Things we say to children that make no sense

[Justgivemethebrie]

I have 19 month old ds and he is at that stage of coming into the bathroom with me still, pottering until I'm ready to leave. Earlier, I was getting him to help and asked him to, 'Pull the chain for mummy.' It got me thinking that I have not pulled a chain in a loo since my own childhood but was refering to pressing the flush.

Wondering if anyone says anything to their children that, when you think about it, doesn't really make sense this day and age? Do you continue saying it as it is normal to you or do you change it so it makes more sense in today's world?

I am sure there are other things that I say to him that are about 20 years out of date!

'Conversely, I’ve repeatedly asked my preschooler to switch off her colouring book/Duplo (she giggles and corrects me). Just assume everything is on a screen*

Have you ever been reading a paper letter or newspaper and tried to pinch it to zoom in? 🤦🏻‍♀️😂 I did it last week with a council newsletter that dropped on the mat that had a very long distance photo on that I wanted a better look at - much to dh's hilarity who saw me do it

We dont have an outdoor pool anywhere near us so maybe that made a difference. Id love an outdoor pool!

It occured to me the other week we dont ever really watch live tv. As in ever. So we pause/rewind everything! Most things we can watch "a cpuple of episodes after dinner." The odd thing thats on cbbc weekly they've watched the day it comes out but not at the time. So still can rewind etc. Completely different to me growing up.

Its enough that we decided not to subscribe to a normal tv package. We have netflix/disney plus/ iplayer and occasionally itv one (can watch live on these if wished)

Dial telephone numbers, I'm sure most under 20s have never seen a rotary phone

Trash mag stories often have people saying they ‘dialled 999’ which I appreciate is for dramatic effect - but inaccurate 😂

[quote sashh]Some places still have 'swimming baths'.

moseleyroadbaths.org.uk/

Historically they would have been 'public baths' which is where you went for your weekly bath, local councils often built them with a swimming pool.

visitvictorianengland.blogspot.com/2013/11/keeping-clean-victorian-public-private.html[/quote]
Yes I actually live near Moseley Rd baths and have been there many a time. Maybe it's a Birmingham thing!

On the phone ones, I explained to my kids (11) that we give someone a ring because the phones used to have a bell in them that rang when you were being called.

They asked how a bell would fit in an iPhone

Oh all of these and more!! Off to the pictures, popping to the outdoor, start the video (Netflix or similar), can you not just hang up now (phone). I bought a Bakerlite (sp?) dial phone a couple of years ago from an antique shop. My adult DS were like ???????? So funny!

Bakelite.

Interesting 'baths' discussions! I'm nearly 50 and grew up near Manchester. There were no outdoor pools near us either.

My son's flash cards had a bottle of milk. He had no clue!

'Change the record' (as in, for goodness sake stop going on about the same thing) is one that might be irrelevant to younger people for whom vinyl is a specialist thing rather than the normal way to listen to the music.

I still say 'I love this record' if I hear something I really like on the radio.

But I'm old and still own a record player, cassette player and video recorder!

@Tempusfudgeit

My son's flash cards had a bottle of milk. He had no clue!

We get pint bottles of milk delivered by the milk man. It great, less plastic and we never run out of milk! My dad thinks it's hilarious to see the bottles on our doorstep though.

I know video doesn’t need to be a videotape, but it’s more than when we say the kids can ‘watch a video’ they wouldn’t think of renting a film on sky, they would probably think of showing someone a video on YouTube or a video of themselves (like baby videos) or similar.

My dad still says " I sent off for so and so" when he buys things online

@PunchyAnts

Roll down the window!

Our car still requires the windows to be rolled down!

I do plenty of these. What's the alternative to dialing?

@Kanaloa

I know video doesn’t need to be a videotape, but it’s more than when we say the kids can ‘watch a video’ they wouldn’t think of renting a film on sky, they would probably think of showing someone a video on YouTube or a video of themselves (like baby videos) or similar.

I see what you're saying, but TBF it's only convention that we mostly use video to refer to short and/or amateur films, and feature films only when committed to the giant plastic rectangle format…

Using video to refer to a film off Netflix is unconventional but doesn't "make no sense". Equally, "record" doesn't have to mean big black bendy music-circle, and it makes just as much sense to call a digitally reproduced song a "record" as a song pressed into vinyl. It's not so much that words like "record" and "video" intrinsically make less sense when applied to digitally-delivered media than to video tapes and vinyl records, in the way that the "call me" hand signal makes less sense in a world full of smartphones than a world full of old-fashioned curved phone handsets. It's more that they're unconventional. But this is fairly pedantic

DM (Irish) used to tell us, as still tells my DC to “shut your mouth and eat your dinner!” .
The DC howl when I fill them in on all of the grandmaisms we grew up with. “Look at the dirt behind you ears.” was another.

I was talking to a uni friend (Irish DF) about them and his DF said similar things.

Apparently there was an Irish comedian that did a whole stint on them around that time (would have been late 90’s early 00’s). The one that properly made me laugh was something like “if you fall of the wall and break both your legs, don’t come running to me!” Even though DM didn’t ever say it to me, when my friend was relaying the act I could literally hear her voice!

I’d love to find out the comedian’s name to show my kids.

Come back to this thread and there are some amazing examples!

@IHateCoronavirus the comedian sounds like Dave Allen

I think that’s probably Dave Allen @IHateCoronavirus

@PileOfBooks

I'm 40s but not heard anyone irl refer to "the baths" (Id think they meant the bathroom! Or at a push the Roman Baths). Ive not heard "switching" something for paying ever either! Was that in common use?

Love the pint of milk example.

My kids cannot conceive I went to uni and arranged to meet people by leaving notes on their door. And had to walk to their rooms to do so...

I'm 43 - we went to the baths as kids. Never said pool until I went overseas on holiday I don't think.

I think the comedian is Frank Carson. I can hear him saying those!

Brendan Grace as well.

‘Youse three are a right pair, you didn’t come home last night til this morning’

I shall check out messers Allen, Carson and Grace. looking forward to the giggle.

As an inverse to this thread, children still say "nee-nah nee-nah" when replicating a siren of an emergency vehicle.