Ah, parents.
As much as they love their kids and mean well, they're not exactly known as truth-tellers.
They tell many white lies throughout to get by. Things like saying the Boogeyman will get kids who stay up past their bedtime and saying that they can't get a dog because they're allergic.
For more lies, here are 19 things our parents told us as children that aren't true!
This Redditor's mother told them this while they were growing up. It wasn't true; they just didn't want to clean sand off of their kids and their clothes. Sand is messy, so it's hard not to see her point.
"She didn't let my brother and I read Harry Potter as kids because she bought into the Satanic Panic surrounding the series. When we were older, she decided to give it another try from the viewpoint of someone who wasn't constantly panicking about everything in an attempt to shield her young children. She loves Harry Potter now." - u/BrittB14
"'Sex' was a taboo word in our parents' house. We could not ask questions or comment on sex in any way or at any time, no matter what. It was as if sex didn't exist - a subject alien to daily living." - u/Back2Bach
Kids should be allowed to be kids! This includes making funny faces without fear of negative consequences. It's like when they said the Boogeyman will get us if we stay up too late!
"Well sure, it’s like with all fruits and vegetables, the skin is the healthiest part! It’s because when the bread is growing on the bread vines out in the bread fields, the crust absorbs all those good nutrients from the sun and the soil. It’s just science!" - u/Holybartender83
"It really messed up how I talk to guys I’m attracted too, because I’m 23 years old so I can do what I want when it comes to guys but I sometimes still have this mindset." - u/hitagiss
They would usually accompany this with, "there are starving kids in Africa!" One Redditor said that she can't leave food behind to this day, and it's contributed to her being overweight.
"We were at someone’s house with a pool. as a kid and they would set an alarm. One of those spinning ones that dings. All the kids would gather round and watch it. Tick tick tick. Not a minute too soon or death!!!" - u/MorePieForEveryone
"This nugget has caused more damage to my physical and emotional well-being than anything else. You really don't want to hear their views on staying in an unhappy, dysfunctional marriage (they're similar)." - u/Johhnymaddog316
Parents claimed they couldn't see if that light was on. Just like they couldn't focus on the road if the music was too loud.
"For some reason I just never questioned the idea that temperature itself caused viruses, but it's such a ridiculous notion once you think about it." -u/SendMeNudesThough
"Sometimes I still fall into the trap it’s so ingrained in my brain. I saw a Dad at a party taking his kid to the bathroom for a diaper change and my mind went 'he shouldn’t be doing that. Where’s his wife?' I quickly realized how dumb that was. But it’s so drilled into my head." - u/cuckedprincess
A parent saying this to their child is extremely damaging. This Redditor points out that hiding your feelings doesn't make you manlier. It only makes people repress their feelings and become emotionally incompetent.
"My father used to make me wash my hands after greeting/handshaking with my uncle (who is homosexual), like you could 'acquire gay through touching.' My uncle is a respected surgeon dentist." - u/unbilivibru
This Redditor's parents taught them to be on everyone's good side no matter the cost. By taking their parents' advice, they tried to make many toxic friendships work.
"I always wondered why I would have to chew steak at home like gum, but if I had it at a restaurant it melted like butter. Turns out either my mother can't cook steak, or her second husband liked it completely inedible." - u/TheNerdFromThatPlace
On that same note, that you will become an apple tree if you eat an apple seed. Or, if you swallow a piece of bubble gum, your stomach will be lined with the gum and you’ll starve.
"I guess they were trying to make me eat my vegetables but I bet I looked pretty strange on a few dates when I would leave my chicken or steak right til the end after finishing the sides." - u/deleted
H/T: Reddit
