10 Blatant Lies Parents In The '90s Told Their Kids — That Most Of Us Believed

Which lies did you believe?

Here are 10 blatant lies parents in the ‘90s told their kids that most of us believed:

1. Drinking coffee stunts your growth ’90s parents told their kids that we couldn’t drink coffee because it would stunt our growth, which turns out to be a medical myth.

2. If you pee in a pool, the water changes colors Among the lies that ‘90s parents told their kids, one lie struck fear into our hearts more than any other: If we peed in a pool, the water would change colors, so everyone would know what we did.

As it turns out, a urine dye indicator for chlorine doesn’t exist in 2024, let alone in the ‘90s.

3. Chocolate milk comes from brown cows This lie was one of the less harmful lies our parents told us. As we slurped our chocolate milk, they’d insist it came from brown cows. We may not have believed them, but in our pre-internet childhood, we had no way to prove them wrong.

4. A watermelon will grow in your stomach if you swallow the seeds This lie led to a generation of kids who truly believed we were harvesting that perfectly pink summer fruit inside our bodies.

Now, we know the truth, but we still think about what our parents said whenever we eat watermelon.

5. If you swallow gum, it takes 7 years to digest

While this chewing-gum theory isn’t true, it’s not entirely impossible, either. “This isn’t exactly as straightforward as you think,” declared Dr. Mike, a family medicine practitioner. He shared that gum can get stuck in the GI tract, “especially if you swallow a lot of it or you swallow it at the same time with another solid substance, like a penny.”

“Gum is indigestible.  Don’t swallow gum regularly, but if you do, no big deal.”

6. It’s illegal to drive with lights on inside the car

While it isn’t illegal to drive with the lights on inside the car, it is a distraction. There’s a chance you could get pulled over, but it’s entirely within the law to keep your lights on while driving.

7. Sitting too close to the TV will ruin your vision.

‘90s kids were constantly told that sitting directly in front of the TV would ruin our eyesight, but in 2024, ophthalmologists proved our parents wrong, once again.

Dr. Vicki Chan, an eye doctor, debunked several myths about activities that we’re told will ruin our eyesight that don’t harm our vision, at all.

When asked if sitting too close to the TV can make our eyes worse, Dr. Chan answered with a simple “Nope.”

She shared other things that don’t affect our eyesight, including reading in the dark and playing too many video games, effectively erasing everything ‘90s parents told us not to do for the sake of our vision.

8. Cracking your knuckles gives you arthritis

Harvard Medical School determined that arthritis isn’t caused by cracking knuckles. They referenced studies comparing the prevalence of hand arthritis in people who had the habit of cracking their knuckles and those who didn’t.

They noted that chronic knuckle-cracking can lead to reduced grip strength, which is a good reason to stop, just not the reason our parents insisted on.

9. You have to wait 30 minutes after eating to swim As it turns out, this water safety rule is a total lie.

There’s no scientific evidence that we have to wait to swim if we’ve just eaten, a fact that provides a sense of healing to an entire generation.

10. You won’t find a job if you have a tattoo

A Pew Research Center survey found that 32% of adults in the U.S. have a tattoo, and 22% have more than one. 80% of Americans believe our society has become more accepting of tattoos over the past two decades. The way workers present themselves on the job is only one indication that our world has changed since the ‘90s.