C'mon, Tell the Truth - You Lie to Your Kids, Right?
Categories: Just For Moms, Just For Dads, Development, In The News, Playground Bureau, Funny Stuff
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Jiminy Cricket! Parents tell kids lots of lies. Credit: Corbis
"No, your butt doesn't look big in those jeans."
"I swear the check is in the mail."
"Sorry, boss, I think (cough, cough) I must have swine flu."
Don't lie, now. We all do it. We fib to our employers, our employees, our spouses, our friends, our lenders. And, let's not forget, our children. In fact, according to a new survey, parents lie to their kids an average of 100 times a year, even though they preach that fibbing is wrong, London's Daily Mail reports.
'It would seem that some parents across the UK aren't necessarily setting the best example to their children," Jacky Brown, of Sheilas' Wheels Home Insurance, which commissioned the poll, tells the newspaper.
And when they're not lying to their children, parents are using their kids as an excuse to tell more lies.
According to the Mail, one in three parents has lied to his or her child's teacher to get them out of school for a day and two-thirds of parents admit using their children as an excuse to get out of going to a party or for being late.
It seems many parents, the newspaper reports, also admit to encouraging their young ones to tell "white lies" to teachers if their homework isn't finished, or if they miss the tardy bell.
Well, here at ParentDish, unlike our first president, we can tell a lie. Here are the top 10 lies we tell our kids.
1. I always paid attention in school.
2. There's no such thing as a favorite child. All of you are my favorites.
3. Sorry, the playground is closed today.
4. Cuddles the Hamster went to live on a nice farm. Yes, the same one where your goldfish went.
5. I have Santa Claus's cell phone number on speed dial. Do you want me to tell him how you're acting?
6. Whoops, the KidzBop CD is in Dad's car and he already left for work.
7. "SpongeBob" isn't on this week. And the DVD player is broken. And the cable is out.
8. Of course I wore to work today the macaroni necklace and bracelet you made me.
9. Daddy is allergic to cats/dogs/birds/reptiles.
10. I never took drugs.
What lies do you tell your children? Or what fibs did your parents tell you?
Related: Men Lie Twice As Often As Women
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 11)
nelly 3-08-2010 @ 9:35PM
NEVER EVER LIE TO YOUR KIDS OR ANYONE FRO THAT MATTER !!!! Once you begin the first step to deceit you will continue a long journey that noone knows when? or How? itwill end.
My childrens father died at 9:30am right after they said goodbye and went off to school.I told my children their father had passedaway the same DAY @6:00PM. wE SPEAK OF HIM ALL THE TIME.REMEBERING ONLY GOOD TIMES...
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JoJo 3-09-2010 @ 9:14AM
I agree 100%, it felt pretty good to look at the survey questions and know that I had told none of those lies to my kids. They included a "all the above" but should've included a "none of the above." Of course when they were small, there was the Easter Bunny, Santa & the Tooth Fairy, I even made up our very own family elf... assigned to our family to keep an eye on my children year round. My children are grown now and we have some good laughs about dear ole Elf GreenNose! Oh, and don't you know, those power companies, all lit up in the distance are really tooth fairy castles?! I expect these same fantasies will be passed on to my grandchildren. But, as far as my youth and lying to avoid having a pet... nope, never did any of that!
Anne 3-09-2010 @ 9:34AM
You are ln denial dear, and not the river in Egypt. Rationalizations and evasions are lies too. You are human therefore you lie!
Jossie 3-09-2010 @ 11:00AM
How about Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy! All Lies to some degree!
wario 3-09-2010 @ 11:08AM
wow your sooo perfect .. BS ur a big liar im sure u told ur kids right away that santa was fake ignorant people that think they are the best truly are the worst!!
Tray 3-09-2010 @ 11:29AM
So you never told your kid there was a Santa or Easter Bunny or Tooth Fairy? Those are basic kid rights!
b26g116 3-09-2010 @ 11:54AM
I agree with the no lying thing. My kids know what holidays are to different religions. They know there is no easter bunny or santa claus. We are very honest with every aspect with them. They need to learn we are open with them and they can be with us. Just because our parents did it doesn't make it right. Correcting a problem before it starts is a lot harder than continuing with the flow and think someone else will fix it.
glenn 3-09-2010 @ 11:55AM
Nelly, i do believe the author is talking about "white lies" about mostly trivial things. Of course you wouldn't lie and tell your kids that Daddy went to live with the hamster on the farm. Of course, a "white lie" is still a lie, but don't compare it to "your Dad died".
