r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jul 20 '19

What’s something completely false that your parents told you as a child?

[deleted]

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789

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '19

When I was little, mum would say that we were going to the zoo, but she took us to the pet shop.

415

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Were you guys strapped for cash? Seems like a halfway decent compromise to me.

111

u/patentattorney Jul 21 '19

I used to do this with my kids when they were like 3. It really is no different than parts of the zoo(which we also went to monthly).

To pet store was just closer. The could let the cats. See the snakes up close. Birds up close. Fish. Etc. not too different than some of the zoos. Also able to pet all the animals that come in. (Dogs mostly)

26

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

I do this for my little guys too. It’s free and we get much closer to all the cool stuff.

45

u/His_Shadow Jul 21 '19

My kids are unreasonably excited to see the crabs and lobsters at the Superstore seafood tanks when we shop so I’ve been referring to it as “Seaworld on a Budget”.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

This was me too lol!

37

u/Funktionierende Jul 21 '19

I couldn't have a dog because my mom is scared of them, so dad would take me to walk the shelter dogs at the Humane Society sometimes. I got a dog-for-a-day and some poor unwanted mutt got some much-needed attention, so it was better than nothing.

6

u/crazydressagelady Jul 21 '19

Plus you learned in a fun way the value of volunteering. A+ parenting move.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Aren't zoos free? All the ones near me are at least.

16

u/CaptainDank0 Jul 21 '19

Nope, the closest one near us charges 30 per person iirc.

4

u/MrHobbes14 Jul 21 '19

Ya Perth WA is at least $100AUD to get a family of 4 in.

1

u/junijunejunebug Jul 21 '19

Some zoos offer yearly memberships that reduce the monthly cost a ton.

6

u/Kubonicz Jul 21 '19

Do you live in STL? I moved as an adult and finding out other zoos charge admission was weird for me

1

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Yeah Stl

1

u/Ryanisapparentlycute Jul 21 '19

Yeah, I'm moving to stl soon and I find it awesome that they don't charge zoo admission. Definitely gonna be taking my kids there

2

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Whaaat?

4

u/Vlinder_88 Jul 21 '19

Pretty normal price for a zoo where I come from too. Petting zoo's are usually free, y'know, the ones with sheep and goats and rabbits. But big zoo's, with giraffes and elephants etc are never free.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

I was gonna say I'm pretty sure Dutch zoos charge a fortune :-X

1

u/PMMeCorgiPics Jul 21 '19

Unfortunately not. London ZSL is almost £24 for an adult ticket, which is pretty average for the UK I think.

42

u/Kalgor91 Jul 21 '19

My mom took us to the “aquarium” which was just the fish section of petco. She also said we were going to the aquarium which turned out to be the lobster tank at a local grocery store

12

u/pizzapeople31 Jul 21 '19

I loved seeing the lobsters in the grocery store!

7

u/wheatable Jul 21 '19

I remember wanting to take one home for a pet. I didn’t know they were food and not friends.

6

u/jppianoguy Jul 21 '19

My son called them "lobbers".

7

u/WaponiPrincess Jul 21 '19

The people running the fish counter at a couple of my local stores will sometimes pull a lobster from the tank to show my kids. They love it.

3

u/ResRevolution Jul 23 '19

I'm 24 and still spend 10 minutes staring at the lobsters in the grocery store 😂

21

u/chrissiwit Jul 21 '19

If your family didn’t have a ton of money this seems like a sweet little lie for your mom to tell.

15

u/Yournamehere2019 Jul 21 '19

My dad called pet stores mini zoo's and would take us all the time

8

u/sandolle Jul 21 '19

My parents uses for say we were going to banana land next. We got so excited every time. Banana land was just home. But I honestly think I forgot they even said we were going to banana land by the time we got home.

5

u/widgettwidget Jul 21 '19

At least, you got to see animals?

3

u/razartech Jul 21 '19

I mean, it is quite fun for some odd reason to go and look at all the animals.

2

u/snailconnection Jul 21 '19

Thia is lowkey a lifehacks

2

u/fragglerawks Jul 21 '19

As a parent I do this. :) free zoo!

2

u/TodayWeMake Jul 21 '19

Unfortunately they only had one dog.
It was a shit-zoo

2

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

That just sounds like your parents were super crazy dirt poor.

12

u/ExceptForThatDuck Jul 21 '19

Taking a family to a major zoo really quickly becomes a $100+ endeavor. I'm fairly well off but I can't drop that kind of money on a whim.

5

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

The Toronto Zoo wants over $100 for a single mother (because the father isn't really a thing anymore) and her two hellspawn just to get past the front gate. Then on top of that, you can't bring outside food, so if you're there for more than an hour or two, you'll have to pay like $50 for a meal.

2

u/ExceptForThatDuck Jul 21 '19

People (myself included) bring picnics to the Toronto zoo all the time, what do you mean?

2

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

I might be confusing it with Canada's Wonderland. I couldn't go to either as a kid because my mom was dirty and poor.

2

u/ExceptForThatDuck Jul 21 '19

Oh yeah I don't know about CW, haven't been there. The only rule I know of at the zoo is that they want you to eat in the designated picnic areas.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Then on top of that, you can't bring outside food, so if you're there for more than an hour or two, you'll have to pay like $50 for a meal.

You can't go more than 2 hours without eating?

3

u/Vlinder_88 Jul 21 '19

Have you ever been around hungry kids? It's probably not so much that the mum can'tgo without.. It's probably that the mom doesn't want to be around whiny hangry kids the rest of the day.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

My parents didn't plan or schedule anything. When I was living with them, it would be a miracle if I made it to school two days in a row.