My husband and I basically bonded over telling each other the sometimes very silly rules we had to adhere to when growing up. But of course, we didn't invent them. They were imposed on us by our parents.

I was always keenly aware of the unfairness of certain rules. There was A LOT of unfairness in the home I grew up in. And the rules for my brother applied to me, but not my two younger sisters, often. Sometimes this happened because of blind spots in my parents attitudes, and sometimes it was intentional favoritism. Mom was usually the guilty party, most of all. Dad tried his best to have a one-rule-for-all kind of ethos.

I hated a lot of the things they made us do---early to bed, even in the Summer, which was torture!. We never had sweets, almost never, when other kids were allowed them, which led to lots of confusion. My parents refused to give us an allowance, which was especially difficult at times, as everyone I grew up with got one. There were more, mostly around formal religious stuff, which I've largely ceased to observe. And only once in my whole life did I ever get an apology from either of my parents, when it was clear they had made a dreadful mistake. That was an even bigger mistake, on their part, overall. Kids need to see that the need to apologize should apply to everyone.

Over the years I realized those limitations did build character and/or keep us healthy and safe, so I'm not too terribly traumatized. But it did feel like I was, at the time.