Growing up is a difficult thing to do. You have to deal with things like puberty, school, bullies, evil siblings and of course, parents! Parents were there to guide us along the path of life, but along the way, they had some decisions to make. We were curious beings, asking questions about anything and everything, putting pressure on our parents to answer these naive questions. That’s where the lies come in. Parents told us lies partly to protect our innocence, but also so they wouldn’t have to hear another annoying question. What lies did they tell us? Well, read on to find out.
1.) Santa Claus only comes to good kids/kids who go to sleep early (along with the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy)
Ah yes, the triumvirate of evil. Remember staying up late waiting to try to just get a glimpse of Santa Claus coming into your house, only to have your parents say that he only comes to “good” kids who go to bed early? You’d leave out the carrots or chocolate chip cookies and be excited to see them half eaten when you woke up in the morning, but in reality, it was your parents eating them because they wanted to dive into their guilty pleasures of sugary treats. If you were smart enough to set your alarm in the middle of the night, you would see one of three things:
1 – A tree with no presents under it (you would then think you were a bad child, but it was just your parents being lazy and not putting out the presents yet)
2 – The Claus family looks oddly familiar to your parents
3 -The tree would be full of presents and you would rejoice over it
The other lie was that if you were bad, you got a lump of coal as your present instead of toys. When you think about it, that’s just a ridiculous idea. Coal? Unless your parents went to the local Home Depot and bought some charcoal or your dad worked in a power plant, where were they going to get coal from? The tooth fairy and the Easter Bunny are just as guilty for their crimes. According to thebabywebsite.com, 81% of parents have told this lie to their children.
2.) Sitting too close to the television will ruin your vision
So you’re watching cartoons and you’re up close to the television and then you hear “Don’t sit that close to the TV, your vision will go bad!” Yeah, well, that’s a lie. Research has shown that children are better adept at sitting closer to objects because they can focus better. The only thing that will happen is that your eye muscles will get tired, but nothing a little sleep can’t fix. Besides, televisions these days are clearer and have better resolution that those in the 80s and 90s. So sit up as close as possible! 60% of parents told have told this lie.
3.) Eating vegetables (notably spinach and broccoli) will make you big and strong
Remember sitting at the dinner table and you not touching those ikcy green vegetables but your parents urging you to eat them to be “big and strong.” While eating healthy and eating right will definitely contribute to your weight and health, it’s mainly in your genetics. If your parents are big, you’ll be big too most likely. If your parents are small, then you’ll be small. However, genetics and heredity is probably too complex to explain to a child so forcing spinach down their throat is the next best option. 48% of adults have told their children this lie.
4.) The stork brings little babies to houses
Where do babies come from? Quite possibly the most difficult question a parent can be asked. So instead of talking about the birds and the bees, or the human reproductive system, they tell you about a magical omni-potent stork that drops newborn babies to parents. While to a child that might sound plausible, thinking about it now makes it sound even more ridiculous than Santa Claus. Why a stork? Why not the mailman? Or the milkman? Out of all the lies parents tell, this one is the most forgivable.
5.) Touching your private parts will make them fall off
This one pertains more to boys than to girls. Parents said this because they were embarrassed that their children were touching themselves. To prevent further embarrassment, they said that your privates would fall off in the hope that you would never do it again. They also said it to avoid their child becoming a sex addict with a hand down their pants all day. Besides, who would want to ask them for a piece of bread at the dinner table when you know where their hand has been? 25% of parents have told this lie.
So funny and so true…I have heard these all before.
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