Curfew

Recently, I've heard of stories from peers about curfew when they were younger or even in their twenties while living with their parents. Just to be clear, I'm not judging those who choose to stay with their parents since it can be extremely beneficial financially and personally (those home cooked meals). The stories I've listened to over the past few years have ranged from sneaking out by jumping out windows or tying bedsheets together to get down (like the movies), to parents scaring their children when they "catch" them upon return.

As the youngest child of three, I never had curfew growing up. It could have been because my siblings created a path to independence for me or that I just didn't go out very much. I suspect that my parents didn't think I had many friends or that the kids didn't like me; though, I don't blame them for thinking that as I am quite the lone wolf. My parents gave me unrestricted hours to hang out with friends as I was never a troublemaker (and had quite conservative behavior). I never had the need to sneak out and now I feel deprived of a fundamental aspect of childhood.

But back to the stories of people sneaking out of their houses. I would love to hear the parents' perspective on these events. I'm sure most of them would go something like, "Yeah, I knew he/she was sneaking out but I let them go" or "I just wanted to see what they would do and how they would try to trick us". It's pretty obvious when someone is gone for hours at a time or when they attempt to sneak back into the house.

I enjoy how children believe they are very sly. For majority of "I hid something from my parents" stories, I bet there is a corresponding "My kid tried to hide something" story. I'm sure that the later are much more entertaining stories. I can't wait to become a parent and share "I caught my kid..." tales with my friends while letting my children think they got away with it.

Do you have any good stories (from either perspective)?