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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Just For Fun: Old Wives Tales
Starburst 09:47 PM 06-22-2014
We all know that there are hundreds of old wives tales, especially when it comes to parenting/child care. Some may have some truth to them, and some I think are just rumors started by bored and/or overprotective grandmas/mother-in-laws to make life more difficult for a new mom.

When I was the babysitting the other day, I was carrying the baby (14 months) on my hip and the grandmother (who was already micromanaging everything I did that day ) told me "Don't hold the baby like that, she'll get bow-legged" . I have taken multiple child development classes and they never said anything about that. In one class we did discuss bow-leggedness and they said that there are some studies that support that making a baby try to walk too early (when leg bones are still soft) and even walkers can possibly lead to that condition (or at least make it worst), but never mentioned anything about it being caused by carrying a baby on your hip. She is also from a different time and a different culture; so maybe where she's from they believe that, not sure. I told this to my mom and she said that it was just an old wives tale because everyone in our family holds their babies like that (we have a very hippy family) and none of us are bow-legged.

The only thing I have ever heard before this about it being bad having a baby on your hip, was when I was in middle school and during scoliosis checks the PE teachers told us to try to avoid doing that too much because it can cause misalignment of the spine and overtime can possibly lead to scoliosis. So not because it was bad for the baby, but the person holding the baby.

So I want to know: What are some of old wives tales you have heard of (from daycare parents, other providers, your own friends/family, strangers, outdated parenting books, etc.)? No need to make this into a debate, just what are some OWTs you have heard of that you think or know are/aren't true or that you just think are odd/fun/weird.
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TickleMonster 05:48 AM 06-23-2014
Most of the old wives tales I know are more about pregnancy such as if you have heartburn, your baby will have a full head of hair (which ironicly turned out to be true for me when I was pregnant! lol) Can't think of any that my parents have said though.
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Unregistered 06:14 AM 06-23-2014
Oh the early years with my MIL were fun She honestly believed a great deal of old wives tales. The one that stands out the most was when my babe had her first fever. "You need to give her a COLD bath and rub her down with rubbing alcohol." It was what they did with their kids. It was brutal to explain we just don't do that anymore, ever.

Or Grandmas 'they need to sleep out side every afternoon nap' - even in winter! She could not understand why I was unwilling to put the wee ones outside to nap in January. ummm our Canadian winters are cold! "Our children were all put out, seldom missed a day over the years." She lived much farther north than me too.
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Kelly 07:21 AM 06-23-2014
When I told a woman I worked with that my son had gotten into the sugar bowl, she said, "Oh, you can't let him eat sugar plain like that--it gives you worms!"
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CedarCreek 08:24 AM 06-23-2014
"Don't make that face, it'll get stuck like that." - I still use this one on my kids
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Leanna 09:37 AM 06-23-2014
- Well we've all heard "put the baby to sleep on his tummy because if he spits up on his back he will choke on it."

Some others:
- Don't bring female babies near a woman if she is having her time of the month because the baby will get constipated." (My neighbor to my mother when my sister was a few months old).

- Do not watch horror movies while pregnant because the baby will not develop properly. (Another neighbor)

-Don't bring anything for the baby into the house before s/he is born or you will "curse" the pregnancy. (How silly! I mean what if it is your second or third baby lol? )

- TONS of OWTs to predict gender (carry high/carry low, crave salt/crave dairy, etc.)
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craftymissbeth 09:42 AM 06-23-2014
When ds first came home from the hospital, my MIL and SIL's all FREAKED OUT when I pulled his bottle out of his mouth while he was still sucking on it. They said it will cause the soft spot in his head to completely cave in and his skull would collapse
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jenboo 09:59 AM 06-23-2014
Originally Posted by craftymissbeth:
When ds first came home from the hospital, my MIL and SIL's all FREAKED OUT when I pulled his bottle out of his mouth while he was still sucking on it. They said it will cause the soft spot in his head to completely cave in and his skull would collapse


my grandma told my cousin that her baby was sucking too hard on the bottle and would get down syndrome from it.

