A lot of us grow up wanting to believe that our parents are teaching us how to do life the right way.
But still…once you get a little bit older and you become your own person, you might have a little bit of conflict with your folks.
Hey, it happens to the best of us!
What things that your parents taught you did you learn were wrong later in life?
AskReddit users shared their stories.
1. Not bad advice, though.
“My parents both s**ked before having kids, and my mom raised me on stories about how the first time she s**ked a c**arette, she coughed so badly that she threw up. It made staying away from s**king c**arettes pretty easy, because I didn’t want to puke!
Once I was in college I brought up the story to her and she blinked like an owl caught in the sunlight. “Wait, you believed me?”
She said. “I was just trying to get you to not s**ke. If s**king made me vomit, why do you think I s**ked for 15 years?””
2. It’s all chaos.
“The requirement of “having your s**t together.”
Virtually everyone is in various stages of chaos, even if they give the appearance of having everything carefully planned.”
3. A breeze.
“How hard high school is.
Teachers always said you would have to smarten up in high school and you would barely have time for anything.
I crocheted my teacher a sweater for his dog in class once.”
4. Too bad.
“I was told in D.A.R.E. that people would constantly be offering me drugs and trying to get me high and it would be a constant struggle to turn them down.
Imagine my disappointment…”
5. Hmmm…
“Stop playing with the computer, you’ll get dumb.
I’m a software engineer now.”
6. Urban legend.
“Apparently my face will not actually “stay like that” if I make funny faces in the mirror.”
7. Loser!
“If you are not a model student and don’t have excellent grades, you will never amount to anything in life.”
8. Not true.
“If I didn’t do everything that was expected of me, I’d end up flipping burgers.
That turned out to be absolutely untrue and there’s absolutely no shame in working in the food industry.”
9. You’re telling me…
“I really thought the Bermuda Triangle would play a stronger role in my adulthood.”
10. I don’t think it exists.
“Your permanent record.
I’m 55, and nobody has ever asked me about the time I was sent to the principal’s office when I was 16.”
11. Oh, Mom…
“Mom warned me to “avoid any girl who wanted to stick her tongue in my mouth (‘French kiss’) because it would lead me astray.””
12. Doesn’t really matter.
“My mom was obsessed with the idea that all bad s**t only happened after midnight so that was my iron clad curfew.
Guess what Mom? A ton of bad s**t has happened to me in broad daylight.”
13. Sad, but true.
Stranger danger is a real thing, but you’re much more likely to be a**sed by someone you know.”
14. Easy Street.
“That as long as I study hard and get good grades, I will find the job that I love and I won’t have to work a day in my life… how does that even make sense?
I’m a couple months away from graduating with a cognitive science BS and I have absolutely no idea what I’m gonna do once I’m out of school because I’ve never had a real job before…”
15. Wrong!
“That therapists are useless and a waste of money.
Yeah but my therapist has helped me through panic attacks which was way more helpful than being yelled at during one, mom.”
16. Lies!
“My parents told me for 8 years that chocolate was poisonous to children.
I WENT 8 YEARS WITHOUT CHOCOLATE AND WHEN I TRIED IT AT A FRIENDS HOUSE I WAS SURE I WAS GOING TO D**.
Those b**tards lied to me.”
17. Who knew?!?!
“That people who don’t go out drinking multiple nights per week and the weekend are boring and will lead boring uneventful lives.
Turns out that being boring and uneventful meant not getting in trouble with the law, maintaining good health, and having an actual positive, non-chaotic, relationship with your wife and kids.”
18. Total BS.
“That adults know what they are doing.
Now I’m the adult I know it’s bulls**t.”
19. Ouch.
“Don’t report work injuries or you’ll never get hired again.
Thanks dad, destroyed my back at work when I was 19 and received no compensation at all and my whole life is f**ked as a result.”
20. No way.
“Always sit in the front of the classroom nearest the teacher.
You’ll get more attention that way and learn more.”
21. Bogus.
“That all drugs are d**dly and will lead to devastating results.
Have since tried many drugs and safely enjoyed most of them.”
22. They are glorious.
“That naps are wrong.
They never flat out said that, but everything they said about naps made it sound like I shouldn’t do it.
They would say things like “oh but you’re going to mess up your sleep schedule” or “but you’re going to miss the afternoon”.”
23. This is amazing.
“The car will go faster when you pee on the wheels.
This was told to me so that we wouldn’t have to stop for the bathroom during road trips.”
24. Pretty sure that’s wrong.
“My mom said that putting garlic in your ear makes your hearing better.
Now I’m not saying that this is true but I’m fairly certain it’s not.”
25. You gotta speak up sometimes.
“”Don’t cause a fuss and people will be nice to you.”
Wrong, wrong, and more wrong. Speak up when you have a problem or when someone is being rude, and don’t be a doormat.
Even if you don’t cause a fuss, people will still be rude or mean. Some people are just a**holes”
26. Doing just fine.
“I need to find a husband and to have kids to be truly happy in life.
I feel like I can pass on both and I’m perfectly happy and in solitude with my cats.”
Now it’s your turn…
In the comments, tell us about the things your parents taught you that turned out to be wrong.
We look forward to it!
