Things like don’t shake a baby (babies love to be bounced and rocked, which are honestly just gentle shaking, but even moderately vigorous shaking can seriously injure or kill an infant and you should never shake a baby in anger or anything like that) or don’t take anything with you when exiting a building when a fire alarm goes off (don’t go looking for things, but you should still put your coat on if it’s next to you and it’s cold out). What other common maxims are generally good to follow, but over exaggerated? Bonus points if it’s only a well known saying because our instinct is to do the thing, like with rocking babies.

(Please don’t think I’m telling you to shake babies or look for and carry huge stacks of files out of a burning building)

  • SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social
    37·
    4 days ago

    Children and sex. Recently on local social media, there was a discussion on our topless laws. Of course, there were the predictable comments about women not going topless where children might see.

    Well, why not, Karen? It’s utterly ridiculous when you consider what breasts are for, and what children are meant to do with them. Yes, it’s true the children shouldn’t be engaging in sex acts, and the details of adult sexual behavior should be kept from them, since they’re not equipped to understand, e.g. BDSM and power play, yet. But if kids see a pair of boobs, if kids see naked people, or even if kids know the basic functions of body parts, they’ll be fine. Lots of kids throughout human history lived in small dwellings and heard, or even saw, parents and other members of their community having sex, and they all survived the experience.

    Communicable disease? Now there’s something that we should be protecting children from…

    • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      4 days ago

      We try to keep our kids so disconnected from sex and death that it stunts them.

      My 11-yo daughter was, unknown to me, sleeping on the couch when I walked out naked. Freaked her out at the time, but to her credit she seemed to later take it in stride. Her and her little brother are intensely worried about being seen naked.

      Asked my kids what they would think if I took up squirrel hunting. “NO DAD! You can’t kill animals!” So how about the chicken nuggets you’re eating?