“What’s Something You Were Told As A Child By Adults That You Now Realize Is A Complete Lie?” (30 Answers)
Interview
We all know that parents lie sometimes. From small white lies to much bigger things, probably all of our parents have 'warped the truth' at least a little at some point or another. However, some experiences are much more serious than others, and the falsities that our parents tell us end up hurting a lot or changing our understanding of the world around us.
This online user decided to get some stories from people by asking them about the lies their parents told them, and it led to all kinds of interesting tales. Some are funny, some are pretty horrible, and some might make you question why some people are even parents. If you have anything similar to share, please feel free to do so in the comment section below!
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That I can be whoever I want to be.
Turns out, identity theft is a crime.
We got an interview with Dr. Rosina McAlpine, and she answered some questions about why parents lie to their kids in the first place: "There are many reasons why parents choose to lie to their kids at times. It can be as loving and innocent as wanting to share the magic and joy of believing in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy at one end, right through to wanting to protect their children by not sharing financial issues or health issues with them so as not to stress or frighten them. Then there are the lies parents make up to scare children into 'compliance,' like 'If you don't behave, we will call the police to take you to jail' or 'If you're not good, Santa won't bring you presents' or 'If you cross your eyes in the wind, they will stay like that!'"
Re: bullies.
"Just ignore them and they'll go away."
No it doesn't. It just makes them laugh so they do it more.
Bullies COUNT on you 'turning the other cheek' or 'taking the high road' or whatever else people want to call it. Because it means that there are no consequences for their actions. 'Silence means assent' is the bullies' creed, because as long as no one stops them it means it is ok for them to continue.
Hardwork will get you what you want or where you want always.
Dr. McAlpine also shared whether she thinks lying to kids is good or bad: "As a mum, I have NO REGRETS lying to our son about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. This brought our son and our whole family so many wonderful years of magic and joy. Sure, it wasn't easy when we had to tell him it was all 'kind of a lie.' Only 'kind of,' as in a way it wasn't a lie. It was a way of sharing the wonder of setting goals and making wishes, and that our wishes can come true (even if it is Mum or Dad putting presents under the Christmas tree at first). But later on in life, it provides the groundwork for setting goals, dreaming big, and allowing for miracles to happen!"
That adults know what they are doing.
31 and I feel like a chicken with his head cut off.
Dr. Rosina McAlpine continues: "However, apart from Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy, I do not believe in lying to our child about anything. I may withhold information if he is too young to understand - if it isn't age-appropriate - BUT I will not lie. I do my best to answer his questions as fully as I can and as truthfully as I can using age-appropriate language - even the difficult conversations of 'Will you die?' or 'Where did I come from?'"
Always trust the adults.
Yeeaaah, no.
The government is good and there to help you
then why won't the government make a minimum wage enough to pay rent 😭 (I would prefer not to have arguments in the replies please)
We also asked Dr. McAlpine what problems a person could grow up with if they are lied to too much: "Children learn their values from their parents and family. Lying to children tells them lying is OK - my parents did it, so I can do it. Hiding the truth from their children tells children it is fine to hide the truth from their parents.
Open communication from parents supports open communication from children." When asked at what age parents should start being completely truthful to their kids, the expert said: "Always... Trust builds over time... It is hard to regain trust once it is lost."
"You can be anything you want when you grow up."
That's not true. Some people just don't have what it takes to be a fighter pilot, doctor or cop.
I wanted to be a dragon rider, but no, stupid discriminatory rules because some idiot thought vampires like dragon blood! Everyone knows it tastes terrible and has horrible side effects! My friend died from a dragon blood overdose, do you really think I want anything to do with that? And besides, why would I hurt a dragon?
That a degree would open all the doors and knowing about politics, history and general stuff would make me an interesting person and that socializing was a waste of time. Nowadays I work for a big4 but I have the personality of a boiled potato. And they have the nerves to ask why I don't have a girlfriend or more friends at 27. Teach your kids social skills. Studying is not everything
You’ll want kids when you’re older.
One day you’ll understand that we only spank you because we love you.
Sex before marriage will ruin you.
Homosexuality is wrong.
If you really want something the best way to get it is pray really hard.
