# Big Fat Lies. (we tell kids). **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 8, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997 "2010-09-08T01:06:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/21 "2010-09-09T12:20:19Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > > [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > > > Money isn’t everything. > > Personally, I don’t think this is a lie. Money really _isn’t_ everything. But it is way ahead of what ever is in second place. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/22 "2010-09-09T12:47:56Z")
“We’ll see” ☹ Aw man, that always means no. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/23 "2010-09-09T13:55:52Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > I agree with the “You can be anything you want.” I tell my students it’s a lie. As a 5’4" 120 lb woman, I don’t see myself as an NBA player or NFL player no matter how I try. Nor will the College of Cardinals be electing me Pope anytime soon. However, with my parents, this only applied to “if what you want is a traditional female role”, that is, as long as I wanted to be a wife and mother, or a nurse, or a secretary, I could be one of those options. If I wanted to work in a male role, then no, that wasn’t appropriate. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > “Right now are the best years of your life.” - Something that is not a good thing to tell a kid who’s already depressed, I can say from personal experience. You might be intending to tell them their present problems are no big deal and they should buck up, but what they’ll hear is that you are saying that their future holds nothing but misery; that their life is only going to go from bad to worse. I think that from about 12 until I was about 18 were my most miserable years, and everyone kept telling me that they were supposed to be the happiest years of my life. I still have problems with depression, but not nearly as bad as when I was in my teens. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/24 "2010-09-09T14:29:50Z")
Negative things single parents sometimes say to our kids about the other parent. And that parent’s new love. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/25 "2010-09-09T14:48:00Z")
Time heals all wounds. No, it doesn’t. Not the deep ones anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/26 "2010-09-09T14:49:17Z")
“Wine makes mummy clever” “If you put a piece of ham in Daddy’s DVD player it will play a short film about pigs” From [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lies_to_Tell_Small_Kids). ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/27 "2010-09-09T14:52:53Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > > [@Pai325](#): > > > > I agree with the “You can be anything you want.” I tell my students it’s a lie. As a 5’4" 120 lb woman, I don’t see myself as an NBA player or NFL player no matter how I try. Nor will the College of Cardinals be electing me Pope anytime soon. > > You \*want \*to be those things? Are you telling me it wouldn’t be great to be Pope and an NBA player at the same time? My (shameful) contribution as a smoker is “I just need to make a quick phone call/check the mail/get something from the car/take the trash out.” ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/28 "2010-09-09T15:08:06Z")
Anything in life is really fair. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/29 "2010-09-09T15:09:11Z")
[quote=“villa, post:27, topic:552997”] > [@USCDiver](#): > > My (shameful) contribution as a smoker is “I just need to make a quick phone call/check the mail/get something from the car/take the trash out.” Been there! As if they can’t smell it all over you, eh? Ahem, ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/30 "2010-09-09T15:24:22Z")
Hey! I didn’t say that, you dirty quote nester!! ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/31 "2010-09-09T15:43:36Z")
“It’s very important that you know how to multiply fractions. Adults do it all the time.” (And a host of similar lies concerning the quadratic formula, balancing chemical equations, memorizing the names of all 44 American Presidents, and the majority of other things that we teach kids in school.) ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/32 "2010-09-09T15:44:48Z")
**USCDiver** didn’t say it, > [@villa](#): > > My (shameful) contribution as a smoker is “I just need to make a quick phone call/check the mail/get something from the car/take the trash out.” did. It’s my trick finger’s fault. ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/33 "2010-09-09T15:57:46Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > > [@norinew](#): > > > > Personally, I don’t think this is a lie. Money really _isn’t_ everything. > > But it is way ahead of what ever is in second place. And, money allows one the freedom to choose the circumstances of one’s misery. I’d rather be miserable on a beach drinking a mai tai than miserable living under a bridge. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/34 "2010-09-09T16:42:29Z")
I was told that thunder and lightning come from clouds bumping into each other. Believed that for years, I did. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/35 "2010-09-09T16:48:48Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Bullies are just cowards. That one is not a lie. It’s not invariably true, but in my experience, more bullies are chickenshit than not. –StR, former bully ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/36 "2010-09-09T17:10:30Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > “Right now are the best years of your life.” - Something that is not a good thing to tell a kid who’s already depressed, I can say from personal experience. You might be intending to tell them their present problems are no big deal and they should buck up, but what they’ll hear is that you are saying that their future holds nothing but misery; that their life is only going to go from bad to worse. My high school French teacher said that to me once when I was in the throes of a depression. I burst into tears immediately and went down to the school newspaper office, where my journalism teacher straightened me right out. She said, “Forget what Mrs. FrenchTeacher said, she’s a bitter old hag. Trust me. It will get better. The older you get, the better it gets.” She was right. As far as big fat lies I was told: •That will go down on your permanent record. •We took the dog to go live on a nice farm. • The tooth fairy will put money under my pillow if I leave my teeth there. • When you finish all your chores, we will take you to the lake. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/37 "2010-09-09T17:11:34Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I was told that thunder and lightning come from clouds bumping into each other. > > Believed that for years, I did. And rain was angels crying because somebody sinned. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/38 "2010-09-09T17:26:04Z")
“You’re special” should always end with “to me” or “to us.” ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/39 "2010-09-09T21:26:03Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > “It’s very important that you know how to multiply fractions. Adults do it all the time.” > > (And a host of similar lies concerning the quadratic formula, balancing chemical equations, memorizing the names of all 44 American Presidents, and the majority of other things that we teach kids in school.) OK, I’ve never been called upon to recite the names of the presidents, especially in order, or to solve a quadratic equation as an adult. I’ve found it’s USEFUL to recognize a presidential name and the approximate time that they guy was president. However, as an adult, I multiplied fractions all day long for about 10 years, each work day. I still frequently multiply fractions. In high school, one of my science teachers said that we didn’t have to memorize most of the science data that we’d use in that class. The teacher said that in real life, scientists just looked that stuff up when they needed to know it. This guy also did NOT require us to keep a notebook. He said that doing so would benefit US, but that he wasn’t going to collect them and grade us on them. He let us have “open book” tests…that is, we could look stuff up in our text books, notebooks, and returned papers during tests, as that was the way that scientists and engineers did it in real life. He also handed out some mimeographs of humor and interesting/useful facts. One of these little bits of wisdom was “Hot glass looks EXACTLY the same as cold glass”. Another was “Before calling for repairs, make sure it’s plugged in”. Both of those phrases have served me well over the years. ---
**Author:** ![moejoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@moejoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moejoe)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997/40 "2010-09-10T04:33:45Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I was told that thunder and lightning come from clouds bumping into each other. > > Believed that for years, I did. Oh lord, here we go. You mean…it doesn’t? I know it’s silly, but I just realized I never made the effort to graduate from that childhood explanation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-fat-lies-we-tell-kids/552997.md?page=3)