When you were a child, you were probably told that eating carrots would help you see in the dark. Well, according to a new study, telling children that the root veg can help your vision at night may cause more damage than we originally thought.
Telling children white lies to encourage good behaviour, such as eating their veg at dinner time, may backfire once they become teens.
Researchers from China's Xinyang Normal University said telling children white lies could give them psychological problems later in life. Another white lie the researchers investigated in addition to carrots was that Santa won't come if the child is naughty, and claiming the children could get square eyes if they watch too much TV.
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They recruited 900 volunteers aged between 10 and 17. Participants were asked about white lies they were told when they were young. Afterwards, they completed psychological questionnaires that examined their parent-child attachment and anxiety levels.
The researchers found there was more anxiety and less of an attachment to parents who had used white lies as a way of encouraging good behaviour.
The study suggested that girls suffered psychologically more than boys. The lead author for the study said this may be because boys have more resistance to the kind of white lies their parents tell them.
Lead author, Liu Meiting, told the journal Children and Youth Services Review: '"Parenting through lying was positively associated with anxiety.
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"Furthermore, girls who experienced parental lying had lower levels of attachment with their parents, whereas there was no significant difference in boys. This may be because boys have a higher tolerance for lying, and girls may be more emotionally reactive to their parents' behaviour. '
"White lies can have damaging effects on adolescents, particularly girls. Parents often have good intentions when they tell white lies, but for their children such lies may create uncertainty and then anxiety."
In other carrot-related news, Aldi launched a new Kevin The Carrot toy range which will go on sale this month.
After Aldi released their emotional Christmas television advert earlier this month, lots of people wanted their our very own Kevin the Carrot and now the supermarket has made the Christmas miracle happen and bought the carrot to life.
Carrots may not help you see in the dark but at least you'll be able to cuddle one this Christmas.
Featured Image Credit: Pexels/CottonbroTopics: Children, Life, Food & Drink, Real Life