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30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact

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Being caring and attentive is a common grandparent trait. They want only what’s best for their kin, which is why they might go to extreme lengths to make sure nothing bad ever happens to them. Though in order to make sure that it doesn’t, one has to take certain precautionary measures, which might sometimes seem illogical or cuckoo at best.

For instance, according to some grandmas, moms have to bite off the nails of their babies instead of using clippers, or else the little one might become a thief. Other grandmothers have something against socks, as they say that putting them on babies can stop the growth of their ankles.

These are just a couple examples of superstitions regarding babies grandparents have shared with their loved ones. In a video that went viral, TikToker ‘artbydemarcusshawn’ discussed some that he’s heard from his grandmother, starting a thread of netizens discussing more surprising instances. Scroll down to find some questionable suggestions on the list below and see for yourself how superstitious grandparents can get when it comes to babies.

@artbydemarcusshawn #fyp ♬ original sound - DemarcusShawn

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#1

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact Watch out for the cat, too. A cat will inhale all the baby’s air.

RandallPorcine , Mark Burnett / Pexels Report

Final score:

37points

Zedrapazia 10 months ago

This makes me imagine a cat that just inflates into a giant balloon that fills the entire room so it can successfully steal all the air from the baby.

23points

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#2

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact When I was pregnant I was addicted to ice water, my granny told me too much would drown the baby.

Toi Rison , abillion / Unsplash Report

Final score:

35points

LakotaWolf (she/her) 10 months ago

Ah yes, the ol' "esophagus connected directly to uterus" theory XD

16points

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#3

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact My grandma said my baby was going to develop a club foot because he wore footed pajamas all the time…. Girl, you smoked in the car with my mama.

Glinda The Good Witch , leah hetteberg / Unsplash Report

Final score:

34points

Dave Van Beurden 10 months ago

so wearing footed pyjamas would cause a congenital condition? interesting...

11points

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#4

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact My grandma told me, my baby was going to drown, if I went swimming while pregnant.

tiff. , Leticia Azevedo / Pexels Report

Final score:

34points

the dancing demon (she/her) 10 months ago

No you just become a submarine

52points

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#5

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact My grandma told my mom if she raised her arms above her head while pregnant, she’d wrap the umbilical cord around the baby.

Sierra Kateia , Marta Wave / Pexels Report

Final score:

32points

Manic Mama 10 months ago

My friend's mum told me the same thing.

9points

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#6

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact My husband’s grandma told me not to put socks on the baby bc his ankles won’t grow.

Jennifer , Alexandra Victoria / Pexels Report

Final score:

30points

Megan Curl 10 months ago

But those adorable tootsies would get cold.

3points

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#7

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact My MIL told me to not let my son stare at the ceiling fan bc it’s demonic.

afinneyyy , Curtis Adams / Pexels Report

Final score:

29points

ADHORTATOR 10 months ago

Some explanations please...

9points

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#8

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact My grandmother: 'Don't tickle the baby's feet, he'll grow up to be a swearer.'

blomskibeat , Atharva Whaval / Unsplash Report

Final score:

29points

Phoenix 10 months ago

Someone must've tickled the fück outta my feet.

85points

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#9

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact My MIL would bother the s**t out of me to bath my baby with lettuce every day because it reduce chances of sleep apnea I’m like girl,I’m tired.

C , Kai Pilger / Pexels Report

Final score:

27points

Poison Ivy/Boo 10 months ago

Just curious: do you put the lettuce in the water or do you use a leaf of lettuce like a wash cloth?

14points

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#10

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact My grandma would say don’t let the baby look at it’s reflection in the mirror or their teeth won’t come in.

Aaliyahhhh , Sergey Makashin / Pexels Report

Final score:

26points

Bored something 10 months ago

What is it with babies and mirrors?

7points

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#11

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact While I was pregnant, my grandma told me that I could drown the baby if I held my pee too long.

Ashlee Marie , Giorgio Trovato / Unsplash Report

Final score:

25points

BTDubs 10 months ago

So everything is connected to the uterus now? What about if you hold on a fart? Does it gas the baby?

35points

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#12

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact My grandma said: 'Don't take so many pictures of her, it ruins their eyes.

Noah Drake , Sarah Chai / Pexels Report

Final score:

25points

General Anaesthesia 10 months ago

Flash photography?

17points

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#13

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact My grandma told me to bite my baby's nails instead of using clippers or he’d become a thief.

PrincessConsuela94 , RDNE Stock project / Pexels Report

Final score:

24points

Phoenix 10 months ago

I've heard this for safety reasons but never as a superstition.

