The Funniest Thing I Believed as a Kid

As children, many things told to us by our elders sounded perfectly logical, yet as we grew up, we realized they made no sense at all—especially the prohibitions.

When we were little, we implicitly trusted what our parents said. We would simply obey their orders and heed their warnings. Strangely enough, when we tell those same things to children today, they immediately push back with arguments of their own—or simply ignore the prohibitions entirely.

In Bali, there are many amusing childhood beliefs; what I’d like to share now are a few taboos regarding mealtime.

While eating, elders would always tell us to stay seated. I still remember what my grandmother used to say when I was little:

“Eka, don’t eat while standing up!”

“If you do, all the food you eat will go straight down to your legs and make them swell up.”

As a young child, I would immediately sit back down and continue eating.

Do you know what I imagined back then?

I pictured the rice I was eating sliding straight down to my legs without ever stopping in my stomach. Over time, my legs would grow massive, like a giant’s legs, while the rest of my body remained small as usual.

Hahaha... It was truly ridiculous.

Another mealtime taboo was: “Finish all your food, or else a black chicken will die.”

The elders would always say this whenever we were eating—especially if one of us wasn't finishing our meal. Upon hearing that, we would quickly get back to finishing our food.

I only realized how ridiculous that prohibition was once I started school. I remember a natural science lesson about the digestive system, where I learned that the food we eat is actually digested within the digestive tract. That was when I realized it was impossible for food entering the mouth to go straight to the feet.

The same went for the warning that a black chicken would die if we didn't finish our food. I started to question it when I realized our family didn't even own a black chicken back then. I began to think, "What does it matter if someone else's black chicken dies? After all, we don't have one."

Hahaha...

As time went by, a new thought occurred to me:

"Why would a black chicken die if we didn't finish our food?"

"Wouldn't the pet chickens go hungry if there were no leftovers?"

Yes, those were some of the funny things I believed as a child. Now that I have children of my own, I realize that those old taboos and warnings were simply ways for our elders to teach us better habits.

Instead of giving us logical reasons for why things should be done a certain way, they offered anecdotes.

It is only natural to sit down while eating, right? Yet, some children prefer to play or run around while they eat.

Finishing one's food teaches us to appreciate it and avoid waste—taking only what we need and what we can actually finish.

Unfortunately, when I try to apply the same approach with my own children, they couldn't care less. My three-year-old son is incredibly difficult to keep seated during meals; he insists on playing or wandering around while eating. He’ll even talk back, armed with all sorts of excuses.

What about you? What funny things did you believe as a kid?