8 Weird Parenting Facts To Blow Your Mind

We're all weird sometimes.



Okay, so let’s lay the groundwork with something we can all agree on: parents are weird sometimes. It’s not their fault. Parents are people, and on the whole… we’re just a strange species. But as odd as your parents might have been, we’re willing to bet that compared to these parents of the past, your parents were probably relatively normal. (Unless you also got lard baths as an infant.)

So come on, join us for some time travel. We’ve scoured history and found some of the most bizarre facts about parents of the past. Ready? Here we go.

8 Strange Parenting Facts That’ll Make You Say “What?”

1. In 1962, an American pediatrician warned that hugging and cuddling a child could turn him or her into a socialist.

2. In the Middle Ages, parents swaddled their babies in linen bands until eight or nine months to help them “grow straight”.

3. European and American babies of the early 1900s were given lard baths by their parents.

4. In Victorian England, parents calmed their kids with medicine laced with opium and other narcotics.

5. Through the 1920s, many parents believed that babies who showed left-handed tendencies should be trained to be right-handed, often with painful braces.

6. A 1932 US government pamphlet suggested that parents should start toilet training their babies right after birth.

7. In the 1800s, women in America were advised to treat sore nipples (from breastfeeding) with boric acid. This acid is a common ingredient in industrial-grade insecticide.

8. In Bulgaria, parents historically believed that the devil became jealous when a baby was praised too much, so parents typically spat on their babies and said things such as, "May the chickens poop on you."

And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird

Sure, your parents might have embarrassed you once or twice… but did they ever curse you with a shower of chicken poop? If the answer is no (and we hope it is), then your parents are probably alright. With Father’s Day coming up, now’s the perfect time to thank Dad for being just the perfect level of weirdness.

P.S. Just please don’t engrave “Thanks for never cursing me with chicken poop” on the back of Dad’s watch. Or do. We won’t judge.

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