OU812IC? 3-09-2010 @ 12:04PM
Not only do we ALL lie from time to time, we actually convince ourselves we are telling the truth....Just giving a yes or no answer can be a lie. If someone don't live up to want they promised is it a lie? If a dream don't come true is it a lie? Do we lie to ourselves? We ALL lie at one time or another. We are ALL human and for that fact sometimes we ALL just say what people want to hear...Guilty as charged.
dkflyboyz 3-09-2010 @ 12:16PM
Nelly... I understand you should teach your kids not to lie, but you act as though you never told a lie...
a man 3-09-2010 @ 12:33PM
PLEASE!!!! If parents didn't lie to their kids (like your parents did to you), then your kids would know all about sex when they were only three years old. There would be no more Tooth fairy, Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and there would be no need for any holiday, either. Case in point: Your six-year old begins to question the existence of the Easter Bunny because you take him/her shopping with you when you buy the "goodies" for the baskets. You have to lie. It's that simple.
geesnutz 3-09-2010 @ 1:24PM
I feel bad for kids who didn't grow up believing in santa claus, easter bunny (unless they're another religion, in that case, i feel bad if they missed out on anything similar). Those are great years for any child. I think that lying about a pet going to live on a farm is not right, when i was pretty young my parents told me that my bet rabbit got loose, and they couldnt catch it, so I went out and started looking for it, and only then my parents told me the truth. Hearing that they lied was more upsetting then hearing it died, or maybe it was bad because it was on top of the fact that my rabbit died, IDK. Anyway, when i have kids i will only tell them certain, harmless things like santa.
rcastaneda23 3-09-2010 @ 1:28PM
Come on now. That's out of bounds!! You are going a little overboard with that one. Of course that is something that you would tell your child!! But seriously that's not what this blog was about.
Racecardriver 3-09-2010 @ 5:28PM
i believe all of you need lives and if you already have kids then why would you waste your life arguing about how badly somebody else is screwing up another kid because santas fake
taystarry 3-09-2010 @ 2:17PM
Coming from someone who was a child not that long ago, here is my opinion. If my parents would have told me right off the bat there was no santa, no easter bunny, no tooth fairy, I would have missed out on a lot of what child hood is about. Being 17 now I know that my parents told me white lies "the pool isn't open today" or "if you don't clean your room, Santa won't come" we are human beings, we lie, it's part of life. I wouldn't want them to have changed anything they ever said to me. So yes parents lie to their kids, everyone lies once and awhile, get over it.
Susan 3-09-2010 @ 2:23PM
Like your parents never lied to you? You might think not, but you have no way of really knowing, do you? Let's face it, if you have an honest, well-behaved child, you're lucky because it's pretty much a crap-shoot. My neice and nephew are polar opposites. She will lie and swear to it, but fortunately she's not good at it and has to pay the consequences ( the kid would never be good at poker). He, on the other hand, will confess before the crime has been discovered. She found out there was no Santa 2 years ago and was greatly disturbed over being, and I quote, "lied to my ENTIRE life!! I can't believe Daddy ate the cookies!" (ever the drama queen), but now she understands the tradition behind it and hasn't ruined it for her little brother. She even enjoys encouraging the whole Santa myth because she understands how important and magical it is to him. I think that's a beautiful thing, and something she would never had learned otherwise.
Cas. 3-09-2010 @ 8:18AM
I work at cvs and im 21 and i see parents lie to there kids all the time. You lie to your kids, and as they grow and relaize that you have lied to them....then they will def. lie to you. The parents soon make it look like, its okay to lie. People r just stupid
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clutzzygrl24 3-09-2010 @ 8:24AM
your 21 you don't have kids, you have no idea. You can't judge! wait till you have kids before you speak, then you'll be telling a different story
Cas. 3-09-2010 @ 8:36AM
Actually i do have a kid, and im married. CLUTTZZZY move on your part. If i didnt then why would i waste my time putting my opinion in. =)
Leisa 3-09-2010 @ 9:08AM
Excuse me clutzzygrl - but Cas being 21 has nothing to do with anything! I had my first daughter at 18 and my second at 23. And I do agree with Cas, lying now will only make it worse when they are teens and adults. We try so hard to get it into our children's heads to be honest and to tell the truth and then we lie to them?! Why does that seem right? Other then the Easter Bunny and Santa etc. I don't tell my children lies! I want them to grow up and know they can trust me and I can trust them. The Easter Bunny and Santa are fun for the children they are fictional characters who bring a little joy into their lives a few days a year. But I plan on being 100% honest with my girls when they ask me about my past, when they get older. They can be the judge. They will see the mistakes I've made and the way I've turned my life around for the better...and then they will be able to live a better life because they know they can trust me. I'm not going to go straight out and tell my daughters about my drugs and dropping out of high school. But if they ask I'll tell them. But then they will also see that I was married at 23 bought my first house at 24 and I now have a Master's degree at 25. So being honest will do justice. I can only hope my girls will trust me like I do my own mother, she knows every detail about my life. And I wouldn't have it any other way!