24 People Are Sharing the Shameless Lies They Were Told Growing Up

Although this is one of the most common instructional lies sold to children, I think we may be able to put it into a category of its own. What makes it different from other lies? I think that oftentimes, parents say this to their children without the intention that their children will actually believe it.

I always thought of it more as some sort of throw-away line, designed to communicate a parent’s displeasure at the behavior while maintaining a level of good humor—“Kid, just so you know, I don’t like that you’re doing that, so I’ll say something ridiculous that could happen if you keep doing it.”