Watch how Paralympic runner tearfully cheers for his wife as she long jumps to Olympic gold (2024)

People say having children is like having your heart walk around outside of your body. You send them off to school, practices or playdates and hope that the world treats them kindly because when they hurt, you hurt. Inevitably there will be times when your child's feelings are hurt so you do your best to prepare for that day.

But what prepares you for when the child you love so much winds up accidentally healing your inner child. A mom on TikTok, who goes by Soogia posted a video explaining a phone call she received from a parent in her daughter's classroom. The mom called to inform Soogia that their kids had been sharing lunch with each other.

Soogia wasn't prepared for what came next. The classmate's mother informed her that her son loves the food Soogia's daughter brings to school and wanted to learn how to cook it too.

That may seem like a small thing to some, but the small gesture healed a little bit of Soogia's inner child. Growing up as a Korean kid in California, Soogia's experience was a bit different than what her children are now experiencing.

"I guess I just never thought that my kids would be the generation of kids that could go to school and not only just proudly eat, but share their food with other kids that were just so open and accepting to it," Soogia says through tears. "Knowing that they don't sit there eating their food, feeling ashamed and wishing that their fried rice was a bagel instead or something like that. And I know, it sounds so small and it sounds so stupid, but knowing their experience at school is so different from mine in such a positive way is just so hopeful."

There are plenty of societal norms that have stood the test of time— washing your hands before leaving the bathroom, saying “please” and “thank you,” using a blinker to indicate when you're turning or switching lanes…though we know that not all of society does these things…But still, man, if not most of us do, and the world seems to be better for it.

However, there are just as many widely accepted behaviors that perhaps could use some reevaluation, whether they’re outdated, or just downright asinine.

Recently, someone on Ask Reddit prompted folks to share common social norms they secretly found “ridiculous,” and answers flooded in—everything from obsolete workplace etiquette to baffling economic obligations that only put folks more in a financial bind.

On the job front, gummywormeater wrote that they are sick of it being normal for job ads to not have pay transparency, writing, “are we really pretending as if the money isn’t a big factor as to why I’m applying?”

Luckily, demand has led to legislative change, with several states enacting laws to ensure employees and job applicants have access to salary information. But clearly, there’s still a ways to go.

Someone else lamented the standard “two weeks to quit a job” practice, since it demands loyalty of the employee without doing the same thing of the employer.

“They can let you go without even a seconds warning but if you leave without giving a two week notice you’re the bad guy and filed under ‘not rehireable’, they said, adding, “The entire idea behind the two week notice is so they could train your replacement but these days they often don’t really have anyone lined up for that. Then they ask you to stay on another week. Not your problem though.”

Others noted how things that were often regarded as rude manners really weren’t rude at all.

“Crossing my arms means I’m closed off. Actually I’m just really comfortable standing that way. I do it all the time,” said It_is_me_Mike , while the obviously introverted humming-bird5 lamented “having to say bye to every person when leaving an event.”

Similarly, -rocky23m said:

“I secretly find ridiculous is the expectation to always respond with ‘I'm fine’ or ‘I'm good’ when someone asks how you're doing, even when you're clearly not. It's as if we're all part of an unspoken agreement to avoid genuine emotional exchanges in casual interactions, reducing a potentially meaningful conversation to mere pleasantries. It feels like a missed opportunity to connect on a deeper level, yet it's so ingrained that we all just go along with it.”

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When it comes to social media, many agree that it’s caused us to normalize whipping our phones out and broadcasting every moment of our day. Rather than just, you know, experiencing it.

“Posting your entire life online.” -Queenofswords_love

“Having to be available 24/7.” Formal-Eye5548

There are plenty of parenting norms that are well and good, but PlaysTheTriangle doesn’t get the trend of “not just letting kids be weird. My son used to wear the weirdest stuff and if we were going out I’d be like ‘Go for it! You’re six, live it up!’”

Then there came the subject of money.

Dances28 thought it was ridiculous that it’s so common to spend money just “to flex,” asking “why do I care if random people think I'm rich?”

On that note there were lots of folks who didn’t get why certain (very expensive) things were just expected to be bought in order to declare some kind of status or keep up with outdated traditions.

“Wearing brand name clothing. As long as you have nice clean clothes on I don’t care what brand they are. Scuh

“Over the top weddings. What an incredible waste of money.” -Pithecanthropus88

“Gender reveals. What a grandiose waste of money, time and resources.” -Sea-Gene-901

“Having kids when you can’t even afford rent.” -morningsunzzz

Lastly, to end on a lighthearted note, SwimInTheOceanAtNite wrote, “Blaming the way someone acts on their zodiac sign.” We’ve all heard someone do that…if we haven’t done it ourselves.

It might have been pretty universally accepted during our childhood for daughters to be expected to reciprocate affection from adults, whether they liked it or not. A non consensual kiss to grandparents here, a forced “thank you” there. But times have changed.

However, this change in parenting style can sometimes make for some, well, awkward or even downright uncomfortable situations as moms and dads try to advocate for this kid’s autonomy.

Recently, a mom named Liz Kindred detailed just such an incident with her six year old daughter, which has a whole lotta other parents discussing how to navigate these unideal interactions.

As she recalls in a video posted to TikTok, Kindred was waiting in line with her daughter when a grown man turned around and said “My goodness, you sure are pretty” to the child.

“My six-year-old is gorgeous, yes, but she is also very in tune and perceptive, and she's an introvert so she grabbed my leg really tight,” Kindred said.

Doubling down, the man repeated himself, saying “You sure are pretty. Look at those blue eyes,” which only made her shy daughter grab her leg harder.

Noting that being in a 12 step program has taught her to be less “knee jerk reactionary,” the mom bit her tongue and offered a polite smile to the man, hoping that would be the end of it. It wasn’t.

“He's a boomer and, God love him, he said, ‘I guess your mom didn't teach you manners.’ And I let out an uncomfortable little [chuckle], and the pause was long. It was long. And under his breath he said, ‘Guess not,’” she said.

In what she called the most ”Jesus loving way” she could muster, while still bluntly making her point, Kindred told the man "If you assume that I didn't teach my six-year-old daughter to say ‘thank you’ to a grown, consenting man when he compliments her appearance, then you would be correct."

What followed was the “longest silence” of Kindred’s life.

The video, which has been viewed over 6 million times now, prompted a ton of parents to share how their own kids have established boundaries in similar situations—with their support, of course.

“An old man called my 4 yr old daughter a sweetheart at the store…she boldly responded ‘I am NOT YOUR sweetheart!’ I was so proud,” on person recalled.

Another added, “My 3 year old says ‘NO THANK YOU MY BODY DOESN’T LIKE TAHT.’”

Still another said “My 2 yo knows the boundaries song and just starts singing that anytime someone talks to her.”

While the response to Kindred’s video was overwhelmingly positive, there were a few comments defending the man as simply being “kind.” This prompted Kindred to do a follow-up video doubling down on her decision.

In the clip, she shared how she herself has dealt with seemingly innocent compliments in her life from men, which later turned into something else. Feeling like she “didn’t have a voice” to say something, “because I’m a nice Christian, Southern girl,” Kindred ended up being in unsavory situations (she didn't explicitly say what those situations were, but it's easy enough to piece together). She doesn’t want her daughter to have the same issues.

“Nice is different than kind. The kind thing to do is to teach our daughters and our children in this next generation that when you are uncomfortable with something you listen to your body and you set a firm boundary with that and you provide language around that. And you start that really really young.”

Yep. Well said.