21points

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#14

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact My grandmother told me if I let her blow cigarette smoke in my 4-month-old's ear, it would cure his ear infection.

Anonymous , lilartsy / unsplash Report

Final score:

24points

Phoenix 10 months ago

What remedy did she have for the red mark you left after slapping her?

39points

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#15

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact Lol I'm Appalachian and there are so many of these. "dont hold the baby upside down because you will turn it's liver over" my fav.

Melissa Stewart , Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels Report

Final score:

23points

Megan Curl 10 months ago

These, along with so much Appalachian tradition and lore, are truly fascinating. The music is magical.

7points

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#16

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact We were told to tip the baby upside down to sort out their days and nights properly...

Sheisl , Anastasia Shuraeva / Pexels Report

Final score:

21points

Phoenix 10 months ago

You only need to do this while on vacation to another continent.

7points

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#17

my nanny told me watering down the apple juice would give my baby diabetes.

amishbearcrimes Report

Final score:

20points

Rinso the Red 10 months ago

Wouldn't, if it was possible at all, it be the other way? Too much sweet juice?

21points

#18

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact 'Don't touch the bottom of the baby's feet or his hair won't grow,' like huh??

sophie , Pixabay / Pexels Report

Final score:

20points

Kaedyn Walsh 10 months ago

That baby in the pic has perfect ballet toes for pointe. At least the angle of the pic seems that way.

4points

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#19

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact Mine said if you tickle the baby too much they can go mute.

biancameza261 , Karolina Grabowska / Pexels Report

Final score:

19points

Joe Reaves 10 months ago

So if you accidentally tickle their feet, which turns them into a swearer, you can 'cure' that by continuing to tickle them until they go mute!

15points

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#20

My grandma told me to never hold my baby on my hip or else he’ll be bow legged.

Final score:

19points

Phoenix 10 months ago

Good idea. Get him rocking horse instead.

6points

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#21

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact When I was pregnant my mom slapped my legs and told me to uncross them because the umbilical cord would get wrapped around the neck.

Caaasss , Annushka Ahuja / Pexels Report

Final score:

19points

CommanderDucky-He/Him-cis-gay 10 months ago

Damn, I never knew the legs and the umbilical cord were attached, thanks random persons mom /s

7points

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#22

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact My great grandma told my mom we’d have a heart attack if we looked in a mirror as babies.

Bebe , MART PRODUCTION / Pexels Report

Final score:

19points

Phoenix 10 months ago (edited)

A nice way of telling you your kid isn't cute. /j

19points

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#23

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact My husbands grandmother always said if my child (who was inside) wasn’t wearing socks, he’d get hypothermia. in the middle of the summer too.

Corinne McQuillan , Mikhail Nilov / Pexels Report

Final score:

19points

VioletHunter 10 months ago

Babies can't control their own body temperature up until a certain age. So this one isn't completely unfounded, just very exaggerated.

14points

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#24

"don't go outside after birth for a month the baby can get colic"-RIP grandma

Venecia87 Report

Final score:

18points

Amalie Jaye 10 months ago

In the grandparents time, this would have been more common, as babies are more susceptible to illness after birth :)

4points

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#25

My granny said I was patting my baby to hard she said “you don’t want her intestines to fall out” it was a regular tap as she was falling asleep.

Jayme Lanai Report

Final score:

18points

Kare Deter 10 months ago

I really wonder where some of these come from.

8points

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#26

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact Was told by my grandma that letting a baby look in the mirror will hurt his gums.

Jewell Michael , Владимир Васильев / Pexels Report

Final score:

17points

hearditontheX 10 months ago

His gums. Huh

5points

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#27

granny saw a fly in my living room and then proceeded to order MOSQUITO NET COVER for her bassinet bc obviously flies will lay eggs in the baby mouth

InaguaGyal Report

Final score:

16points

LGBTQpanda 10 months ago (edited)

My grandma said the flies will have "relations" on the baby and spread "those kinds of diseases" to the child. THAT'S something I only ever heard from her.

8points

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#28

'Don’t tickle his feet, he’ll get diabetes' was a real one we heard.

Tiny Waste Report

Final score:

16points

TheElementalGod️️ (He/him) 10 months ago (edited)

Moral of the article: never tickle babies feet.

13points

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#29

I was told not to tickle babies feet or they will be incontinent as adults.

