Growing up with unhinged boomer parents advice often feels like surviving a completely different universe. Between an entirely different economic landscape and a generation that largely viewed therapy as a foreign concept, baby boomers dropped some truly baffling nuggets of wisdom on their kids. When a viral thread asked people to share the strangest things they heard growing up, the internet delivered in a major way.
Here are 8 of the most unhinged pieces of boomer advice that left adult children scratching their heads.
1. Outdated Money and Career Logic
“My dad would say $10 an hour is all you need to survive because that’s $20k a year. He would say, ‘I raised a family making $18 an hour in 1982 as an HVAC tech.’ Coming from a family that did multiple vacations a year, new houses, new cars, and spoiled kids, it wasn’t keeping up with reality.” —greek_mama_2
2. Extreme Safety Paranoia
“Growing up, my dad didn’t let me sleep over anyone else’s house because he said if something happened (like a fire, for example), the parents would only save their own kids. And now in my 30s, I still hate sleeping out of the house, lol.” —kpeezyfbaby
3. Bizarre Household Rules
“Your husband has the right to kick you out of the house if you don’t keep it clean.” —seelolago
4. Baffling Childhood Warnings
“My boomer dad used to tell me that if an elevator door closed on me, it would chop my head off.” —maricmk
5. Unfiltered and Brutal Honesty
“’People don’t really like you, but they’re not honest with you about that because they don’t love you. I love you, that’s why I tell you when I can tell they don’t really want you around. Don’t trust what they say, trust me. I’m the only one who cares enough to be honest.’” —smashfizzle
6. Shocking Hospital Reactions
“’Of course I didn’t love you when they first brought you to me at the hospital. How could I? You looked nothing like me. I expected a blonde child.’ (My mother has said a lot of unhinged things over the years, but this one wins first place, I think.)” —danaiwrites
7. The Classic Cereal Conspiracy
“’We can’t buy Trix because when you get a box of it, there’s Kix inside and you have to buy the flavor and color separately.’”—jamilahlemieux
8. Strange Long-Term Planning
“You should start your silverware set as a teen. Add a fork or knife every year. And by the time you’re a grown-up, you will have a full set for parties. Meanwhile, no one will even take silverware sets at estate sales I visit.” —lindseybalbierz
