As a parent I can say with confidence that sometimes Parents Can Be Weird. We’re creatures of our experiences, many of which we gathered a long time ago in another world. I’m sure most of us think we know our blind spots, but by definition it’s kind of hard to know for sure. So take some of the stuff that sounds odd with a grain of salt, try to assume good intent, maybe find what value is to be had before moving on. It sounds like OP has the proper level of incredulity and humor, but I just wanted to clearly support the initial raised eyebrow response.