Old wives and their tales

[charlie_cochrane]

Been blogging about this over at Flirty Author Bitches. Please come and share your daftest bit of now-disproven "wisdom" or "fact".

Comments

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

I remember the hair thing. Just when you are feeling extra yucky... My mom also said that the best thing for cramps was a brisk walk outdoors. No midol for me!

She believed anyone with a fever should lie in bed, immobile for 24 hours after it left. By the time that was over I was begging to go back to school.

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

Brisk walk? Ew.

I wonder how many of these over-protective things (like the fever one) date back to the pre-modern medicine times when small things could kill you...

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

A lot, I think. My mom grew up in the pre-antibiotic days. She believed sick people should stay home in bed! Healthy young people should be involved in productive work, or outdoor play, or--last resort-- a nice book. But if you spent too long on the nice book she would offer you some productive work!

She really had a thing for the fresh air. She believed that babies over about a month should be aired every day for several hours outdoors, if the temp was above freezing, (And there was no rain of course.)

When I resisted leaving my son in his carriage outdoors alone, she said I was being very silly. It ended up with me sitting outside with him, and a nice book-- so I win!

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

Oh I remember my Mum and aunts saying that you had to put children out in their prams all day, even if they cried the house down. I never did that, although we used to get some fresh air every day, even if it was just walking up the road and back!