9 Childhood Memories People Shudder From When They Became Adults

We all remember our childhood differently. Sometimes, things we thought were normal or even good back then, turn out to be not so great when we look back on them as adults. It’s because when we were young, we didn’t always understand or realize certain things that were happening around us.

• I was in middle school. I was walking home across a bridge, I hear my name being called from behind, I turn around expecting someone there. Nobody was I shrug it off, then some random lady stops her car and asks me to see if the kid that jumped over the bridge was okay. She was convinced someone jumped off the bridge. I was alone this whole time, nobody else was on the bridge. © Embarrassed_Gift_707 / Reddit

• When it was my weekend with my dad I would be dropped off at peoples houses and I thought it was fun because it was all so different and got to meet new people. When I got older I realised it was neglect and he was palming me off while he went elsewhere. © daibz / Reddit

• When I was little, around four or five, my parents and I stayed at our grandparents house for Christmas. One visit in particular really stuck out to me, and not in a good way. It was a couple days before Christmas, and there was a thunderstorm outside. I couldn’t find my parents, so I asked my grandmother where they were. She said they were outside. Being a toddler, I ignored the storm, and she opened the door for me, as I went outside to look for them. Then the door closed. I ran back to the door, and tried to open it, but I couldn’t reach the handle. I kept banging on it, screaming for help, begging to be let in. No response for twenty minutes. Eventually, my mother heard me, and came running to the door. Needless to say, my mother was absolutely livid. We left their house the next day, and didn’t return to visit again. My grandfather, who was already fighting with her, divorced her a month later. © Star-Commander-5 / Reddit

• As a kid, I used to brag to friends and teachers that I was able to sleep for 24+ hours... straight! Years later, as I was a freshman in college, my world utterly shattered when I suddenly realized that my divorced father had been giving preschool me cold meds, so I’d sleep through his weekends of custody. It really messed up my sense of reality for a while. © klentz9210 / Reddit
  

• My big brother used to give me “treats”. M&Ms, brownies.. cheese & bread. Only years later did I realize he was sneaking me food because we were not being fed. I am healthy and functional today because a 3 year old stole food for me. © Unknown author / Reddit

• My mom leaving me at different places with different people for months at a time, or when we would be driving I remember there would be times where she would tell me about the “school” she was going to take me to and that i would live there. I remember her describing the horses they had (lies) and how much I would love it, she never ended up taking me there but would always talk about it like it was some magical place. Found out from my uncle years later it was an orphanage. Only reason she didn’t end up taking me is because he threatened her asking not to do that. © cabbie27 / Reddit

• When I was a kid, around 2004-2005, I was with my cousin playing with some miniatures of Brazilian players from 1998 World Cup. We were playing on the living room, and we wanted to go play football on a field kinda near my house, and my grandpa accepted to take us there. We played for a while and stopped to get ice cream. When we got home back my house was robbed. It was a mess, clothes on the ground, all drawers open, purses, jewelry, shoes spread out, but our toys were displayed in a circle in the middle of our living room. During the action, one of the robber stopped and organized the toys this way. © candangoek / Reddit

• My mom taught me to stop crying by looking at myself in the mirror and telling myself how ridiculous and pathetic I looked. Like, talking out loud to my reflection and saying mean things to myself. Or laugh at myself. © thrax_mador / Reddit

• When I was like 5 or 6, I was at a family dinner at my grandparents’ house. I went to their back bathroom to pee. As I was zipping up my tiny pants, the shower curtain started moving. I looked at it and, I swear, it jumped at me. I screamed!
  It looked like the shape of a person. I cried and ran away, telling my family about what happened, but I don’t remember anything after that. However, I still remember that feeling of fear. © Nofreeupvotes / Reddit

Memories’ change in perspective often stems from not fully grasping certain situations during our youth. For example, growing up in poverty can further, when we are adults, complicate our understanding of these memories, as financial struggles may overshadow or distort our recollections of events.