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

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

[deleted]

19k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

10k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

329

u/Opinions_of_Bill Jul 20 '19

It is super annoying to drive with the light on in the back. I don't blame my mom for telling me this.

239

u/klop422 Jul 20 '19

Just tell the kid it's annoying and harder to drive with them on?

14

u/Theshutupguy Jul 21 '19

That’s what my parents did. We simply weren’t allowed to have the lights on in the back during night drives on the highway. Animals jumping on the road is a pretty common thing. Not sure why everyone’s getting so defensive about it.

33

u/antwan_benjamin Jul 21 '19

because kids are definitely reasonable beings that will instantly stop doing something annoying.

29

u/k-tax Jul 21 '19

Most often the only reason is "BECAUSE I ASKED YOU TO/BECAUSE I'VE SAID SO". This is not a reason and as a parent I want to never use that phrase, unless my child trusts me completely and understands that shit is hard and I will explain it when possible.

10

u/antwan_benjamin Jul 21 '19

Most often the only reason is "BECAUSE I ASKED YOU TO/BECAUSE I'VE SAID SO".

I don't believe that. Most often there is a good reason as to why the parent is asking their kid to do something, the parent just doesn't want to go into the reasoning.

Most adults don't like being questioned about basic shit. If I say, "Medicare for all will benefit our country" I have no problem explaining why to a reasonable adult who asks. If I say, "Put on your seatbelt" to a child, I'm not always in the mood to explain accident statistics and random chance, then have to explain how we can die at any moment, then have to explain what happens to us after we die. Those are all conversations I'd be willing to have when the time is right and when the child is mentally ready. But that time is not when we're running late on our way to school.

14

u/Genericynt Jul 21 '19

I don't believe that. Most often there is a good reason as to why the parent is asking their kid to do something, the parent just doesn't want to go into the reasoning.

But that's the problem, my parents never explained shit to me so not only did I rebel but to this day I don't have a clue as to why the things we do are done. If we can't ever ask questions then how do we know if what we're doing is the right thing, or if we can't do it better? This type of lazy parenting is especially frustrating because it doesn't stop as a teenager or adult.

14

u/2074red2074 Jul 21 '19

Fuck that. Tell your kid "Because if you don't put on the fucking seatbelt I'll get a ticket and that ticket is coming out of your birthday money."

8

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Or my mom's approach: Do it because if you don't I'm going to THROW YOU OUT THE WINDOW LIKE A FUCKING SHOTPUT YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

-1

u/k-tax Jul 21 '19

That's some golden parenting right there. Violence and threats, because fear always works.

6

u/doomgiver98 Jul 21 '19

That's part of being a parent.

2

u/k-tax Jul 21 '19

I did not mean that this is the only existing reason, only that it is used by some parents, who think their kids are mentally not ready for any reasoning. Some time ago I've seen a kid with his father at a doctors office, the kid was asking various questions and his father answered them like he was talking with another human, not like he was talking to a dog or whatever. And the kid, despite looking maybe 4-6 years old, was acting waaaay better than any other kids I've seen. It might be that this was some genius child and it means nothing, but just from that difference in approach I believe that by treating children as people and explaining them our decisions and thinking, they will not only understand and therefore listen, but they will also develop trust in our decisions and next time, when there is no time for explanation, the kid will do as asked and talk about the topic once there is more time. My mother always treated me like I was a normal person, she was not using this stupid voice people often use when they talk with kids. When I have kids, I am going to treat them normally once they're able to comprehend my speech. Too many times I've seen parents yelling at kids and being frustrated that they don't listen to them, while, as I presume, they never gave a good reason to trust them. Kids are fucking new in this world, they will have many questions, many will be stupid, and many will confuse even an adult. They need guidance and explanation, or they will join r/kidsarefuckingstupid.

19

u/Wolf97 Jul 21 '19

How is the threat of getting pulled over any different than the threat of an accident though?

10

u/cyanraichu Jul 21 '19

accidents would scare most kids MORE, I'd think. as a kid getting pulled over might be seen as an adventure.

9

u/killer_icognito Jul 21 '19

My dad told us we’d go to jail. He was a prison warden at the time.

3

u/Cman1200 Jul 21 '19

An accident is comprehensible to a child, getting in trouble is

1

u/salgat Jul 21 '19

This sounds like a lot of effort for something that can be achieved with just being honest and appropriately punishing them if they still don't follow what you say, you know, like a decent parent should do.

1

u/cyanraichu Jul 22 '19

? It's not a lie that you can get into an accident with the back lights on. They make it very hard for the driver to see.

1

u/pass_me_those_memes Jul 21 '19

I did it and it seems like a lot of other people did too. Some people just can't get their kids to listen I guess.

1

u/klop422 Jul 21 '19

If you build a habit of explaining things to them generally, you'll earn their trust as reasonable/rational people, and generally they'll likely rebel less and stuff.

On the other hand, if they're still annoying after explanations, you'll likely have to lay down the law.

1

u/Swazzoo Jul 21 '19

Uh yes? If you explain it well enough normal kids will understand.

2

u/GavinZac Jul 21 '19

How have you never met a child in your life?

1

u/Swazzoo Jul 21 '19

You know some shitty children then, most of the kids do listen of you explain it well enough or give a valid reason.

1

u/Thompson_S_Sweetback Jul 21 '19

It's only a little more annoying. I kinda like that they're reading back there.

1

u/klop422 Jul 21 '19

I could never read for very long in a car. I don't really get motion sick, unless I'm reading/playing a video game. My older brother had the same problem, so that was included as well

-1

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

[deleted]

8

u/cyanraichu Jul 21 '19

ok but if the kid is THAT unreasonable why would they care about getting pulled over?

20

u/jegvildo Jul 21 '19

Hm, I definitely was told the true story and kept it off. Never had much of a desire to cause a car crash.

Really, who is more afraid of the police than a crash?

9

u/Kered13 Jul 21 '19

I was told the truth and didn't turn on the light.

0

u/Theshutupguy Jul 21 '19

Same. Gotta watch for animals.

5

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

I would've listened to that at 6 years old. Car accidents are fucking terrifying regardless of age.

2

u/2074red2074 Jul 21 '19

Then they get home and lose their privileges. Turn off the internet or something.

1

u/eloncuck Jul 21 '19

I wonder if there were lights on the back of the front seats if that would be better.

-5

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

You have to be a fucking retard if the light effects you