Because I Said So!

The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales, and Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids

Ken Jennings

• Publisher: Scribner
• Year: 2012
• eBook ISBN:
  9781451656275
• Print ISBN:
  9781476706962

Record-setting Jeopardy! champion and author of Planet Funny Ken Jennings “reveals the truth behind all those things you tell your children” (Parade) in this entertaining and useful New York Times bestseller about parenting myths, old wives’ tales, and everyday warnings “armed with case histories, scientific finds, and experiments on himself and his own children” (Los Angeles Times).

Is any of it true? If so, how true? Ken Jennings wants to find out if parents always know best. Yes, all those years you were told not to sit too close to the TV or swallow your gum or crack your knuckles are called into question by our country’s leading trivia guru. Jennings separates myth from fact to debunk a wide variety of parental edicts: no swimming after meals, sit up straight, don’t talk to strangers, and so on.

Armed with medical case histories, scientific findings, and even the occasional experiment on himself (or his kids), Jennings exposes countless examples of parental wisdom run amok. Whether you’re a parent plagued by needless concern or a kid (of any age) looking to say, “I told you so,” this is the funny, science-backed anti-helicopter parenting book you’ve been waiting for.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Preface
• Part 1: “If You Break Your Leg, Don’t Come Running to Me!” (Spring and Summer)
• Part 2: “Put On a Sweater, I’m Cold!” (Autumn and Winter)
• Part 3: “Don’t Make Me Get the Other Thermometer!” (Sickness unto Barf)
• Part 4: “Don’t Pick at That!” (Bumps and Bruises)
• Part 5: “Look Both Ways Before You Cross the Street!” (Grievous Bodily Harm)
• Part 6: “You Don’t Know Where That’s Been!” (Things Not to Put in Your Mouth)
• Part 7: “You’ll Eat It and You’ll Like It!” (Mealtime Misinformation)
• Part 8: “Finish Your Milk!” (And Other Drinking Problems)
• Part 9: “I Told You to Go Before We Left the House!” (Bathroom Badgering)
• Part 10: “Your Face Will Freeze Like That!” (Looks and Grooming)
• Part 11: “It’s All Fun and Games Until Someone Loses an Eye!” (Vision and Supervision)
• Part 12: “Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite!” (The Science of Sleep)
• Part 13: “This Room Is a Pigsty!” (Kids and Other Animals)
• Part 14: “Quit Eating the Paste!” (School Days)
• Part 15: “Kids These Days!” (Technology and Modern Life)
• Part 16: “Well, Life Isn’t Fair!” (The Motivational Mom)
• Part 17: “What If Your Friends All Jumped off a Cliff?” (The Awkward Age)
• "How Many Times Do I Have to Tell You?" (Reader Questions)
• Acknowledgments
• ‘The Complete Kennections’ Teaser
• About Ken Jennings
• Index
• Copyright