Debunking Childhood Myths Part 2

From fizzy candy explosions in your tummy to having blue blood, common childhood myths have stuck around for ages. But are they true? Let’s put the rumors to rest — one myth at a time — and swap the old wives’ tales for simple, science-backed truth.

Read Debunking Childhood Myths Part 1. 

Myths About Food and Drink

Eating Pop Rocks with soda can make your stomach explode.

Pop Rocks and soda release carbon dioxide when they are eaten. The amount of gas is small, and your body can vent it normally through burping. You may burp more, but there won’t be any exploding stomachs.

Ginger ale helps a stomachache. 

Ginger can help some types of nausea, but many commercial ginger ales contain very little real ginger. The carbonation or sugar may not help (and can worsen symptoms for some), so plain ginger tea or ginger chews are often a better bet.

Feed a cold, starve a fever. 

There’s no rule that you should eat for one illness and avoid food for another. The best advice is to stay hydrated and eat light, nourishing foods as tolerated, since appetite often drops during fever.

Kids need to drink milk constantly to build strong bones.

Kids need enough calcium, vitamin D, protein, and weight-bearing activity for bone health, but they don’t need milk constantly. Dairy can help, but fortified plant milks, leafy greens, beans, tofu, fish with bones, and supplements (if advised) can also meet needs.

Myths About How You Get Sick 

If you go outside with wet hair, you’ll catch a cold. 

Colds are caused by viruses, so wet hair alone won’t make you sick. However, being chilled can be uncomfortable.  

Cold weather makes you sick. 

Cold weather itself doesn’t cause infection, viruses do. But in winter people spend more time indoors, ventilation may be poorer, and dry air can affect nasal passages, which can increase the chances of catching and spreading viruses.

Myths About Your Body

Our blood is blue until it hits the air. 

Blood is red because of hemoglobin; it’s bright red when oxygen-rich; and darker red when oxygen-poor. Veins can look blue through skin due to how light scatters, not because the blood itself is blue.

Touching a toad will give you warts. 

Warts are caused by certain strains of human papillomavirus, not by amphibians. Toads have bumpy skin that can resemble warts, which likely fueled the myth.

Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis.

Knuckle cracking is caused by changes in pressure within the joint that create a popping sound, not by bones grinding. Studies haven’t shown it causes arthritis, though it may irritate surrounding tissues for some people.

Shaving makes hair grow back thicker. 

Shaving doesn’t change how many hairs you have or how fast they grow. Hair can feel coarser as it grows back because the shaved end is blunt, but the strand isn’t actually thicker.

Myths About Your Eyes 

If you cross your eyes, they’ll get stuck that way. 

Crossing your eyes won’t make them permanently stay that way. If someone’s eyes look “stuck,” it’s usually due to an underlying eye muscle/nerve issue.

Sitting too close to the TV will damage your eyes. 

Sitting close to a TV usually doesn’t cause permanent eye damage. It can cause temporary eye strain or headaches. Kids often sit close because they can focus up close or want a bigger view.

Eating carrots improves your eyesight. 

Carrots provide vitamin A (via beta-carotene), which is essential for normal vision. They won’t give you super vision or fix nearsightedness, but carrots can prevent vision problems caused by vitamin A deficiency.