Final score:

15points

CaptainFluffy 10 months ago

Incontinent and sweary

26points

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#30

30 Of The Wildest Superstitions About Raising Babies That Grandparents Took For Fact my momma said don't be looking over the baby head, he might become cross eyed

Gwendolyn N Hartsfir , G_Masters / Pexels Report

Final score:

13points

Natty Tempest 9 months ago

Baby short. It's going to happen!

0points

Note: this post originally had 36 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

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Miglė Miliūtė

A writer here at Bored Panda, I am a lover of good music, good food, and good company, which makes food-related topics and feel-good stories my favorite ones to cover. Passionate about traveling and concerts, I constantly seek occasions to visit places yet personally unexplored. I also enjoy spending free time outdoors, trying out different sports—even if I don’t look too graceful at it—or socializing over a cup of coffee.

A writer here at Bored Panda, I am a lover of good music, good food, and good company, which makes food-related topics and feel-good stories my favorite ones to cover. Passionate about traveling and concerts, I constantly seek occasions to visit places yet personally unexplored. I also enjoy spending free time outdoors, trying out different sports—even if I don’t look too graceful at it—or socializing over a cup of coffee.

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

What do you think ?

Multa Nocte 10 months ago

Oh geez, here we go with the "crazy boomers" again. BP - very disappointed. "Old wives tales" are as rampant among younger generations as they are with older generations. I can understand an article entitled "bizarre superstitions among people with babies," but this ageism is painful. Do you never learn from the feedback you get in these discussion sections?

8points

Binky Melnik 10 months ago

Why would you think they read comments? Besides the fact that many (most?) writers avoid the comments sections on their articles, the BP writers haven’t the time to read comments (they’re researching and writing the articles), what would it accomplish? You think they’d make a list of the points people make, take ‘em to someone with some sorta power, present them, and Person with Power will jump right to assigning people to attend to each of the comments? (Hint: No, that doesn’t happen. An individual with a blog? Sure, when he’s first starting out. If it becomes big, there’s no longer time for that.) Moreover, the comments on BP are NOT high quality; after seeing “Oh,” “THIS.,” “Yeah,” and other empty posts enough, they’d give up entire paychecks not to hafta look at the “comments” ever again,

1point

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pelemele 10 months ago

Come on, I'll change the title for you (no need stupid clickbait or stupid X vs Y) : People Are Sharing Ridiculous “Baby Superstitions” (36 Answers)

5points

pelemele 10 months ago (edited)

@Migle Miliute and @Mindaugas Balciauskas: Edit after your new titlte : A little more effort, now you can remove from the title "Of Grandparend" ("36 Bits Of Grandparent “Wisdom” About Raising Kids That We Can Only Scoff At Today")

1point

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Tyke 10 months ago

I was told I had to put the bible open at a certain page at the head of my baby's crib... or the evil spirits would get him. Wet toilet roll on his head for hiccups. And not to cut his hair before he can speak or it will stunt his speech

2points

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Multa Nocte 10 months ago

Oh geez, here we go with the "crazy boomers" again. BP - very disappointed. "Old wives tales" are as rampant among younger generations as they are with older generations. I can understand an article entitled "bizarre superstitions among people with babies," but this ageism is painful. Do you never learn from the feedback you get in these discussion sections?

8points

Binky Melnik 10 months ago

Why would you think they read comments? Besides the fact that many (most?) writers avoid the comments sections on their articles, the BP writers haven’t the time to read comments (they’re researching and writing the articles), what would it accomplish? You think they’d make a list of the points people make, take ‘em to someone with some sorta power, present them, and Person with Power will jump right to assigning people to attend to each of the comments? (Hint: No, that doesn’t happen. An individual with a blog? Sure, when he’s first starting out. If it becomes big, there’s no longer time for that.) Moreover, the comments on BP are NOT high quality; after seeing “Oh,” “THIS.,” “Yeah,” and other empty posts enough, they’d give up entire paychecks not to hafta look at the “comments” ever again,

1point

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pelemele 10 months ago

Come on, I'll change the title for you (no need stupid clickbait or stupid X vs Y) : People Are Sharing Ridiculous “Baby Superstitions” (36 Answers)

5points

pelemele 10 months ago (edited)

@Migle Miliute and @Mindaugas Balciauskas: Edit after your new titlte : A little more effort, now you can remove from the title "Of Grandparend" ("36 Bits Of Grandparent “Wisdom” About Raising Kids That We Can Only Scoff At Today")

1point

Load More Replies...

Tyke 10 months ago

I was told I had to put the bible open at a certain page at the head of my baby's crib... or the evil spirits would get him. Wet toilet roll on his head for hiccups. And not to cut his hair before he can speak or it will stunt his speech

2points

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