How would you rate your childhood?

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My childhood was a 3. I was abused emotionally, though not physically. I was berated for talking about my special interests to the point that I don't talk to my parents about them anymore. There were times that I wasn't allowed to have my special interests when we had guests over.

I've also had to go through my childhood with my parents being in denial about my Gender Dysphoria. It was called Gender Identity Disorder back than and my parents were in major denial about it. I expressed my wishes to be a boy at the age of four and my mum brushed it off. My dad was constantly trying to get me to sit and talk in a ladylike manner. He'd keep annoying me by telling me that some things aren't ladylike to say. I hated it. I wish I grew up in a more open family with parents that would have respected my issues and wishes.

My parents also had that herd mentality. I was born into a strictly Canadian family where everybody had to be like everyone. My parents thought it would be a wonderful idea to shame me about my Cockney accent (you've heard me right). If you have a hard time sounding like anybody other than yourself, it's real. They thought doing that would motivate me to sound like as my dad put it, "Everybody else around here and don't you be watching 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous' or else your accent will just get stronger." It sucked being told by one parent or another or both of them at once, "Don't talk through your nose!" Every time I opened my mouth. It eventually got to the point that I was spending all day in my bedroom listening to classic rock, because I didn't trust anybody enough to talk to them.

The only time I was truly happy was when The Kinks and sometimes The Beatles were on the radio, or if we were off on vacation somewhere all laughing and having a good time. Christmas Break was also another time that was happy for me. I got a sick feeling inside of me every time we got home from vacation. Home wasn't where my heart was. I had fantasies about running away to Vancouver International Airport and secretly sneaking on a plane that was boarding to London.

I was also bullied quite a lot. With time, I learned to defend myself (with words), and react to people in a proper manner.
Never in my life have I experienced a physical fight. I will do everything to avoid that. I believe nobody deserves it to get physically hurt.
I even tried to defend other people when they were bullied.

summary:
In my childhood I had a few "friends" (not really though), but I got bullied.
Now I don't have any friends, but everybody ignores me. That's both good and bad.

I prefer to stay 21 though

Actually, In spite of some difficulties - I had a fairly happy childhood

Yeah. I chose this one. During my childhood, I was pretty carefree like any child was. I did struggle in school with bullies and being accepted by teachers at times though. Aside from that, my childhood was just like any other. My parents actually thrived to do what was best for me, even if it meant getting me tested over the course of years. I didn't really have very many friends though, and I was lucky if I had one to start with. I wouldn't say it was a bad childhood or nightmarish either. It's kind of hard to explain.

I could have had it much much worse. I had two loving parents, and while my mom never understood me I at least knew she loved me. Despite it, though, I remember a lot of fear and anxiety. My dreams blurred with reality, and because I clung to my brother, I got to see him get bullied and beat up all the time by the neighborhood kids. I was mostly left alone because I was so quiet and subservient. I was terrified of confrontation. Didn't stop kids from picking on me. So many people were weirded out by us because we were smart and knew weird things that kids apparently shouldn't know, like how we told this woman all about the hanta virus and she just stared at us like we were aliens.
It's a weird insult to yell at someone that they're "too smart." Or that they "know too much." Even a teacher wrote on one of my reports "Too intelligent."

So while my childhood could have been a lot worse, I'd rather never experience it again. If reincarnation is real, I don't want to participate in it. I don't want to go through life again.

I first attempted suicide at age 7. I was suicidal on and off until I was 18. Haven't had much trouble with it since.
My childhood was tormented, except for the last year as defined by the original poster.
I was emotionally(both at home and school) and physically abused. It could have been worse, but it was nightmarish and I still regularly have nightmares about it.

"It was not an easy time of my life. It was not unbearable. But it was hard at times."

I think the only parts of my childhood that I enjoyed were the times I got to watch television.

I voted third. My childhood home was never a happy place, even when I was alone and could hide from the world. I was withdrawn and depressed by age 10. My parents were cold, negative, and distant. They argued a lot and divorced when I was 13. I wanted to please them and make them happier, but they never accepted me for who I was. My brother and I didn't get along much either, until we grew older. I felt like an unwanted nuisance to most adults and was bullied and rejected at my school, and that has never really left me. There were bright spots here and there, but I recall my childhood as mostly one long punishment just for being different.

Childhood was hell. I was treated for PTSD as an adult for happenings in my childhood.

I loved my childhood. I grew up in a secure home, had loving parents, and just lived a normal life as a child really.

The only thing that made me miserable was when I was diagnosed with Asperger's and from then on. It didn't make my childhood unbearable, but I was in denial about it and got angry if anybody brought it up in front of me, and I just hated having a label like that. But when I wasn't reminded about having that, I was a happy child. My parents did all they can to bring me up securely and made sure that I had fun times like at Christmases and birthdays and so on. So I can't complain about my childhood. My best year was 1999-2000, when I was 9-10. I was at the age where I was old enough to walk down to the park by myself or knock for a friend or cousins, but was still child enough to play and not look silly or anything.

I started puberty at 11, which was OK because 11 is still pretty young. But when I got to about 12-13 I found I didn't want to have breasts and periods and pubic hair. Also things I used to love were becoming boring for me, like my toys and adventurous imaginary games I could play for hours. Then life went downhill altogether when I was 14, because I lost my cousin who I was very close to when we were growing up, and we looked like twins and shared that twin bond too. I felt very lost after that, but I managed to adapt to it, and now I don't need her at all any more. No, she didn't die. She just got involved with this control freak man and is still his ''prisoner'' to this day. I haven't seen her for years.

Encephalitus and autism are a fearful cocktail to have before you understand them, it was like having a convection oven in my head and my forehead would feel warm from over-activity. Definitely the worst period of my life, I had all of my symptoms and none of the methods to cope with or recognize them before it got out of hand, lots of breakdowns and crazy nights where random images would flash through my head at a dizzying pace (from the brain inflammation). It just felt utterly disjointed and confusing, and I didn't have any friends of my own, just friends of my brother who pitied me.

The only things that made me happy were nature and reading (and eventually pot, hahahahaha). If I could just read a book or go out with my fishing pole or go on hike, preferably both reading and being off the grid, then I could forget it all. But even then my inflammatory condition hadn't been diagnosed yet so every time I read for too long the oven would turn back on and I'd want to just scream, the cluster headaches and frantic confusing state of mind were unbearable. Life is so much better now that I know simple things like "luke, you can't read that book for more than an hour at once, you have to unwind before a migraine and panic attack comes on". It sucks when one of your only opiates is physically painful.

I think I've had a really good childhood so far. I was diagnosed early and have understanding parents who have been committed to understanding how and why I operate and learning how to make my life as good for me as they possibly can. And I've been put on good schools that specialize in kids with ASD.

Actually, In spite of some difficulties - I had a fairly happy childhood.

I think mine was probably average. I had a lot of bullying and isolation problems at school, but don't recall home life being too difficult.

Side note: It would be interesting to see how the results of this poll looked if they were split out by those who were diagnosed as kids and those who were diagnosed as adults. (I was diagnosed as an adult FWIW)

I chose the first option. I think things were pretty good for me between the ages of 5/6 and 12/13. I could handle the fairly simple social demands put on me reasonably well. As socialising got more demanding towards the end of the age range we are talking about I started having difficulties. After this time things got really nasty.

I voted for option 3. My childhood wasn't "nightmarish", but it wasn't good. But there are lots of things that could have been even worse, hence why it wasn't "nightmarish." The only things about my childhood that I consider "good" are special interest-related times and memories. That's what helped me cope.