Famous Mom Myths

Moms tell their kids all kinds of stories. Whether it's about toads and warts or eyes staying crossed, you've heard it … and you've probably said it. Why? Maybe to maintain your kid's innocence, maybe because you're stuck on the fly or maybe it's just sheer mental programming. (In other words, yes, you're turning into your mother.) Here's the real deal on some of the most common mom myths.

Let's be real: No, it won't. For one, "your stomach has too much acid—it's not the right environment for plants," says Dr. Hana Solomon, a board-certified pediatrician in Columbia, Mo. Need more proof? Watermelons, like all plants, need a few specific things to grow: sunlight, carbon dioxide and nutrients from soil—all definitely lacking in your stomach.

OR the popular variation "Cracking your knuckles will make them big when you get older."

"When you crack your knuckles, you're stretching ligaments and causing them to pop over the bone—that's the noise you hear," Dr. Solomon says. The noise can also come from the sound of air being displaced from the joint. While cracking your knuckles does not lead to arthritis—a study of 300 knuckle crackers found no evidence for that—it may have other consequences. Reports have linked cracking with reduced grip strength and ligament and tendon problems.

Well, you're not going to drown. Neither the Red Cross nor the American Academy of Pediatrics has any sort of recommendation about how long you should wait to swim after eating. That said, you certainly might feel some cramping or fatigue. "Your blood moves to your belly after you eat to aid digestion, and if you're exercising as well, you might not be able to digest properly. This can cause reflux or cramping," Dr. Solomon says.

People used to think that caffeine intake caused osteoporosis, which leads to receded bone mass and loss of height. Well, it doesn't, but in a roundabout way there are some connections between coffee and caffeine consumption and height. First, kids who drink coffee (or other sugary caffeinated drinks, like soda) might use it to replace calcium-filled milk—which is necessary for good bone growth and health. Also, "kids who drink caffeine tend to be hyper, and they don't eat or sleep as well," Dr. Solomon says. "Growth hormones are released during sleep, so if they're not getting 10 to 14 hours of sleep as pre- and early teens, it will affect growth."

It has been said that during WWII, British intelligence spread a rumor that its pilots had superior eyesight because they were eating lots of carrots. Really, the British just didn't want the Germans to know they were using radar. Add that to the benefits vitamin A (which carrots are rich in) has on eyes—it's needed to maintain healthy eyesight—and it's no wonder this urban myth spread.

Or … until the next time you poop. "We don't have the proper enzymes to break down a piece of gum like we do for an apple or steak or potatoes, so it simply goes through the system," Dr. Solomon says. Just like if any other non-food item were to be swallowed, fluids will carry the gum through the digestive tract in a timely manner.

This one's a little bit true—if we're talking about babies. "Body heat lost is a function of how much fat you have, how much hair you have and, most of all, the percentage of your body that the exposed space encompasses," Dr. Solomon says. In other words, babies have really big heads, in relation to their bodies. Add to it their lack of fat and hair, and yes, a huge amount of heat escapes through their heads. But as you age and your head becomes more proportional to the rest of your body, the amount of heat lost through it is no more or less than through any other exposed extremity.

While it may seem like hair is growing back thicker, that's just it—it seems that way. When you shave hair, you cut it off mid-shaft. This exposes the thicker part of the hair shaft, which makes it seem more stubbly. (Left on its own, hair just tapers off at the end.) Shorter hair also feels thicker, but as it grows it will get softer. Hormones also have a part to play in this misunderstanding, says Dr. Solomon: "Prepubescent hair is naturally lighter. As kids grow up, their hair gets darker." Since this is around the time shaving generally starts, it's easy to get confused about why hair is growing darker.

OR the popular variation, "If you keep making that face, it'll get stuck that way."

False, says Dr. Solomon. Voluntary muscles are used both to cross the eyes and move the face, and the muscles will eventually fatigue and go back to normal. Crossing eyes for an entire day might lead to strain, spasms or twitches, all of which will subside after rest.

Since toads don't actually have warts, this one's not true. The little bumps on toads are there for camouflage. Human warts, on the other hand, are caused by a virus that's transmitted via direct contact. That said, it is important to wash hands after handling a toad—they can transmit other infections.

In the '60s, GE sold new color TVs that emitted excessive amounts of radiation—up to 100,000 times more than what was considered safe by federal health officials. Luckily, the TVs were quickly recalled and repaired. Today's flat-screen and plasma TVs are nowhere near as dangerous; the only problems your kid might have by sitting too close or watching at an odd angle are fatigue and eye strain. That said, Dr. Solomon is still cautious about TV and young kids: "We may not yet understand all the effects TV and the constant visual stimulus has on kids."

While bread crusts are good for you—a 2002 German study found that the baking process produces cancer-fighting antioxidants that are eight times more abundant in the crust than in the rest of the bread—they certainly won't cause curly hair. When starvation was rampant in Europe about 300 years ago, those with food—including bread—were more likely to be healthy, and health was associated with curly hair. (Sickness and starvation cause hair loss.) Also, into the 19th century, poor people often sold their hair to wig makers. There was an expression "to sell one's hair for crust," which could have also contributed to the myth that hair and bread crust are related.

"Cold hair in the cold decreases your core temperature … but it can't bring on the virus that causes a cold," Dr. Solomon says. A study by the Common Cold Research Unit confirms this: Volunteers were inoculated with the cold virus, and while half of the group stayed in a warm room, the other half took baths and stood in windy halls, dripping wet. The wet group caught no more colds than the dry group.

While it may be harder to read in poor light, the most damage you'll do is giving yourself eye strain that gets better with rest. Your eyes use cones (for reading and seeing color) and rods (for detecting peripheral motion and seeing in dimmer light) to see. Your eyes switch from using cones to rods when the light is dim, and rods don't work as well for reading.