She also told my sister that she needed sterile water in the birthing tub (water birth) or the baby was going to get an eye infection. I responded with, you don't use sterile water to bathe your baby in so. ..
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e.j. 12:14 PM 06-23-2014
Originally Posted by craftymissbeth:
When ds first came home from the hospital, my MIL and SIL's all FREAKED OUT when I pulled his bottle out of his mouth while he was still sucking on it. They said it will cause the soft spot in his head to completely cave in and his skull would collapse
I'm cracking up just picturing this!

My great aunt used to say that dunking and rinsing out diapers in the toilet would give you "lily soft hands" and that eating the bread crust on sandwiches would give you curly hair. She also used to tell us that eating sugar or raw potatoes would give us worms.
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e.j. 12:21 PM 06-23-2014
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Or Grandmas 'they need to sleep out side every afternoon nap' - even in winter! She could not understand why I was unwilling to put the wee ones outside to nap in January. ummm our Canadian winters are cold! "Our children were all put out, seldom missed a day over the years." She lived much farther north than me too.
My father volunteered at his city's historical society and while there, ran across some papers that were written by a woman who had run a preschool out of her home back in the early-mid 1900's. (Can't remember the exact time frame.) She also used to nap the kids outside. She would bundle them all up in their snowsuits and take them out to the porch for a nap. Poor kids! I can't imagine how cold it must have been some days.
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sahm1225 12:21 PM 06-23-2014
I use this one -

When a toddler does the downward dog yoga pose, and look at you between their legs, they are asking for a sibling. I have no clue what the reasoning behind it is, but when any of my dcks do it, the mom usually announces pregnancy within a month or so!
My youngest dd (2) just started doing it. My dh says 'push her down' lol. We of course don't push her down


I've heard the bowlegged comment before. My family still says not to force the child bear weight on their legs until they are ready. I do feel there's truth to that, but that's what I was raised to believe.
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wdmmom 12:32 PM 06-23-2014
Eating bread crusts makes your hair curly.

Eating carrots would help you see better.

Don't make faces, it'll get stuck that way.

If a baby's heartbeat is high, you're having a girl. If heartbeat is lower, you're having a boy.

Too much candy will give you worms.

Don't go outside in the winter with wet hair. You'll get sick.

The list goes on.....
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Childminder 01:03 PM 06-23-2014
Hiccups means a baby is growing.

Don't paint while pregnant because the umbilical cord will wrap around the child's neck and choke them.

Carry a baby on your lap it's a boy and all over is a girl.
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MarinaVanessa 01:16 PM 06-23-2014
Here are some from my family/culture:

Rubbing fresh cow dung on your head during sunrise helps your hair grow out faster (told to my dad as a teen and he tried it, yuck).

Don't let children play barefoot/no sweater, cold makes them sick.

Wet a child behind the ears before letting them in the water or they'll get sick.

Wear something red to prevent the "evil eye" (from when someone is jealous of you)

If you get bad luck it's because someone gave you the "evil eye".

To remove the "evil eye" have someone take a raw egg and rub you with it to "cleanse" away the bad ju-ju. Then take the egg and crack it on the ground and bury it. The amount of white in the egg determines how much bad ju-ju was placed on you. (I've had this done to me before, it was determined that I [at 15 years old] had a lot of bad ju-ju placed on me so I was also whacked with some plants afterwards as well)

Watching a dog poop will give you a stye in your eye.

If someone eyes something you are eating give them a bite, otherwise you'll drop the whole thing (if someone drops food someone always says "Oh someone craved it")

Growing up with my grandmother living with us she would always hide the hairbrushes when company was over and clean our hair brushes and take all the hair off and burn it then wash the ashes down the drain so that no one could ever take it and put a spell on us.
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Bookworm 03:48 PM 06-23-2014
From my family (mostly both grandmas):

If a baby is developing faster than "normal", that means they are moving out of the way because you're pregnant.

Don't throw your hair outside because a bird might get it and build a nest and you will get a headache.

If you sweep someone's foot with the broom, they have to spit on it and then you burn it so they won't get bad luck. I have actually seen her do this several times. It's why we were banned from the house when she was cleaning.

You aren't allowed outside for six weeks after birth because you might get pleurisy. This was and still is strictly enforced in my family.

