Raising difficult kids can leave a lasting mark on their parents.

This woman knows she was challenging as a child.

And now, she feels guilty about the fact that her parents had trouble raising her.

Her parents joke about her past behavior, but she feels hurt every time she hears it.

Were her feelings valid? Read the full story below and weigh in.

WIBTA if i told my parents their jokes hurt even though I know they are true

I (25F) wasn’t a very good kid.

Compared to my siblings or my friends, I think I was very much a kid that had to be dragged rather than raised.

I feel incredibly guilty because I know my parents had a hell of a time managing me.

They deserved a much easier go of it than they got.

This woman turned out well when she grew up, thanks to her parents.

I’ve also turned out well, solely because they were so persistent with me.

I don’t know what would have become of me if I hadn’t had them.

I was always getting suspended from school and always in detention.

Sometimes, my parents make jokes about how I was a tricky kid to raise.

She feels incredibly guilty that her parents had difficulty raising her.

Most recently, we were in a restaurant and my mum was coo-ing at a lovely little baby at the next table over.

All my parents could say was how amazed they were at how well behaved the baby was.

They said how they never had that and how they just couldn’t leave the house for ten years.

Because I’d never have sat still and quietly in a restaurant.

I know this was true, and I still feel so incredibly guilty because I know they deserved a better kid.

However, she also gets hurt whenever her parents joke about how she was a terror kid.

But I feel if I tell them the joke hurts, I’m saying they can’t say what is obviously true.

It feels like I’m making myself the victim in what was a struggle for them that was my fault.

It really upsets me. I know there’s no way to address it with nuance.

Because it just feels attention-seeking to even imply I know I was a terror.

Now, she’s torn between saying something or just staying silent about the whole thing.

WIBTA if I said something?

Or is this just the consequence of being a little terror as a kid?

I don’t want to appear ungrateful.

I owe them everything I have.

Let’s check out the comments of other people.

This user gives their honest opinion.

You have every right to be upset, says this one.

This one suggests getting therapy.

This person gives some helpful advice.

Finally, here’s someone who can relate.

Even a difficult kid gets hurt emotionally as an adult.

If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.