Childhood is usually the best phase in life. But as we grow up, some things become funnier and funnier the more we realize the truth of things. For instance, the weird AF scare tactics our parents used on us! And, the lies they told us to make us behave a certain way. In fact, this Reddit thread where people have shared how their parents’ dire warnings turned out to be BS seems to prove this. Here, take a look:

1. “I was born left-handed. My pops used to smack the shit out of me if I used my left had, in essence forcing me to be right-handed. I had to constantly remind myself to use the hand with my birthmark to avoid smacks. As an adult I asked my pops why he forced me to be right-handed and he gave some tepid response about ‘When you’re left handed you’ll have a tendency to pull that way when you’re driving exposing you to oncoming traffic.'”

negative_space_

2. “If you get in trouble at school it will go on your PERMANENT RECORD and ruin your life. Not once has anyone, from college admissions to prospective employers to loan officers, so much as mentioned the legendary PERMANENT RECORD.”

SuzQP

3. “I would be unemployable if I didn’t learn cursive handwriting. Parents and teachers made me think that every job interview would have a cursive test in which they would measure the loops on the L’s or something.”

Mr_Saturn1

4. “That if I used one brand of shampoo and a different brand of conditioner, my hair would fall out.” 

Anonymous

5. “‘If you unscrew your belly button your bum will fall off.’ I did my best to avoid screwdrivers for a large part of my childhood because I lacked the will power not to stuff them into my belly button. I was terrified at the thought of losing my bum but intrigued by the possibility.”

butts_and_whatnot

6. “My mom warned me as a kid that eating the loose pieces of dried ramen from the pack would make me deathly ill. I kept doing it with no problems. One day she said that in front of my dad when I was a teen and he just gave her this ‘WTF are you talking about?’ look.”

allthecagesinthezoo

7. “That If I cross my eyes they might end up staying like that. Disclaimer: Some comments I’ve received believe this to be true. I’m no expert, but did a quick Google search which also said it was a myth. Cross your eyes at your own risk.”

TheManWhoHasThePlan

8. “My mom would always tell me ‘Take that look off your face or it will freeze and stay like that’ when I was little. I took that as fact. I really wanted dimples like my friend down the street so I would sit in my room with pencil erasers pushed into my cheeks forever. No dimples still.”

stellablue02762

9. “That if I kept picking my nose my head would cave in.”

SerBennis

10. “People you meet on the internet are swindlers or serial killers. Overall, the amount of people who are out there are out to get me and should be feared all day round, was severely exaggerated. That explains some of my social problems, I guess.”

twenty_seven_owls

11.”My parents are Korean, so fan death (some people believe that fans suck the oxygen out of the room, and if you fall asleep with a fan on, you’ll suffocate). When I leave my fan on at night, I feel so alive!”

writesgud

12. “‘Learn math because you won’t be walking around with a calculator in your pocket.'”

llamallamabjj

13. “Don’t sleep with socks on you’ll become blind.”

Anonymous

14. “You have to wait 2 hours after you eat to swim. If you don’t, you’ll sink.”

PasDePseudo

15. “That literally any college degree would be a ‘Guaranteed” job, and the only way to get a job.”

Dahhhkness

The lies grown ups tell us.