You’ll want kids when you’re older. It's now scientifically confirmed that this is bogus in most cases. They made a big survey with thousands of people and asked them if they wanted children when they were young and if that changed when they grew older, and the consensus was that the decision is stable into aduldhood and that people who let others pressure them into having kids despite not really wanting them were regretting it
HS teachers: "That stuff won't fly in college"
College: ✈️✈️✈️✈️
"You need to write anything new that I say, even if I don't tell you. In college, you will have to decide when and what to write." Because, in college, we, theoretical studies students, will be forced to attend useless classes like music, "english" [an actual useful exercise (rare) + teacher complaining about life, us, whatever (almost always) + at the end, 20min of writing 2min speeches that the teacher will forget about the next day] or "french" [reading a few lines of text + noting a bunch of words you'll forget in 2 weeks because you'll rarely see them again + listening to the teacher tell us how french is so useful, how we will regret doubting her, how we will thank her when we are older etc. + 'discussing' whatever she reads about in her free time (ex. a personality test with like 4 results) - if we disagree with anything she says, that means we are disagreeing with 'the experts' or her vast 'experience' and therefore we are wrong. The best in our class, after 7.5 years of french (3.5 yrs with this teacher (highschool), the other 4 in middle school with soneone else) can't hold a fluent conversation about simple, basic subjects (like describing a hobby) after the first few sentences and often need extra thinking time to put (regular) verbs in present tense. For comparison, english normally starts in 1st grade and an average 6-7th grade Romanian can discuss more complex subjects such as climate change, whether technology is good or bad, how arts influence our life etc. with an occasional grammar error]
That you gotta have respect for you elders.... Don't get me wrong you gotta have respect for everyone but I'm only gonna give what you give me. If you are a b******e ima be a b******e
Respect is earned. I can treat someone with dignity even if I don't respect them
"Work hard and you'll get ahead." We do not live in the world our parents thought we would. It's about working smarter, not harder.
And it's smarter to go into an apprenticeship like plumbing or mechanic that pays you to learn than pay college to learn and get a degree you'll never use
You won't always have a calculator
Here's the thing. In my job, you see a lot of 'black box' users. Meaning they push a button, get a number and go 'well that must be the right answer.' But if you don't know HOW it is getting that answer, you don't know if that number really is right. Same goes even for basic math on a calculator. If you don't understand math, how do you know your calculator worked? How do you know you didn't miss enter something? Or even just that the program had a random glitch? Just because you have a calculator doesn't mean it is ok to not learn math. Further, a lot times what you are learning is not just how to do math, but how to approach problems in general. Figuring out how to solve that math problem on your homework gives you strategies for figuring out how to solve other problems in completely different areas of your life.
"If you don't react when people bully you, then they don't have power over you anymore."
Because that's absolute b******t. It also encouraged my bullies to keep upping the ante and doing worse s**t until I exploded with rage/frustration, which always got ME into more trouble than it did them for bullying me in the first place. Apparently, a 'lady' is always able to hold in her feelings when she's being mistreated and fighting back against bullies isn't considered ladylike.
My daughter kicked a bully in the stomach. But not because he bullied her but because he bullied her trans friend. I wasn't sure how to respond to that story because the school didn't know about it.
"you have the worst teeth ive ever seen!"
Said to 9 year-old me by a tenured dentist who had surely seen worse teeth. She probably did it to scare me into improving my brushing habits. What it ACTUALLY did was make me fear the dentist and stopped me from going for 8 years.
F**k you Doctor Newton
I was just talking to my mom today about anxiety regarding the dentist/dental visits. One of the very FEW things my mom did right when I was a kid was get me used to going to the dentist for checkups/etc. when I was very young, and she picked an excellent pediatric dentist. I'm very fortunate that I've never had ANY fear or anxiety about visiting the dentist. I've never had a cavity, and I can fall asleep during dental cleanings XD My mom gets mega anxiety, as does my ex. My ex has to take Valium before an appointment just to get through it :( I feel for people who have anxiety with dentists. I guess my mom must have had a moment of actual parental care/love and didn't want me to have anxiety about the dentist, like she did.
I should listen to my mother. She was wrong most of the time.
