Things that Parents Tell Their Children
I think impending parenthood makes one consider how they were raised and what things they'd like to do that their parents did and what they want to change. I feel like everyone has untruths they were raised with, whether it be something as simple as the tooth fairy or something much darker and personal. Recently, I've been thinking about some of the little ones that happened to me while I was growing up.
A little one that I didn't catch until I was literally seventeen was "porcupine". My entire childhood I thought it was pronounced "porky-pine". The only reason I realized my error was because that animal somehow managed to come up in a conversation with my mother. She looked at me and said, "You do realize that isn't how it's pronounced, right?" I was quite confused and asked her to clarify. She said, "It's pronounced "pork-U-pine". Your dad just thought it was funny to say "porky-pine" when you guys were little." I was a bit embarrassed, slightly annoyed, but not at all surprised by this revelation.
However, probably the one that stands out the most happened when I was at most four years old. My dad was driving down a dirt road with my mom in the passenger seat and the kids in the back. We were in an old car with those lovely windows that were operated by a hand-crank. Being the wiggly child that I was, naturally I rolled down the window, letting in clouds of dust from the road. My dad asked me to close the window and being the contrary person that I still am, I refused. Repeatedly. Running out of patience my father proceeded to tell me that his dad, my paternal grandfather, was bald because his hair had blown off due to all the years he'd driven his tractor without windows protecting him and his follicles. I immediately rolled up the window. A short while later we turned off the dirt road onto a paved one and my dad rolled down his window since it was hot and the car predated air-conditioning. I covered my head (and hair) with my arms and proceeded to scream at the top of my lungs. My mother was not amused with the situation.
Now before you proceed to the conclusion that fathers are the source of all misinformation fed to children, I have to admit that I have very much inherited my dad's sense of humor. My husband and I have been plotting the possibility of raising our children to think that "peek-a-boo" is in fact "Pikachu". Lest you think this evil genius rose entirely from our own twisted psyches, sadly credit is partially due to the extremely catchy chorus of the song Peek-A-Boo by Red Velvet. (If you listen to it, I think you'll understand.) Anyway, now I'm left wondering how much of the misinformation spewed by parents and other adults is the result of premeditation and how much comes from desperation. I really wish there was a way to accurately study that.
A little one that I didn't catch until I was literally seventeen was "porcupine". My entire childhood I thought it was pronounced "porky-pine". The only reason I realized my error was because that animal somehow managed to come up in a conversation with my mother. She looked at me and said, "You do realize that isn't how it's pronounced, right?" I was quite confused and asked her to clarify. She said, "It's pronounced "pork-U-pine". Your dad just thought it was funny to say "porky-pine" when you guys were little." I was a bit embarrassed, slightly annoyed, but not at all surprised by this revelation.
However, probably the one that stands out the most happened when I was at most four years old. My dad was driving down a dirt road with my mom in the passenger seat and the kids in the back. We were in an old car with those lovely windows that were operated by a hand-crank. Being the wiggly child that I was, naturally I rolled down the window, letting in clouds of dust from the road. My dad asked me to close the window and being the contrary person that I still am, I refused. Repeatedly. Running out of patience my father proceeded to tell me that his dad, my paternal grandfather, was bald because his hair had blown off due to all the years he'd driven his tractor without windows protecting him and his follicles. I immediately rolled up the window. A short while later we turned off the dirt road onto a paved one and my dad rolled down his window since it was hot and the car predated air-conditioning. I covered my head (and hair) with my arms and proceeded to scream at the top of my lungs. My mother was not amused with the situation.
Now before you proceed to the conclusion that fathers are the source of all misinformation fed to children, I have to admit that I have very much inherited my dad's sense of humor. My husband and I have been plotting the possibility of raising our children to think that "peek-a-boo" is in fact "Pikachu". Lest you think this evil genius rose entirely from our own twisted psyches, sadly credit is partially due to the extremely catchy chorus of the song Peek-A-Boo by Red Velvet. (If you listen to it, I think you'll understand.) Anyway, now I'm left wondering how much of the misinformation spewed by parents and other adults is the result of premeditation and how much comes from desperation. I really wish there was a way to accurately study that.
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