about how their parents will react to them doing normal things adults do, like having a cocktail or driving at night.
Being shocked by other people doing normal things adults do, like cursing or mentioning that they’re queer.
Not knowing any bands or artists that aren’t Christian.
Image source: SuccessNecessary6271, Drazen Zigic
#25
Entitlement and can barely function as independent adults. They can usually manage their own hygiene, but can’t cook, clean, do laundry, do taxes, figure out a budget or menu for the week etc.
It’s even worse if they expect their romantic partners to make up the difference – that’s not a partner, that’s a surrogate parent.
Image source: BookLuvr7, KamranAydinov
#26
Too trusting of others. Making decisions on emotions instead of facts. Emotionally immature. Falls for sales pitches and overspends.
Image source: PlayerTania, roman_babakin
#27
– Having very little desire to travel to anywhere they haven’t already been
– thinking the nearest city is dangerous, no matter what, and a deep distrust of teachers, doctors or other professionals (except cops)
– either really /really/ clueless about money or hyper vigilant about how they spend their money, in ways that show that they aren’t used to earning their own money
– crash out HARD freshman year of college when they have a taste of freedom/have to manage their own time & routines.
Image source: Practical_Defiance, benzoix
#28
Never traveled on public transit.
Image source: AardvarkStriking256
#29
Either very trusting of people or distrusts anyone who is different (race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, etc.).
Image source: FocusOk6215, freepik
#30
They think institutions run on the values they claim instead of power, PR, optics, money, etc.
Image source: Alicegradstudent1998, frimufilms
#31
Not being allowed to do certain activities like sports, riding a bike, skateboarding etc because their parents were afraid of them getting hurt.
Image source: hxllow_ghxst, konstantinraketa
#32
They’re completely helpless and can’t do basic things. My friend’s adult ex couldn’t do laundry or even make a sandwich because his mommy did everything for him.
Image source: SailorVenus23
#33
Believing that ‘the city’ is dangerous despite never experiencing crime or knowing anyone who has experienced crime in the city.
Image source: Falciparuna
#34
They are scared of a lot of people who are not like them, they call other situations weird, because of their unworldliness. Every Mormon woman I have met act like this when they come across marginilized people, urban people, or gay people. They act all scared and s**t.
Image source: astilba120
#35
Inability to handle emotional discomfort and/or uncertainty.
Image source: negZero_1, EyeEm
#36
Sheltered people often seem naive, unaware of real world struggles like money or jobs, and shocked by adult topics.
They avoid conflict, trust too easily, and lack basic life skills.
Overprotected, they rely on parents, crumble under stress, and struggle with independence, needing experience to adapt.
Image source: KawaiiCrumbs, freepik
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