12 Cringey Things '90s Kids Said To Their Parents

Being a kid in the '90s was no joke embarrassing. Looking back a lot of the stuff you did was pretty cringeworthy. Especially all the times you said "Whatever" and held both your thumbs and index fingers up to make a "W" as you said it. And hair mascara. Definitely hair mascara. Meanwhile, fights you had with your parents in the '90s often wound up with you saying things you thought were totally cool and badass, but that were actually pretty lame. You also said a lot of stuff you thought was really meaningful and profound and adult, but in reality you just sounded like a Dawson's Creek reject. Yes, the cringeworthy things you did in the '90s will haunt you forever.

Take solace in the fact that children of all eras say dumb things, especially to their parents. Because no matter what generation you're talking about, parents just don't get kids. And kids don't get parents. It's a tale as old as time, and one that doesn't seem likely to ever change. It's not our fault the '90s were just a little bit more lame than any other period we can remember. And just like '90s kids, '90s parents were unique. Here are 12 cringeworthy things '90s kids said to their parents.

1. *Crying* "I'll Never Love Anyone Like Rose Loved Jack!"

At some point in your teenage years there was an existential moment about finding love where, with no concept of time and the future, you genuinely believed you would never know true love, and cried about it to your parents. With relevant Titanic references, of course.

2. "You're Ruining My Social Life!"

This normally was said when your parents wouldn't let 14-year-old you hang out at the mall all day, or go to a slumber party. Your parents were 100 percent in the right, of course, and your "social life" wasn't really a real thing at 14 anyway because everyone's parents were imposing the same kinds of rules.

3. "Argh, Mom/Dad, Get Off The Other Line!"

Before cell phones you had to share a landline with your parents, which involved a lot of frustrated and embarrassing proclamations in front of your friends (on the other end of the line) to your parents. You'd never speak to anyone like that now.

4. "But Susan's Mom Lets Her Have A Tamagotchi!"

Remember how much you whined about trying to get your parents to buy you a Tamagotchi, or have you permanently erased that embarrassment from your memory?

5. "When I Have Kids I'm Going To Let Them Pierce Their Belly Buttons!"

You'd always tell your parents you were going to let your kids do all the things they wouldn't let you do. You really didn't understand how parenting worked ... And belly button ring at that age? What were you thinking?

6. "Can I Sleep In Your Bed?" [Because Of A Goosebumps Book I Read And Now I Can't Sleep In My Own Bed Because I'm Scared]

There was a time when you were far too old to be scared by a Goosebumps book, but you were anyway, and you'd wake up your folks in the middle of the night to crawl into the safety of their bed like you did when you were just a baby.

7. "I Am Definitely Responsible Enough To Start A Babysitters Club" [At Age 8]

Every kid thinks they're an adult long before they are. In the '90s that meant convincing your parents that you were capable of starting a babysitter's club.

8. "You Don't Understand What It's Like To Be Just A Girl!"

Quoting feminist angst from your favorite songs was something you did more than you probably care to recall.

9. "The Parental Advisory Sticker Doesn't Really Mean Anything..."

YEAH, LIKE YOUR PARENTS WERE REALLY FALLING FOR THAT ONE. But you tried it on anyway...

10. "Whatever"

Nothing made your parents madder than when you said "Whatever" when they were asking you to do something. But you said it anyway because you were a huge rebel. And you said it in a way that really elongated that last "r", just to be extra annoying.

11. "Can I Use Your Sun-In?"

If your mom had Sun In you definitely asked to borrow it, because you probably didn't have any money of your own. The whole concept of Sun In is retroactively cringeworthy in itself.

12. Bonus 2000 Round: "Lorelai Would Never Do That To Rory!"

It wasn't the '90s, but '90s kids were still probably young and petulant enough by the time 2000 came around that they used Lorelai and Rory Gilmore as their reference point for all parent-related issues.

Images: Universal Pictures; Giphy (6)