Anyone who was a kid in the ‘90s knows that getting grounded didn’t take much. Just one wrong move with a toy or a phone was enough to get you in trouble. So, here are thirteen kid behaviors that got you grounded during the ‘90s. Which ones landed you in trouble?
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Dial-up using the home phone line
Using a landline phone was the cause of lots of drama in the ‘90s. You’d be busted for using it to talk on AOL while your parents wanted to make a phone call. It caused the phone line to make that screechy modem noise. Calls couldn’t get through. You swore you’d “be done in five” about three hours ago, but that never happened.
Ordering pay-per-view with the remote
Cable remotes in the ‘90s made it far too easy to “accidentally” buy a pay-per-view program. It could be a boxing match or a WWF Royal Rumble. Either way, there was no PIN & no warning. You’d click and confirm. Then it was yours, until the bill came, anyway. That meant a whole lot of explaining that didn’t make sense to anyone.
Calling 1-900 game tip hotlines
Sometimes that one impossible boss in a game had you desperate to find the solution. But you couldn’t always search the internet. So, you dialed a 1-900 tip line to get the answer & ignored that “$2.99 per minute” cost. Why? Because you thought it’d be quick. It wasn’t. Ten minutes later, you had the cheat code & a phone bill with your fingerprints all over it. Ouch.
Tamagotchi beeping in class
Most teachers had no patience for Tamagotchis. It didn’t matter that you tried to sneak them food under the desk because that loud beeping sound gave you away. Every. Single. Time. Schools banned them, but there were always kids who brought their own. These virtual pets soon got confiscated & kids were forced to explain to their parents what happened.
Recording over a sibling’s mixtape
Of course, nobody wanted to erase their sibling’s mixtape masterpiece by recording over it. But it happened. You’d put the tape in without checking & record your own stuff. And then their favorite song was gone. It was replaced with whatever you were into, which meant that the yelling started fast. Your parents didn’t even have to ask what happened. They just knew.
Sneaking extra time on the family computer
Being the last one up meant that the computer was essentially yours. You could use it for a quick game or a little chat room time. Whatever you did, it was all hidden…until you forgot to shut it down. Everyone could see the glow from the monitor in the morning. And that meant you were locked out for days. It sucked.
Scratching a sibling’s CD
Some CDs couldn’t handle being treated too roughly. As such, dropping it on the floor could leave a mark. Even shoving it back in the case wrong was enough to cause issues. It was okay if it was your own CD, of course. But all hell broke loose when it belonged to someone else. It put you on the fast track to being grounded.
Piercing your ear with a safety pin
Using a safety pin to pierce your ear was more than a quick mistake. It took setup, as you had to find the pin & ice, as well as a bathroom nobody needed for a while. It always ended with you and a swollen ear. However, it wasn’t just the piercing that was the issue, as taking jewelry without asking also led to you being grounded. How painful.
Skipping the bus to walk home
Some kids thought they were being independent by deciding to walk home instead of taking the bus. But parents simply thought they were missing. After all, there were no quick text messages back then. Not taking the bus led to a full round of phone calls to neighbors & the school. And you were punished accordingly.
Calling a friend’s house after 9 PM
House phones rang for everyone in the ‘90s, and not just for the person you wanted to talk to. Calling someone too late meant that you woke up their whole family. Worst of all, your parents would hear about it the next day. It usually ended with your phone privileges on hold.
Listening to a phone call on the upstairs extension
Having a landline phone meant you could pick up the landline in another room to hear what was being said. That was okay, until they heard the click. Such a sound gave you away instantly. Sometimes they’d keep talking just to catch you, then yell for you to hang up & you didn’t get near that phone again. It felt unfair. But it was deserved.
Sneaking an extra long-distance call
Any long-time phone calls you made weren’t free during this decade. The bill didn’t lie either. Dialing out of state without permission would mean that the number showed up right there in black & white. Your phone time soon disappeared after that. For better or worse.
Playing games in the computer lab for too long
Computer lab time was some kids’ favorite time of the day. Some of them would drag it out to finish just one more level while the next class was waiting. That meant that the teacher sent you back late. The story got to your homeroom & the whole thing made it home by the end of the day.
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