14 Lies Parents Need to Stop Telling Their Kids (Part 1)

re: 14 Lies Parents Need to Stop Telling Their Kids (Part 1)

Former try-harder — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:08:13 GMT

Dad said: "The police? Really? Do any parents actually stoop to this level? I know my DAUGHTER has threatened to call the police on us when we don't let her eat candy in the morning."

Yes Dad, some parents actually do this. Heck, my parents threatened this when I was TWENTY ONE, after I tried to use their house phone(my cell phone was malfunctioning at the time) to call my friend past 9pm! Yes it was a bluff. But unfortunately parents are not the only ones that threatened me with this...seems that a LOT of peers/bullies also used this line, probably because I was known as an arrest-free goody two shoes, so it was an easy way to get me to 'bug off'.

re: 14 Lies Parents Need to Stop Telling Their Kids (Part 1)

Former try-harder — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:02:39 GMT

Oh yeah one other lie that my parents told me that's similar to what AuntB already said: "Drink your milk if you want to grow breasts!" I hated the taste of milk but my mom made us drink it. When my mom said this, I was already secretly self-conscious of being less developed than most other girls in my grade. My mom's saying resulted in me obsessively eating lots of yogurt and dairy products throughout my teen years. I grew up to be 5'7" with disproportionately tiny A cups. Shows how much truth was in THAT.

re: 14 Lies Parents Need to Stop Telling Their Kids (Part 1)

Former try-harder — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:56:06 GMT

You forgot one: the lie that goes "Don't worry about fitting in or attending your peers' parties. Just stay home, do your homework, try real hard in school, and you'll be having the last laugh someday when you get a big paying job...you can be an astronaut! A doctor! A lawyer! A banker! You'll be laughing in the end, while your popular classmates will be fat and working for min wage at a gas station!"

NOT TRUE. The "geeks" tend to be the ones that cannot find a decent job due to their lack of charisma, social skills, and (most importantly) networking. This leaves them with no choice but to work "min wage jobs" like at gas stations or grocery stores as they desperately try hard to apply to better jobs. I've seen this happen with one of my best friends and also with myself. My best friend was a nerd in school, behaved and went to college to please his parents, and today he is a 27-yr-old bitter virgin college grad struggling to support himself working at a grocery store and whatever file room/customer service temp job will hire him. He jobsearches like crazy but to no avail. These days, unfortunately it takes more than good grades or "trying real hard" to get a job...you must compete against a pool of applicants that not only have good grades but also have social skills and likeable "cool" personalities as well. I think parents tell their kids this lie just to get them to do their homework, since doing so will make the parents look like better parents. It's also less work to keep an eye on your kids if they're doing homework on a Saturday night as opposed to staying out late and perhaps getting into potentially dangerous/unfavorable activities.

re: 14 Lies Parents Need to Stop Telling Their Kids (Part 1)

AuntB — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:45:55 GMT

1) It wasn't until I was seventeen that I realised that my pet mouse wasn't released into the country because he was lonely while my family was away on vacation when I was six... I was a pretty gullible kid, I guess, and while I was reminiscing with my family about him it suddenly hit me. He died.

2)My grandmother used to tell a story about a lady friend of hers who used to tell her son he had to eat his veggies to grow big and strong. In the midst of a fight, in a crowded restaurant, the frazzled lady called over a HUGE policeman who was standing nearby and asked him to tell her son what she wanted him to hear. The policeman's response: "Want to grow up big like me? Well, I NEVER ate my vegetables. I hate them!"

re: 14 Lies Parents Need to Stop Telling Their Kids (Part 1)

adh — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:33:30 GMT

LOL! The part about the cat running away does happen! I remember a number of summers ago my sister had seen our kitten several blocks away, while riding the school bus, and that was the last that cat was ever seen.

Our othr cats have gotten trapped in neighbors garages, or elsewhere and have come back after awhile, although recently our one neighbor's year old cat suddenly disappeared, presumably he either ran away, was taken in by someone else, taken to Angels For Animals, or most likely died somewhere else.

re: 14 Lies Parents Need to Stop Telling Their Kids (Part 1)

Sydney — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:52:39 GMT

I'm with ya "akapluto"!!!

re: 14 Lies Parents Need to Stop Telling Their Kids (Part 1)

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:40:00 GMT

Only if you actually believe in a 'god', which nowadays many have moved on from this fantasy. Of course there would be children without 'god'.

re: 14 Lies Parents Need to Stop Telling Their Kids (Part 1)

Sam — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:33:46 GMT

We will be praying for you, akapluto....may God have mercy on your soul!!

re: 14 Lies Parents Need to Stop Telling Their Kids (Part 1)

mombo — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:30:21 GMT

When I worked in retail as a youth, I heard parents frequently say things like, "Stop crying or that lady [me] is going to yell at you." I was always like, "Um, no I'm not, because that's not part of my job..."

I really dislike parents who constantly either want someone else to be the bad cop or NEED someone else to be the bad cop.

re: 14 Lies Parents Need to Stop Telling Their Kids (Part 1)

Billy — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:37:10 GMT

Sorry, akapluto, but you are TOTALLY WRONG! If it were not for God in the first place you wouldn't be here (which may not be a bad thing now that I think about it) and there would be no kids!

re: 14 Lies Parents Need to Stop Telling Their Kids (Part 1)

akapluto — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:42:01 GMT

umm you forgot about "GOD", the biggest/most destructive mythical figure since the sandman...

re: 14 Lies Parents Need to Stop Telling Their Kids (Part 1)

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:20:04 GMT

Bad: Omniscient guy at the north pole in a red suit who rewards you if you're good and punishes you if you're bad.

Good: Omniscient guy in the sky with a long beard who rewards you if you're good and punishes you if you're bad.

I'm sorry, that last compare/contrast was not PC. Remember, only things you don't believe in are bad to teach your kids. That's the important part.

re: 14 Lies Parents Need to Stop Telling Their Kids (Part 1)

Cole Gamble — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:05:49 GMT

Who would that be, Niobe?

re: 14 Lies Parents Need to Stop Telling Their Kids (Part 1)

Niobe — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:55:47 GMT

I can think of a bigger one than Santa, Cole.

re: 14 Lies Parents Need to Stop Telling Their Kids (Part 1)

Dad — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:07:24 GMT

The police? Really? Do any parents actually stoop to this level? I know my DAUGHTER has threatened to call the police on us when we don't let her eat candy in the morning.