Things you believed as children....

Lucca

I though cats were the girls and dogs were the boys.

No I haven’t carried that into adulthood.

Me too

When I became 21 years of age my father took me aside to tell me the facts if life.

He said to me that it was not Father Christmas who gave us toys etc. at Christmas. I was so disappointed.

Every year when I was little we went to a boarding house in Arran where for two weeks I would take my little lamb Baba around on a lead. Every year he looked forward to me coming. (So I was told)
I forgot about Baba until, living in New Zealand, in my sixties I suddenly realised it had been a different lamb every year.

I live on one side of a Lough with a view over to the other side. At night all the lights shine and my parents told me that's where Santa and his elves worked away making toys for good girls and boys and he watched over to make sure I was behaving. Now in the daytime I knew it was Co.Down, but at night it was Santa's workshop when the lights came on.

Think it may have been in part due to the food they ate and bones Hilarybee

I seem to remember a lot more loose dogs around when I was young. I think owners just used to let their dogs roam free. Anyway I thought that white dog’s poo was from white dogs and brown dogs poo was from brown dogs. ( Actually now I think about it I still don’t know why it turns white with age). I hope that this is not too disgusting a comment for GNetters

My paternal Grandfather only had one eye, the result of an accident. Aged about 4 I was sucking the end of a knitting needle. Mum said " take that out of your mouth. You will poke your eye out" I spent ages ferreting about at the back of my mouth wondering how Grandad had got anything up there. I was a few years older when in desperation I asked! Duh! I must have been a gullible kid!

When I was young my uncle used to pass his film annuals to me. I was convinced that all the men in America were handsome and the ladies were beautiful.

My sister convinced me that if you swallowed seeds from apples that Trees grew in your stomach.

When I was 5, my mother persuaded a friend 's 5 year old son to take me to the Odeon on a Saturday morning

We went by bus and there was no problem in buying a ticket.( I think it cost 6d)

I felt very grown up as the usherette showed Michael and me to a seat.

When we were settled after the singing bit and waiting for the film to start, Michael turned to me and said ' By the way, you have still got your ticket, haven't you. They won't let you out without it.'

I sobbed and started to crawl under childrens' legs in the darkened cinema, looking for the lost ticket

I was eventually rescued by an usherette who explained it was untrue and I never spoke to Michael again

What kind of parents are we? We perpetuate lies, myths and fairytales to our unsuspecting toddlers and young children. My grandmother did it, mother did it, I have done it and my children are still doing it!

Why do we do it? To create magical experiences for our offspring, to prolong their childhood and to protect our children from the realities of adulthood.

Are we wrong? Who knows? But we keep doing it all the same.

I thought that if you swallowed bubble gum or chewing gum it gave you appendicitis!

@Santana
That eating my crusts would give me curly hair.

That one worked for me... it just took a VERY long time - my 'gift' from crusts (and menopause) has been the lovely curty hair I always wanted!

I thought that you would die if you swallowed chewing gum.

That adults had all the answers.
That I’d be wiser and know everything when I became an adult.
It didn’t happen and I now ask my children to fix my computer problems.
My children know everything about everything.

My father told me that you didn't have to pay for beer if the pub had a 'Free House' sign outside.

At the age of 5 in the infants as a class we built a rocket as a class project, I truly believed we were going to the moon at 61 still dissapointed we didn't go.

I thought life went on for ever,, only recently found that it doesn`t (in my 80`s now)

VioletSky

Also I learnt that the little piggy didn't go to market to buy groceries...

I learned that only very recently!

When I was seven I asked my big, wise, brother how he could tell the difference between girl and boy cows. He told me, very solemnly, that girls cows had long curly horns, like I had long curly hair. I never saw many girl cows, I wonder why?

For some reason as a child I was convinced that if I damaged my navel, I'd unravel.....
I took sticking plasters from the cupboard and put one on every day

Oh nanna8

Fairies. My mum used to send me into the garden to look for them and I really believed I could see some. I could even describe them. Imagination is a wonderful thing.
On a sadder note I just accepted being hit and having bruises all up my legs and I was surprised that other kids didn’t have them.

I believed that one day I would be able to play a piano.
Unlikely, as we didn't have a piano and I never had lessons.

I'm sure my school reading book told me that the noise of thunder was caused by the air coming together again after being split by lightning.

As a child in the 50s I believed that the children depicted in books of the time led ‘normal’ lives and as my experience was so very different that my life must be wrong in some way. I still believe that now, but it has led me to work with abused and neglected children and to campaign against poverty, especially as it affects children. I have huge admiration for Marcus Rashford.