16 Childhood Lies We All Believed for Years
Here's a list of 16 popular childhood myths we all believed until growing up and facing the facts.
- Alyana Aguja
- 5 min read
Many of us carried strange beliefs through our early years, shaped by playful myths, half-truths, and well-meaning warnings. From thinking swallowed gum would live in your gut for seven years to believing your goldfish forgot you existed every three seconds, these lies added wonder, fear, or obedience to our daily lives. Looking back, they’re a reminder of how imagination and misinformation often go hand in hand in childhood.
1. Swallowed Gum Stays in Your Stomach for 7 Years
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Parents often warned that swallowing gum would make it stick to your insides for seven years. In reality, gum passes through your digestive system like most things that can’t be broken down. It doesn’t hang around for nearly a decade.
2. If You Cross Your Eyes, They’ll Stay That Way
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Many kids froze mid-silly face when adults warned that crossed eyes could get stuck forever. This myth probably started as a way to stop children from making goofy faces at the dinner table. Your eye muscles are perfectly capable of returning to normal after a moment of fun.
3. Chocolate Milk Comes from Brown Cows
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Some of us truly believed chocolate milk was a natural product of brown cows. It sounds absurd now, but as kids, it made perfect sense in a world full of animal cartoons. Chocolate milk is made by adding cocoa and sugar to regular milk — regardless of the cow’s color.
4. The Floor is Literally Lava
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While no one told us the floor was lava, we all played like it could burn us alive. The imaginary danger felt all too real as we leapt from couch to coffee table. It was a thrilling way to turn a boring living room into a survival zone.
5. Eating Crusts Makes Your Hair Curly
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This strange lie floated around playgrounds and lunch tables. Eating the dry edges of bread supposedly gave you gorgeous curls. In truth, crusts don’t change your hair — just your tolerance for dry bread.
6. Step on a Crack, Break Your Mother’s Back
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This rhyme was recited with the seriousness of a superstition. Many kids genuinely avoided cracks in the sidewalk for fear of injuring their mom. It was an early introduction to magical thinking, not back-breaking consequences.
7. Car Lights On Inside Will Get You Arrested
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Parents often claimed that driving with the car’s dome light on was illegal. It’s not against the law, although it can be a distraction while driving at night. The myth was likely created to avoid arguments during road trips.
8. Swallowed Watermelon Seeds Will Grow a Tree in Your Belly
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This bizarre lie made kids chew watermelon cautiously, fearful of sprouting roots from their stomach. The image of vines tangling through your body was enough to cause alarm. Fortunately, our bodies know better than to grow gardens inside us.
9. Santa Claus is Always Watching You
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The idea of Santa spying year-round kept many kids in check during the “off-season.” The North Pole surveillance myth made every act — good or bad — seem like part of a magical spreadsheet. It was a clever way to instill behavior management before smartphones did it for real.
10. Turning on the Light in the Backseat at Night is Dangerous
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Similar to the dome light myth, kids were told this could blind the driver or cause an accident. While it’s inconvenient and can reduce visibility, it’s not inherently dangerous. It’s just another creative way to get kids to sit still.
11. If You Eat Before Swimming, You’ll Cramp and Drown
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Many believed that jumping into a pool too soon after lunch could be fatal. The supposed risk of stomach cramps was enough to keep us drying off on the sidelines. Though mild cramping is possible, there’s no real evidence of life-threatening danger.
12. Thunder is the Sound of Angels Bowling
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This comforting image helped soften the fear of loud storms. Parents offered it as a sweet explanation when skies roared overhead. The truth involves lightning and air pressure, but angels with bowling balls felt less scary.
13. Licking a Battery Will Shock You into a Coma
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While licking a 9V battery can deliver a small zap, it won’t send you into a coma. The lie worked well to keep curious kids from messing with batteries. It’s more startling than dangerous unless you go too far.
14. Goldfish Have a Three-Second Memory
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We were told goldfish couldn’t remember anything beyond a few seconds, making the bowl seem like a new world every time. This was false — goldfish have memories lasting weeks and can recognize their owners. They’re smarter than we gave them credit for.
15. Your Tongue Has Separate Zones for Different Tastes
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Textbooks and teachers once taught that specific parts of the tongue sensed sweet, salty, sour, or bitter flavors. That’s since been debunked — all regions of your tongue can detect all tastes. The original “tongue map” was based on a mistranslation of a German paper.
16. Cracking Your Knuckles Will Give You Arthritis
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The dreaded consequence of finger popping haunted us through childhood. Studies have shown no link between knuckle cracking and arthritis. The sound is caused by gas bubbles in your joints, not damage.