Put cabbage leaves on your swollen breasts to dry up your milk. Yeah, my family is really weird.
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spud912 03:59 PM 06-23-2014
My MIL can write a 500 page book with all of her superstitions. Just a few include:
  1. Shaving a baby's head will make the hair grow longer.
  2. Cutting a child's eyelashes short will make them grow long and curly.
  3. After child birth, a woman's aura is "cold," so she must wear warm clothes for at least a month to gain balance again. No part of the body should be exposed except the face. So in Arizona summer heat, following childbirth I "should" wear socks, gloves, long sleeve sweater, pants, and a hat. The house temperature should also be as warm as I can stand it.
  4. No renovations should occur in a house where there is a pregnant woman (including painting, flooring changes, etc.).
  5. No eating seafood, pineapple or pork after giving birth.
  6. A woman should not leave her house for 30 days after giving birth. Furthermore, she should not bath for 1 week after giving birth.

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Starburst 06:27 PM 06-23-2014
Originally Posted by spud912:
My MIL can write a 500 page book with all of her superstitions. Just a few include:
  1. Shaving a baby's head will make the hair grow longer.
  2. Cutting a child's eyelashes short will make them grow long and curly.
  3. After child birth, a woman's aura is "cold," so she must wear warm clothes for at least a month to gain balance again. No part of the body should be exposed except the face. So in Arizona summer heat, following childbirth I "should" wear socks, gloves, long sleeve sweater, pants, and a hat. The house temperature should also be as warm as I can stand it.
  4. No renovations should occur in a house where there is a pregnant woman (including painting, flooring changes, etc.).
  5. No eating seafood, pineapple or pork after giving birth.
  6. A woman should not leave her house for 30 days after giving birth. Furthermore, she should not bath for 1 week after giving birth.
The weird thing is I can kind of understand the reasoning behind # 5 (except the pineapple thing), at least if you are planning on breast feeding. because I know doctors advise expecting mom to stay away from seafood because of risk mercury poisoning risks and I can understand that if pork isn't properly prepped/ cooked it can cause food salmonella or E. Coli, which can possibly affect breast milk.
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hope 03:15 AM 06-24-2014
Originally Posted by Starburst:
The weird thing is I can kind of understand the reasoning behind # 5 (except the pineapple thing), at least if you are planning on breast feeding. because I know doctors advise expecting mom to stay away from seafood because of risk mercury poisoning risks and I can understand that if pork isn't properly prepped/ cooked it can cause food salmonella or E. Coli, which can possibly affect breast milk.
My DH has a compromised immune system (they compare it to that of a newborn). He is not allowed to eat fruit like pineapple bc it is difficult to wash the rough outside of the fruit properly and when you cut into it with a knife any bacteria from the. Skin can be carried to the meat of the fruit. So for this reason he needs to avoid melons with rough skin, pineapple, and lots of other foods for various reasons. So I agree with #5. Lol.
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spud912 07:21 AM 06-24-2014
Originally Posted by Starburst:
The weird thing is I can kind of understand the reasoning behind # 5 (except the pineapple thing), at least if you are planning on breast feeding. because I know doctors advise expecting mom to stay away from seafood because of risk mercury poisoning risks and I can understand that if pork isn't properly prepped/ cooked it can cause food salmonella or E. Coli, which can possibly affect breast milk.
Originally Posted by hope:
My DH has a compromised immune system (they compare it to that of a newborn). He is not allowed to eat fruit like pineapple bc it is difficult to wash the rough outside of the fruit properly and when you cut into it with a knife any bacteria from the. Skin can be carried to the meat of the fruit. So for this reason he needs to avoid melons with rough skin, pineapple, and lots of other foods for various reasons. So I agree with #5. Lol.
Yes your reasons make sense, but my MIL's do not. The seafood and pineapple is to be avoided because consuming it will cause bad spirits to come and the pork is to be avoided because it doesn't help the mother gain her cold/warm balance and makes her "cold."

