When I was a kid, my mom used to tell me all sorts of things. Ridiculous things that mothers say to their children to assert fear so hopefully us kids will stay safe and not do anything stupid, like walking in the middle of the road, or something.
Funny thing is, now that I'm older and I realized how silly some of these things are, I still do them anyway. Maybe it already became a habit, or maybe that's not even it. I guess when you've believed something for a long time, it's not that easy to break away from that.
I'm not talking about Santa Claus, y'all. Sure, I expect a nice Christmas present every year, but I have a more realistic approach. Like, asking for it directly to the source (aka, my parents), instead of waiting around for it.
I remember one time my dad sneaked in a Home Alone VCD under my pillow and I was so excited when I found it. See, who says I'm high maintenance? Boo. Although now that I'm older and all, I just asked my dad for the money. Because whereas VCD may seem like a really cool idea for a 7 year-old, it doesn't have the same effect to a 22-year-old's lady. That's me! And my dad is not exactly the best shopper out there.
(How tacky is it to receive money as Christmas present, though, right? Where's the festivity? Okay, I need to talk to Dad about this.)
So anyway. The sorts of things that my mom used to tell my sisters and I were along the lines of:
"You shouldn't sit on a pillow because then you'll get a gigantic boil on your butt."
"You shouldn't peek because then you'll get a pimple on your eyes!"
"Don't ever take a bath at night because then your back will hurt. Skeleton will be all fucked up."
Those were the few things I remember the most. Words of wisdom? Not at all! They're all so ridiculous that I found it hard to believe that at one point of time, I used to hold these dear to heart.
As a kid, I'm so scared of getting a pimple on my eyes or boils on my butt!!
But, even though I don't believe it, I still wouldn't do any of those things now, because, uhm, I don't really know why. I just wouldn't. Like I said, maybe it's grown to be a habit.
And my mom was just trying to find a way to teach her kids not to peek (because it's rude and wrong?!), and it's much easier to make us remember when we're inserted with fear! No matter how naughty we may be, we still don't wanna have bones-problem, do we? (After all, I wanted to attract that boy from next class.)
One question though, how did she learn all of these? And should I teach my kids the same thing? Maybe. That certainly is better than the possibility of having a perverted little kid who likes peeking at the girls' changing room. OMG.