Parents lie about a lot of things—the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, baby-carrying storks. Or that picking your nose will make it fall off.
Well, did you know that Asian parents are the biggest liars? A new study that exams the practice of “parenting by lying” reports that Asian American parents are more likely than European American parents to lie to their children for the purpose of influencing their behavior. According to the researchers, one possible explanation is that Asian American parents tend to place a greater emphasis on the importance of teaching children to be respectful and obedient, and use a range of parenting strategies to meet these ends.
We can believe it.
In our office, we recalled certain fibs our parents told us. We can understand the reasoning behind some, but for others, we’re still scratching our heads.
“My parents said that eating fruit would make me pretty.”
“Mine said that if I flossed, I would get gaps in my teeth.”
“Mine said that cleaning my belly button would give me a stomachache.”
“My mom said that if I farted loudly, it wouldn’t smell as much.”
(That last one, you can test out for yourself.)
What are some lies your parents told you?
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My parents told me if I whistle at night, snake will come out and bite me.
my mom told me never to stick chopsticks in my bowl of rice. bad luck.
My parents were actually the opposite… while other kids were waiting for Santa Claus my parents told me that it was all a big hoax. Santa = Satan
If I don’t get married by 30, I’d never be married. We’ll have to see if that comes to fruition.
My parents told me that sleeping with the fan on will make me to suffocate to death. I guess this isn’t a “lie” because they really believe it, but it’s still ridiculous!
I use to hate jelly but my mom would make me eat it by saying, “Then you’ll never become Miss Korea”. As a little girl, I thought it was something all girls had to do.
If i washed the dishes, my p*nis would fall off.
My parents told me that if I throw fallen baby teeth standing straight and throw to roof of your house, your permanent teeth will come out straight. I always thought that they were making this up but It’s true! I did exactly what they told me to do and allof my teeth are straight as an arrow. My friends could not believe that I never had braces on my teeth. Wait, why am I writing this? I guess I still believe this was a lie.
My dad told me he was a general in the Korean army. I think he was just a liar.
my mom told me if i didn’t eat all my food, i’d have to finish it in hell. rotten, of course…. yikes, talk about asian guilt =/
I asked my mom where babies come from. She said that’s what belly button is for. It totally made sense for me, until I started to wonder why my dad and my brother had belly buttons. Couple years later mom said I was found me from underneath a bridge. I was totally confused.
My mom told me that Santa really exists, and now that I think, I think she was the one getting me the gifts.
I agree. :) I was adopted, so I wasn’t raised by Asian parents. But I always tell my son that if he plays video games too long that his eyeballs will fall out.