The weird and wonderful things our parents told us

GardenerGran
The French for dandelion is pissenlit, which means wet the bed.

All of the above except for not washing your hair whilst on a period.
And i said most of these to my two boys.
Life is funny.

Wrap up warm or you will catch a cold.
But there is some truth in it as research has shown germs can multiply easier if your nose is cold. So you are more liable to catch colds and flu in winter.

If I didn't dry under my armpits properly I would get tuberculosis, apparently.

Masturbation, or as the catholic priests at my school euphemistically called it, "playing with yourself," can cause blindness, mental health issues and infertility. In short, it's BAD!

That "advice" was given to small boys long before they reached puberty. I remember reading the word mastication, having never come across it before, I misinterpreted it and hid my book in case my Dad saw it.

SueEH my mother-in-law refused to have a microwave for years on the grounds "it can make you sterile."
As she was well into pension age at the time, my husband always asked if it would really matter anyway? ?

Don't use knives or scissors (indoors or outdoors) during a thunderstorm as you will get struck by lightening.
Even in the 1970's my DM told me off for pegging out washing on a line when pregnant as the cord could go round the baby's neck.

Maggiemaybe

If I didn’t eat liver I’d get so weak I wouldn’t be able to walk.

Against all the odds I’m still managing to stagger about.

So funny!

When a good friend’s parents got their first microwave (early 80s... size of a house?!) they were obviously worried about radiation leaks as they told her not to stand too close to it or she might get pregnant! All these years later, and with a full awareness of the facts of life, she still admits to being suspicious of her microwave ??

When challenged on why carrots were good for your eyesight my Mum’s reply was “have you ever seen a rabbit with glasses?

After eating you had to wait at least 2 hours before going swimming or you would get cramp and drown.

My Grandad told me that if I ate pickled onions, I’d be able to swim! Can’t stand the things...

My dad, who was a serious joker, used to take us 6 children for a drive in the country.. when he came across herds of cows, he told us to open the windows and breathe in the air because it was good and healthy.. the smell of cow dung was awful but we all grew up thinking it was good for us..

My grandma used to give us a mix of raw egg yolk, sugar and port to build us up when we were poorly. yum, very moorish.

tanith

Ooh just remembered I wasn’t supposed to wash my hair when on my period. God knows what would happen ?

OOOh. I know this one but didn't quite know how to say it. I got told this all the time by my mother. It would make you "go insane".

I find that I still crush eggshells to stop the rats going out to sea in them and entering the boats - I am nearly 70 for goodness sake?

Many of the above were said to me as a child. In particular my mum would have had a fit about anyone going to bed with even slightly damp hair. I was also told that the men who drove the ice cream vans round peed in the ice cream and whipped it up. Nasty, eh? I think it was so I'd be put off asking for an ice cream every time the van came round (about three times a day in summer as I recall). That didn't really work though!

I’d forgotten the not washing your hair when you had your period. I remember someone being appalled that I still stayed clean at ‘that time’

One thing that often seemed to come up in books/articles about growing up was the advice about what to do if your knickers fell down while you were out (kick them off and walk away). It used to really worry me. But I’m 60 now and can honestly say my knickers have never fallen down! ?

My Mum used to recite "Tell tell tit your tongue will split, all the little Dickie birds will have a little bit". Supposed to stop us telling fibs!

Of you drop a knife on the floor a strange man will knock on the door ?

There was a lot for pregnant women and young babies.

Nobody pregnant should stretch their arms above their head as it will tie the cord round the babies neck.

Do not lift you newborn baby to look in a mirror as you will see the Devil over your shoulder

Only bite your small babies nails, do not use scissors.

A pregnancy bump carried well forward meant a boy and one at the back meant a girl (or the other way round).

Sure there were many others.

senryu

If you have sex before marriage you'll have nothing to look forward to on your wedding night

Pretty sure back in the day we were not supposed to look forward to that activity.....

My mother also wouldn’t mix red and white flowers, “blood and bandages”.

Dandelions are called pissenlits in French.

tanith

Ooh just remembered I wasn’t supposed to wash my hair when on my period. God knows what would happen ?

I was told that one too. Apparently the blood would go to my head. Even at 14 I worked out that it couldn't possibly happen. My mother was an otherwise highly intelligent woman so goodness knows why she said it!

Slightly off piste but I do remember being asked if I wanted a smack - ooh yes please.

Remember a teacher telling us 7yr olds that if we didn't eat our greens we would die in our twenties. I survived.