On a side note, you would think pineapple would be beneficial in getting your uterus back in shape because it contains an enzyme that supposedly causes uterine contractions. I can understand raw or undercooked seafood (especially oysters). The big concern in THE PAST with pork was trichinellosis (worms), but pork nowadays rarely if ever contains trichinellosis anymore due to higher standards of testing and processing the meat. Chicken, eggs and melons are more likely to contain salmonella and ground beef is the main vector for E. coli.
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hope 09:05 AM 06-24-2014
Yeah, the doctors never warned us of the bad spirits. Hahaha! I don't know how I would answer to that one. I want a MILESTONE that is as interesting as some of yours!!!!
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daycare 09:20 AM 06-24-2014
I had to look this up and dont' really understand it. I thought of it as fairy tales? In my home country we have a lot of myths, but I can't really recall any of them...lol

this is an interesting thread. I see that a lot of it is based on different cultures.
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My3cents 11:52 AM 06-24-2014
If you swear around a dragonfly it will zip your mouth shut!

going out with wet hair will make you sick

If you look at lightning it will blind you

heartburn will give your baby a ton of hair.

you step on a crack you will break your mothers back

walk under a ladder 7 years bad luck

break a mirror 13 years of bad luck

slouch you will look like a camel
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Patches 12:16 PM 06-24-2014
If your hand itches, it means you're about to get money. I worked with a woman who would go to the casino every time her hand itched.
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SignMeUp 12:20 PM 06-24-2014
My MIL told me to put mud on a bee sting to take away the pain.
I did it and it worked Used to do this with my dcks but I wouldn't dare these days
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KiddieCahoots 01:46 PM 06-24-2014
If your nose is itchy, your going to get into a fight with somebody, or kiss a fool.

Ringing in your ears means someone is talking about you.

When you hear a bell ring, an angel has received their wings.

When a baby is coughing and choking on food, hit them on the back to get it out. (I still can't break my mom of this bad habit)
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hope 04:43 PM 06-24-2014
My mother won't let me count days. She says it is a count down to yours or someone you know death. So when Dd asks how many days till some sort of event I can not say 10 days. I have to just give the date.
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KiddieCahoots 05:20 PM 06-24-2014
Originally Posted by SignMeUp:
My MIL told me to put mud on a bee sting to take away the pain.
I did it and it worked Used to do this with my dcks but I wouldn't dare these days
SignMeUP, try vinegar, takes the sting away instantly!
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SignMeUp 05:35 PM 06-24-2014
Originally Posted by KiddieCahoots:
SignMeUP, try vinegar, takes the sting away instantly!
I'm guessing both have to do with the cooling effect
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KiddieCahoots 05:59 PM 06-24-2014
Originally Posted by SignMeUp:
I'm guessing both have to do with the cooling effect
Something about the acidity in the vinegar neutralizes the toxins of a bee sting, although....mud sounds way more fun!
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MarinaVanessa 06:30 PM 06-24-2014
Originally Posted by daycare:
I had to look this up and dont' really understand it. I thought of it as fairy tales? In my home country we have a lot of myths, but I can't really recall any of them...lol

this is an interesting thread. I see that a lot of it is based on different cultures.
"Old wives tales" are like superstitions that people have.
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Rockgirl 04:52 PM 06-25-2014
When I was pregnant with my oldest, my MIL warned me not to raise my arms over my head, or the umbilical cord would wrap around the baby's neck. Right..... Because we all know the cord is attached to our arms!
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sahm1225 12:19 AM 06-26-2014
I have more -

- itchy palm/hand means you are going to come into some money
- ear ringing means someone is talking about you
- babies must wear the special bracelet to ward off the evil eye as infants. if you go out and strangers are oohing & aahing over your baby, your lo better be wearing that bracelet!
- if you dream of teeth falling it means someone is going to die
- if you dream of fish and see the fish swimming in water it means you are pregnant. You will ONLY see swimming fish underwater if you are pregnant. I believe this one so much that I will tell myself in a dream to not look under the water lol!
- if you see the adult tooth poking out, you need to pull the tooth ASAP or it will come on crooked. This one really surprises me that American cultures are so nonchalant about it. My sons adult tooth was barely showing and I made him wiggle that tooth so it was out within 2 days. My nieve had her 2 full adult teeth grown before the baby teeth fell out. It stressed me out when I saw it!
- if you deny a pregnant woman something you will get a sty in your eye.
-
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NightOwl 04:49 AM 06-26-2014
Originally Posted by craftymissbeth:
When ds first came home from the hospital, my MIL and SIL's all FREAKED OUT when I pulled his bottle out of his mouth while he was still sucking on it. They said it will cause the soft spot in his head to completely cave in and his skull would collapse
Bahahahahaha! The suction cup effect.
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Tags:just for fun, old wives tales
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