The nice thing about being an adult is that you are no longer stuck listening to the parental figures in your life about what you can and cannot buy. At least, in most cases. Sometimes, parents can be overly strict or tell their children they can't have something they desperately want. Years later, as an adult, that restriction is no longer there.
A Redditor asked the folks of r/AskReddit, "What’s something you finally bought as an adult because you weren’t allowed to have it as a kid?" And folks came out of the woodwork to share their most mundane and unique purchases.
Everything from fancy fountain pens to expensive LEGO sets to simple staples like butter or particular kinds of cereal.
Check out 18 things Redditors buy as adults they couldn't as children below.
1. Pens
"I like to splurge on all the colorful pens my inner child wants 🥰" —u/Natural-Share3063
2. Lego
"Just LEGO. As a kid, it was 'too expensive and out of date,' and now I’m an adult who can buy myself a box of little plastic bricks and build spaceships at 2 a.m. And no adults saying, 'Put it back.'" —u/Tutolluna_564
3. A cat
"A cat! I am from a dog family. While I love dogs, I have always known that a cat is more my speed. I wish I could go back in time and tell little me that I'll get a cat and he'll be an absolute angel." —u/LuxValentino
4. Video Games
"Gaming systems - mom was very against buying anything that meant you would be sitting for a long time, inside. She was a big advocate for playing OUTSIDE. ALL THE TIME.
She also didn't like anything Pokemon, final fantasy or DnD related. Guess what I got into as an adult :P" —u/[deleted]
5. Butter
"Butter. Real butter. Not that margarine crap." —u/Celuloiddreamer
6. Looms
"A loom. Now I have two, and two spinning wheels, and a living room full of fiber and yarn. I love it." —u/HermitAndHound
7. Prince concert
"Tickets to see a Prince concert. I was forbidden as a child! LOL!" —u/Honny_Bun
8. Calculator watch
"Casio calculator watch. 13-year-old-me would be very pleased to know that I eventually made that happen." —u/Annual_Canary_5974
9. Forbidden cereal
"Cinnamon life cereal. Red dye number whatever." —u/KaJashey
10. Warhammer
"Warhammer. I wanted it badly as a kid; I could never afford it, nor did I have any friends who played. As a 40-year-old, I decided I needed to do a hobby not based on computing, so chose to make a Warhammer army." —u/michaeltheobnoxious
11. Pentagram t-shirt
"A t-shirt with a pentagram on it. My dad was crazy religious lol, I felt so edgy." —u/rottingfantasyland
12. Stuffed animals
"Stuffed animals. We didn't have the money to buy them, so I would pick them up, snuggle them, and put them back before I left the store. I don't have to do that now, so I have many stuffie friends!" —u/kalixanthippe
13. Lifesavers book
"When I was in grade school, we drew names in class for Santa gifts. This was a LONG time ago. I saw that the majority of students received the Lifesavers book that always comes out at Christmas. I got a pair of socks. I’ve bought myself that Lifesavers book every year since I’ve been an adult." —u/GoingNutCracken
14. A go-kart
"Recently, I've been thinking about getting a go-kart. I'm 68." —u/The_Truth_Believe_Me
15. Fountain pen
"I got a decent refillable fountain pen. I wanted one so bad when I was a kid and nobody would buy one for me. Now I get to feel all fancy when I'm writing." —u/Shortdropsuddenstop
16. "Childish" things
"Omg...I buy so much 'childish' stuff that I never got as a child. Tons of stickers, colorful pens, cute bag charms, Hello Kitty stuff.....and I am 64!!" —u/meSabina
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