Happy Mothers Day!
May 10, 2014 PLYMOUTH VOICE.
Remember Mom saying this stuff?
From Mother’s Day truisms: What we learned from Mom’s classic sayings
By Hope Gillette
Saludify
“A little soap and water never hurt anyone”
How many times did we hear this one a day? Of all the classic sayings we heard from mom, this one has to be one of the most beneficial. As children, none of us were strangers to dirt and grime, and many of us whole-heartedly fought bath time at the end of the day.
But personal hygiene was one of the best gifts mom could have given us—good hygiene in the United States is one of the main reasons we don’t have more diseases, parasites and viruses running rampant.
Good hygiene also benefits our personal health and keeps infections at bay which might cause untimely disease. A good example of this is tooth decay; without regular care and good hygiene, our teeth would decay far more quickly.
“Eat your vegetables, they’re good for you”
This one doesn’t need much explaining. Vegetables are a part of a well-balanced diet, and moms are no stranger to this fact. Children are notorious for hating vegetables, spreading them around the plate at dinner time or hiding them in napkins.
The reason mom gave us vegetables wasn’t to make us starve; mom wanted us to learn the value of eating healthy even at a young age.
“If you don’t stop crying, I’ll give you something to cry about”
Granted, not all moms used this classic saying; it was more of a dad phrase. But while the threat of a real reason to cry may have seemed like tough love, it was closer to a life lesson about stress management.
With this phrase, mom was telling us there are worse things in life than crying over spilled milk—or broken toys—or pulled hair. Mom reminded us that we should let the little thing go and move on with our lives.
Thanks to this lesson, many of us have dodged the ill effects of depression, which can ruin personal and professional relationships, cause sleep issues, and even lead to substance abuse.
“I would have never talked to my mother like that”
Aside from teaching us what guilt was, this classic saying from mom taught us about respect and how to treat others, as we wanted to be treated. Learning this lesson early in life was a great way to set children up for future success.
Mom also reminded us about love with this saying, reminding us that emotional health means treating those who care about you with the utmost respect.
“You have to wait 30 minutes after eating before you swim”
This one we have to call mom out on. While she had our best interests at heart when she told us to wait 30 minutes before swimming, the truth is that there is no harm in having a burger and then jumping into the pool. So where did this myth come from?
Years ago, research indicated the digestive process pulled blood from our muscles immediately after we ate food. In theory, a lack of blood flow to the limbs could cause dangerous cramping and prevent someone from swimming properly if they were out in the water. In reality, Duke University indicates the digestive process does steal blood—but not enough to serious affect muscle function or cause dangerous cramping… additionally, it’s safer to have some activity sooner after finish eating than an hour or two after, when the digestive process is full on.
“If everyone jumped off a cliff, would you jump too?”
Mom caught us often with this classic saying, reminding us that we should always think for ourselves. This was just another of many, many phrases our mothers pulled out which had a positive mental impact on us later in life. As free thinking individuals, we were less likely to participate in risky behaviors.
And don’t forget…
“Don’t run in the house”
“You can’t judge a book by its cover”
“If it was a snake, it would have bitten you”
“I’ll treat you like an adult when you start acting like one”
And
“I’m doing this for your own good”
So this Mother’s Day, remember to thank mom for all her wisdom. While we may not always have listened, we still learned the value behind her words.
Plymouth Voice
