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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
Watch out for the cat, too. A cat will inhale all the baby’s air.
Zedrapazia 11 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.
RELATED:
#2
When I was pregnant I was addicted to ice water, my granny told me too much would drown the baby.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 11 months ago
Ah yes, the ol' "esophagus connected directly to uterus" theory XD
#3
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.
Dave Van Beurden 11 months ago
so wearing footed pyjamas would cause a congenital condition? interesting...
#4
My grandma told me, my baby was going to drown, if I went swimming while pregnant.
Colleen Glim 11 months ago
In the pool was the only place I got any relief from the constant backache. And none of my girls drowned
#5
My grandma told my mom if she raised her arms above her head while pregnant, she’d wrap the umbilical cord around the baby.
#6
My husband’s grandma told me not to put socks on the baby bc his ankles won’t grow.
#7
My MIL told me to not let my son stare at the ceiling fan bc it’s demonic.
#8
My grandmother: 'Don't tickle the baby's feet, he'll grow up to be a swearer.'
#9
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.
Poison Ivy/Boo 11 months ago
Just curious: do you put the lettuce in the water or do you use a leaf of lettuce like a wash cloth?
#10
My grandma would say don’t let the baby look at it’s reflection in the mirror or their teeth won’t come in.
#11
While I was pregnant, my grandma told me that I could drown the baby if I held my pee too long.
#12
My grandma said: 'Don't take so many pictures of her, it ruins their eyes.
#13
My grandma told me to bite my baby's nails instead of using clippers or he’d become a thief.
#14
My grandmother told me if I let her blow cigarette smoke in my 4-month-old's ear, it would cure his ear infection.
#15
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.
Megan Curl 11 months ago
These, along with so much Appalachian tradition and lore, are truly fascinating. The music is magical.
#16
We were told to tip the baby upside down to sort out their days and nights properly...
#17
my nanny told me watering down the apple juice would give my baby diabetes.
Rinso the Red 11 months ago
Wouldn't, if it was possible at all, it be the other way? Too much sweet juice?
#18
'Don't touch the bottom of the baby's feet or his hair won't grow,' like huh??
Kaedyn Walsh 11 months ago
That baby in the pic has perfect ballet toes for pointe. At least the angle of the pic seems that way.
#19
Mine said if you tickle the baby too much they can go mute.
Joe Reaves 11 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!
#20
My grandma told me to never hold my baby on my hip or else he’ll be bow legged.
#21
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.
CommanderDucky-He/Him-cis-gay 11 months ago
Damn, I never knew the legs and the umbilical cord were attached, thanks random persons mom /s
#22
My great grandma told my mom we’d have a heart attack if we looked in a mirror as babies.
#23
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.
VioletHunter 11 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.
#24
"don't go outside after birth for a month the baby can get colic"-RIP grandma
Amalie Jaye 11 months ago
In the grandparents time, this would have been more common, as babies are more susceptible to illness after birth :)
#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.
#26
Was told by my grandma that letting a baby look in the mirror will hurt his gums.
#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
LGBTQpanda 11 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.
#28
'Don’t tickle his feet, he’ll get diabetes' was a real one we heard.
TheElementalGod️️ (He/him) 11 months ago (edited)
Moral of the article: never tickle babies feet.
#29
I was told not to tickle babies feet or they will be incontinent as adults.
#30
my momma said don't be looking over the baby head, he might become cross eyed
What do you think ?
Multa Nocte 11 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?
Binky Melnik 11 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,
Load More Replies... pelemele 11 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)
pelemele 11 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")
Load More Replies... 
EmBree 11 months ago
My great-grandma knew that holding babies too often would spoil them and you'd have to carry them through life. My grandma knew that babies had to be swaddled or their legs would be weak and they wouldn't be able to walk. My mom knew that breastfeeding babies when ever they were hungry, and not on set schedule, would give them colic.
XenoMurph 11 months ago
It'll be interesting to hear what the next generation laugh at us for.
Load More Replies...
Giraffy Window 11 months ago
A former coworjer of mine, bless her heart, warned me not to open the microwave while it was still running because it could hurt the baby.
M O'Connell 11 months ago
I can't speak for every microwave on earth, but they typically have two mechanical switches triggered by the door, either of which being open would prevent the magnetron from running.
Load More Replies...
Natalie Westby 11 months ago
When my cousin was a baby, my auntie used to stick a piece of brown paper bag to her forehead to stop her hiccups.
M Calad 11 months ago (edited)
Oh my, my daughter's dad is from Romania and they have many of these. For instance, mothers in his region tighly wrap a cloth around the baby's head to prevent protruding ears. They also wrap a cloth around the knees for the legs to grow symmetrical. And babies wear a red bracelet to keep evil eyes away. I refused all of these. His mom (granny of my daughter) was mortified and truly worried for my daughter's future even when I explained to her that neither in her family nor in my family there's evidence of protuding ears or leg development problems. And effectively, my daughter is a teenager and so far hasn't developed protuding ears or leg issues. But it seems someone tickled her feet when she was a baby because she's starting to develop swearing... 😱🤣
Multa Nocte 11 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?
Binky Melnik 11 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,
Load More Replies... pelemele 11 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)
pelemele 11 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")
Load More Replies... EmBree 11 months ago
My great-grandma knew that holding babies too often would spoil them and you'd have to carry them through life. My grandma knew that babies had to be swaddled or their legs would be weak and they wouldn't be able to walk. My mom knew that breastfeeding babies when ever they were hungry, and not on set schedule, would give them colic.
XenoMurph 11 months ago
It'll be interesting to hear what the next generation laugh at us for.
Load More Replies... Giraffy Window 11 months ago
A former coworjer of mine, bless her heart, warned me not to open the microwave while it was still running because it could hurt the baby.
M O'Connell 11 months ago
I can't speak for every microwave on earth, but they typically have two mechanical switches triggered by the door, either of which being open would prevent the magnetron from running.
Load More Replies... Natalie Westby 11 months ago
When my cousin was a baby, my auntie used to stick a piece of brown paper bag to her forehead to stop her hiccups.
M Calad 11 months ago (edited)
Oh my, my daughter's dad is from Romania and they have many of these. For instance, mothers in his region tighly wrap a cloth around the baby's head to prevent protruding ears. They also wrap a cloth around the knees for the legs to grow symmetrical. And babies wear a red bracelet to keep evil eyes away. I refused all of these. His mom (granny of my daughter) was mortified and truly worried for my daughter's future even when I explained to her that neither in her family nor in my family there's evidence of protuding ears or leg development problems. And effectively, my daughter is a teenager and so far hasn't developed protuding ears or leg issues. But it seems someone tickled her feet when she was a baby because she's starting to develop swearing... 😱🤣
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