Asians Reveal the Craziest Ways Their Parents Punished Them as Kids

We asked our readers to reveal to us some of the most bizarre ways they were punished by their parents as children, and well, we received an overwhelming number of responses — almost a concerning amount actually.

So here are 22 people sharing the most unusual punishments they received from their Asian parents when they were younger. Please note, none of these methods are recommended — don’t take this list as a parenting guide because it certainly isn’t.  

“When I was around 6 or 7 years old, one girl snitched on me saying that I insulted my sister with a cursing word. I didn’t but my mom believed that stupid girl. So she fed me chili powder. I am alive though.”

“If I got in trouble, I would have to let my siblings walk around the carpet in my room with their shoes on.”

“I honestly don’t even remember what I did but I’m pretty sure I deserved it. First my mom threw a remote at my head and it hit the wall behind me… since she wasn’t successful she took our Wii control with the nunchuck attachment, held both in one hadn’t and used the cord as a whip. Whipped me everywhere where clothes would cover haha I had welts for days.”

“This didn’t happen to me but it happened to my lil sister. My sister accidentally broke two eggs that my mom had just bought and my mom made her eat them raw.”

“When I was 6 I was writing on my mom’s leather couch with a ballpoint pen, she found me then used the same pen I used to write on my arms.”

“Do wall sits for several minutes with books in my hands.”

“Be on my knees, crossed my arms (something Viet people do to show ‘respect’), and faced the wall for 3 hours. My whole body got all numb.”

“I ate chocolate without their permission. When they knew it, they took 5 boxes of chocolate and asked me to finish it all at once until I puke.”

“Whenever I got in trouble as a little kid, my mom would take away all of my books and my library card in order to get me to do my chores or something. I know, it’s very weird for an Asian parent to take away their child’s books as punishment, but along with the reading restriction, she would also have my hair cut super short then put gel in it every day before school. I would get teased by the girls for not having their cute hairstyles but the guys thought I looked like Goku or Vegeta from Dragon Ball.”

“I had a green chili rubbed into the gums of my teeth (I love spicy food now so whatevs).”

“When I was maybe 10 she cut chili and grind them on my lips because I said a bad word.”

“Eating a raw bitter melon smh.”

“My parents actually left me on the side of the road when I was 13 for breaking my friend’s PSP. I remember I had to walk 15 miles to get home.”

“I had to sit outside the house when it was raining (I was under an overhang dw) but it was for like an hour because I forgot how to write a capital R like I completely forgot and I couldn’t remember so I had to sit outside until I did remember which took a very long time.”

“When I was a kid, I had to get whipped with a spatula and put it in my mouth and hold it for an hour.”

“Whenever I misbehaved, I was locked in the toilet with no lights for an hour. Doesn’t seem like a very long time now but back when I was 8 that shit took FOREVER and was very scary (no gadgets, just me sitting on the toilet for an hour bawling my eyes out scared of ghosts popping up).”

“If I didn’t finish every Kumon packet, I had to stand still a few inches in front of the wall and not move or breathe too hard for 30 mins.”

“Mom used to light a candle and put the melting parts onto my hands because I cut my hair without her knowing when I was 6 or 7.”

“My mom made me eat my dinner out of a dirty, full trashcan with the food on top mixed with some of the trash cuz when my friend came over and we ate food, my mom had to leave so we were home alone and we were full so my friend was like ‘let’s just throw it out’ but then I was like, ‘what no, I’m gonna get my ass beat girl,’ but she said it was fine and she was a year older so I guess I thought she was wiser? And the next thing I know, my mom is home looking at the trashcan just yelling at my ass to eat it.”

“Made me eat plain pasta while I watched them eat hot pot.”

“If I didn’t want to be hit by my parents, I would have to hit myself. I was around 6-10 years old.”

“Growing up I got in trouble for not bringing out the chicken from the freezer in order for my mom to prep dinner (Mother called me two hours before she came home). As a kid I was playing online games with my friends so it slipped my mind. Two hours pass then I hear the door unlock — I rush to the kitchen and remove the chicken. So me being me, this was a reoccurring issue as a kid. My mom was so livid, so being Asian she goes for her slipper… right before I was gonna get spanked I asked her to just ground me like all the ‘white parents’ do. She laughed and I got hit. I was 11… lol.”