# Things you do just because that’s how your parents did it **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 18, 2024, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474 "2024-04-18T20:53:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2024, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/21 "2024-04-19T20:09:48Z")
I kept on with my parents’ State Farm agent. I starting as a registered driver on their auto policies over 30 years ago as a new driver, then got a policy of my own when I got a car and eventually moved out. When shopping for a home, I contacted the same folks to insure it. That old agent from my hometown died a few years ago and they transfered my acct to a new agent. I know you’re supposed to shop around for car insurance and homeowners but I’ve never bothered. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2024, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/22 "2024-04-19T21:46:47Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > My father kept his wallet in his back pocket. So I did the same for decades. And then I discovered it’s not a good place for it, for a couple reasons: 1) it makes it easy for someone to steal it, and 2) it puts a bending stress on credit cards when I sit. I now keep it in my front pocket. Much better. I did that my whole life, til a chiropractor pointed out, it’s like sitting on an uneven butt. Since then it goes in my right front pocket. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/23 "2024-04-20T02:26:49Z")
A chiropractor told me my wallet was too thick and sitting on it was bad for my spine. Then he offered to make it thinner for me. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/24 "2024-04-20T02:30:17Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > …breaking dry spaghetti in half before cooking it… Smaller pot needed to cook it. Takes up less space in the dishwasher. Less messy to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/25 "2024-04-20T04:09:21Z")
I use oats in meatloaf, along with Lipton onion soup mix (I do favor the Beefy Onion variety), which was what my mother did. DH (whose mother does meatloaf differently) likes mine. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/26 "2024-04-20T04:14:10Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > When Dad got a glass of water, he took a glass off the shelf, turned on the tap, filled the glass half way, poured it out, filled it all the way, turned off the tap and drank. > > I was never sure why he did this. Most likely it was a dust bowl thing. In Tyvan, Saskatchewan in the 1930s, there was dust all over everything and it made sense to rinse your glass before you used it. That’s why I store glasses mouth down, to avoid such contamination. Am I the only one? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/27 "2024-04-20T08:36:46Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > That’s why I store glasses mouth down, to avoid such contamination. Am I the only one? No, I do it the same. That’s probably one of the things I learned from my mother. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/28 "2024-04-20T09:01:50Z")
I think she does that, too, so might be where I picked it up. Still makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/29 "2024-04-20T09:54:41Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > > [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > > > My father kept his wallet in his back pocket. So I did the same for decades. And then I discovered it’s not a good place for it, for a couple reasons: 1) it makes it easy for someone to steal it, and 2) it puts a bending stress on credit cards when I sit. I now keep it in my front pocket. Much better. > > I did that my whole life, til a chiropractor pointed out, it’s like sitting on an uneven butt. Since then it goes in my right front pocket. I have my best friend in college to thank for that advice. So for a couple of years I carried a man-purse, but I kept losing it (or otherwise finding it impractical). So now I just carry two wallets. I had to have both hips replaced anyway. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/30 "2024-04-20T12:35:55Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > That’s why I store glasses mouth down, to avoid such contamination. Am I the only one? You are not. That part was explained to me at least. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/31 "2024-04-20T16:09:07Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > > [@TriPolar](#): > > > > I am happy to report that the answer is absolutely nothing. “My parents did it that way” is synonymous with “It’s the wrong way to do it” to me. > > Thank you, thank you. I expended much mental effort in an attempt to come up with anything that I could give and answer to the title of the OP, and I. Just. Could. Not. We all must have countless preferences and behaviours inherited from those who raised us. Monkey see, monkey do. The difficulty is trying to think of a thing that’s unusual or notable enough. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/32 "2024-04-20T16:18:26Z")
When I was a gangly, self-conscious teenager my mom decided I was old enough to scrub out the shower responsibly. Her method was to perform it right after showering herself, nekkid. I was frankly shocked. But years later, after getting my clothes unnecessarily soaked, rimed with Comet, and bleached, I do it that way too. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/33 "2024-04-20T16:28:46Z")
Oddly, my habit of trying new stuff at the grocery store like new foods, new laundry products, etc. is straight from my mother. She was always up for trying some new product. Otherwise, there’s not a lot of mindless habit/blind brand loyalty type things- mostly I was taught to do rather logical stuff like always check the fit of a pair of shoes by walking around with them laced up before buying, or examine your fruit/vegetables before you buy them, smell the fish you’re considering buying, etc… One thing I do engage in because my parents did, and I was taught that it’s the “smart thing to do” is keep a reserve of many items that we use regularly. They did it because they both grew up on the Texas Gulf Coast, and had to worry about hurricanes and associated product shortages, and I do it mostly because that’s how I was taught. That said, it was nice to have extra TP in 2020 as a result of that habit. Not enough to ride out the shortages completely, but enough that it wasn’t ever a critical issue to try and find it because we had enough leeway to spend some time hunting it down. Chore-wise, I tend to do them like my parents did, which often puts me at odds with my wife, who learned from her mother, who’s kind of psychotic about that sort of thing. So often my way of doing things isn’t just different, it’s _ **wrong** _. Which as you can imagine doesn’t always sit well with me. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/34 "2024-04-20T16:45:31Z")
I don’t collect things. My mother was largely unsentimental about “stuff”, and her home was always free from crap. That said, I’ve married two women who have varying degrees of a hoarding nature. It bothers me, but making it an issue isn’t worth the pain. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/35 "2024-04-20T17:18:15Z")
As a young teenager I collected tchotchkes for a while, because it was what one did, as exemplified by my mom and grandma. It took me a while to realize it brought no joy. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/36 "2024-04-20T17:43:38Z")
Heh, I fold towels in thirds because that’s how my dad thought it should be done. I have no idea why he preferred that. I probably should have asked. ---
**Author:** ![moes\_lotion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@moes\_lotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moes_lotion)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/37 "2024-04-20T20:03:06Z")
I have a small notebook that I faithfully record the date, mileage, number of liters and price per liter every time I buy gasoline for the car, thanks to my father’s habit of doing the same. I even occasionally enter this into a spreadsheet and calculate the miles per gallon (actually the liters per 100 kilometers) My mother was saving and re-using paper and plastic bags, twist ties and bread bag clips for as long as I can remember, and I still do, although I’m also trying to bring as few new bags home as is reasonably possible. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/38 "2024-04-20T20:28:59Z")
Towels in thirds (length-wise) because they fit into the towel closet better. Mom was a registered nurse and Dad had been a Master Sargent, so I darned well learned how to make the bed with ‘hospital corners.’ ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/39 "2024-04-20T22:32:04Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > It took me a while to realize it brought no joy. I’m not there yet. But it’s the closet thing that does. Except that other thing… Where’s my beer? ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474/40 "2024-04-20T22:34:53Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > That said, I’ve married two women who have varying degrees of a hoarding nature. It bothers me, but making it an issue isn’t worth the pain. Brother, I can so relate (only one wife, though, who is a sweetheart). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-just-because-that-s-how-your-parents-did-it/1000474.md?page=3)