You didn’t say where you’re from, but I know in some countries and cultures, you have deep rooted superstitions about attracting bad luck to yourself.

On both sides, my grandparents would put money in a wallet given as a gift. You were never allowed to keep a door open in case a robin flew in. Never put new shows on the table. If you go on a trip. never go back for something you forgot. Leave through a different door than you entered the house.

These were all things they thought bring bad luck. It’s possible your parents have some cultural superstition they never passed on. My grandmother would throw salt over her left shoulder until the day she died, even though she said it was a dumb superstition. My great grandmother told me fairies like to play “pranks” based on irony. I could see the joke you made being taken the same way by my great grandmother.