Dear Anita:

I was generally grounded otherwise, yes. I was a happy child for the most part unless I was grounded or hitting a low point for some other reason or another. I remember one of the many times when I was young I talked back to my parents (so common, I know)..but I was obviously grounded for that. It was clearly stated because my mom would always announce (not my dad) that I was grounded and she would say something to this effect: “Go to your room, we don’t want to see you for the rest of the day. Go and think about what you’ve done, no going out to play with friends, etc.” This grounding would usually last about a week. It was depressing honestly. I was lonely. I didn’t have/wasn’t allowed to have a tv in my room, no video games, no pets, no siblings. I felt so alone. This was also in the 90s when we didn’t have cell phones either. I usually had a great imagination and toys to play with, but it still left me with some damagingly lonely times that I had to process alone.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by K.