My late mother was old school. When I couldn't take wearing my heavy Coke-bottle bottom glasses anymore, I decided to get contact lenses. I must have been about 22 at the time. I casually mentioned this to my mother, and she said: "Oh, no! Once you put those things in your eyes, you'll never get them out, and you'll go blind! I know someone, who knows someone, who knows someone's son, so for sure that's the truth!" I still wear contacts to this day. It was the best thing I ever did for my eyes.
You'd be so pretty if you just lost weight.
Ya'll are BEAUTIFUL GORGEOUS STUNNING and PERFECT no matter what you weigh and I hope you realize that <3
Cracking your fingers make you get arthritis
I was told it makes your knuckles bulge. Never actually happened though. The cracking sound is not actually bones you're hearing. It's the bubbles formed in the cartilage popping that you hear. If it were your bones they would quickly erode.
"It's a sin not to go to church *every* Sunday. Remember, God is watching you."
If you are honest, work hard, are virtuous, and treat people well you will get ahead in life. Its bull s**t... the people who get ahead in life are almost the exact opposite
Cynicism is not bad, but should be doled out in doses. I think the healthier attitude is to not focus on what others are doing and keep going for yourself and because it’s worthy.
My mom always said "who wants to be beautiful has to suffer" while she untangled my hair with a comb. It's a Dutch saying, but it's so weird thinking about it now. It was also never said to my brothers
My mom just told me to shut up and stop moving my head when she would put my hair in tight buns for ballet class.
Go to College and you will get your dream job.....
I would much rather have a job that pays me tons of money. Fortunately, my dream job is to be a plumber, so I've got the best of both worlds!
“No harm in asking”, boy did that get me in trouble…
Well, that kinda depends on what you're asking. I wonder what this person asked.....
Women can’t cut straight lines (especially in cheese and bread) because of their elbows.
You can’t use tampons unless you’re not a virgin.
Children always have the exact same blood type as the father and If it’s different, the mother cheated.
‘Hons’ after a persons qualifications means it’s honorary and they didn’t actually earn a degree.
You can’t have measles if you’ve had chicken pox and vice versa.
I think it's more that I wasn't told anything, not how to respect people, present myself or even look for jobs. Asking my parents it was always "school was ment to teach that"
If you open the fridge for too long and the beeping noise starts beeping , the fridge is gonna explode
Lolol, I love this one! I can just imagine the parents getting so annoyed by the kids standing with the fridge door open and beeping and coming up with this gem!
That you can't be full unless you eat bread. Carbs actually make you hungrier. Protein fills you up.
Also: if you drink coffee, you'll grow a tail. Don't ask me where I'm from.
The bread line was because it was cheaper to fill up with bread. when poor you do what you can to keep hunger away.
My great grandmother was from Liverpool, and her maiden name was Harrison. My Aunt told us that George Harrison was our cousin. Turns out there were lots of people in Liverpool named Harrison, not all of them were related.
Note: this post originally had 50 images. It’s been shortened to the top 31 images based on user votes.
When I was young my Grandpa fixed up a bike to give me on my birthday. It was dark blue and had a glittery “banana seat” (all the rage in the early 80’s 😋). For some reason, he told me it had been his bike but he took it through the car wash and I believed that damn story for years and told all my friends. (Why my Grandpa had a glittery purple seat, I didn’t consider! 😂) It wasn’t until a couple of years later when I started to tell someone new that I stopped and actually thought about how silly the story was! You got me Grandpa!!
Anyone else have parents that told them they would get curly hair if they ate the crusts on bread?
Yes! And one party my mum made a platter of sandwiches and cut off all the crusts for the kids... I ate so many crusts that day to try and get curly hair.
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When I was young my Grandpa fixed up a bike to give me on my birthday. It was dark blue and had a glittery “banana seat” (all the rage in the early 80’s 😋). For some reason, he told me it had been his bike but he took it through the car wash and I believed that damn story for years and told all my friends. (Why my Grandpa had a glittery purple seat, I didn’t consider! 😂) It wasn’t until a couple of years later when I started to tell someone new that I stopped and actually thought about how silly the story was! You got me Grandpa!!
Anyone else have parents that told them they would get curly hair if they ate the crusts on bread?
Yes! And one party my mum made a platter of sandwiches and cut off all the crusts for the kids... I ate so many crusts that day to try and get curly hair.
Load More Replies...