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C'mon, Tell the Truth - You Lie to Your Kids, Right?
Filed under: In The News, Funny Stuff
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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ReaderComments (Page 5 of 11)
3-09-2010 @ 10:42AM
Denise said...I didn't lie to my kids about my past, good or bad, but I did tell them what I learned from it. Those lies on that list are so trivial, it's almost scary. I told them about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, and had fun with it, like baking cookies with my kids, and the year I hid their presents and left them candy coal so they thought they didn't get anything. While I enjoyed it, and so did they, I wish I had told them that we get them presents because we love them, and then told them about how others talk about Santa so they wouldn't ruin it for others. I could have kept it the spiritual holiday it's supposed to be. As they got older, they told me they wish they waited to tell me they knew about Santa, because they could have CLEANED UP. But with all this access to people's information, I'd rather my kids hear the truth from me than somewhere else.
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3-09-2010 @ 10:54AM
teresa said...I think the lies I tell my kids are very rare and far between. Telling them I'll call Santa and tell him they're being brats is the only one that comes to mind. I am very tough on my 2 and 4 year old because I want them to learn to be well mannered and honest with their father and I and therefore I almost never lie to them. I tell them the truth because how else can I expect them to be honest if mommy or daddy doesn't tell the truth. Of course I can't claim that I've absolutely never lied before, we as humans are flawed in this way but I can say it's a rare occurence in our home. I would be afraid that when they grow up and are at risk for making damaging mistakes that we can't be very good parents if they are lying to us. Not to mention that almost everyone I know really respects you for telling them the truth.
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3-09-2010 @ 10:49AM
Jay said...I created a site recently to keep track of all our white lies. Check it out and add your own.
mywhitelie.com
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3-09-2010 @ 10:58AM
Laurel Mentnech said...Im sorry All of you who say you " Never ever lied to your kids" Are full of it!
So your saying if you were 15 when you had sex, you would tell you daughter? same w/ drugs, drinking, parties etc.
Im a mother of triplet girls and a son. I guess Im a lier bc I don't think my girls need to know everything. And if my girls ask me how old I was when I had sex, I really don't think I will tell them the truth!
As far as the CD in the car, YEP I lie about that too. Try tellin three, 3 yrs and a 5yr." I have your chipmunk cd right here, but Im not going to play it. Haha try it see what happens!
As a mother I think Kids are on a need to know bases.
Those little white lies are Not going hurt our kids! As long as they are loved, and know the diff between right and wrong. They will be fine!
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3-09-2010 @ 10:58AM
Chelsea said...My mom use to tell me as a kid that McDonald's was closed today... they were closed everyday that we passed by. And when I would ask then why so many cars she would tell me that people are just storing their cars there!!! Its funny now! LoL
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3-09-2010 @ 10:57AM
TheOnly1ForHim said...Kids are going to lie anyway, whether you never tell them a lie or not, it's human nature. So, personally I lie to my daughter all the time to get her off my nerves. We'll come back to the store later to get that, or, I'll be right back, or I'll call you in a few minutes. She's a pest, but I love her to death and I only lie so that I don't hurt her feelings.
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3-09-2010 @ 11:18AM
Stephanie said...Your daughter must not be a teenager yet. You're going to have BIG problems with her when she is, because, when she's finally thinking for herself, she'll realize she can't believe anything you say. You reap what you sow.
3-09-2010 @ 11:00AM
currenjunkmail said...Where is "none of the above!" I find it really sad that it was not considered an option. I hate lying, I even didn't do the the santa thing because I didn't want to lie.
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3-09-2010 @ 11:03AM
Becky said...I'm a little confused why everyone thinks it's ok to lie about the easter bunny and santa claus. Kids are usually pretty upset when they find out they aren't real and then wonder why their parents would tell them that. My siblings and i never believed in those things and christmas and easter were just fine without those fictional characters. We were told as kids not to tell anyone in school that they weren't real.
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3-09-2010 @ 11:15AM
zombywoof762 said...Soooo.. When another kid in school asked you what did Santa bring you? What did you tell them? Or did you just walk away like a bitch?
3-09-2010 @ 11:06AM
judy said...ok, here's a little white lie that I told my son when he was 7, and wanted to go to bed at 10PM when his bedtime was 8:30. First you need to know that I am 5' and his dad is 6'2. I told my son that you grow when you are sleeping (which really is true, btw) . Then I told him that I went to bed really late when I was little, and his dad went to bed early. That's why I am short and dad is tall. Evidenced by the fact that I truly am, um.. short, and his dad really is tall, it made very good sense to him, and he never ever gave me a problem about going to bed on time after that. :)
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3-09-2010 @ 3:29PM
Pamela Pickett said...When I was about 8yrs old my cousin told me there was no Santa Claus,I then later learned there was no Easter Bunny, oh my goodness I was soooo hurt. From that point on I vowed to never have my kids believe in false things, that will lead to hurt and heart break. And I see some of the readers share my same views .
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3-09-2010 @ 11:22AM
magusap said...LIE IS THE JOB OF LUCIFER. WE SHOULD NOT BE DOING SUCH THING IT MAKES US DO MORE EVIL THAN GOOD...
CHILDREN LOOK UP TO US AND WHEN WE LIE TO THEM WE TEACH THEM TO BE DIS-HONEST AND NOT RESPECT OTHERS AND THEMSELVES. WHEN WE ARE HONEST TO THEM IT HELPS THEM TO NOT BE AFRAID TO FACE THE WORL HEAD ON...
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3-09-2010 @ 11:24AM
becky said...Grow up, kids didn't come to me and ask me if santa was real. I was just not supposed to break their bubble and blurt out bc i knew he wasn't real. I think all little kids assume that other little kids believe in him too. And how nice of you to think that a small child in elementary school was a little bitch.
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3-09-2010 @ 11:23AM
702ruth said...Parents lie when they tell their kids that there is a Santa Claus and and Easter Bunny. Either you lie to your children or you don't!
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3-09-2010 @ 11:25AM
bedb5d0e said...What a stupid list!!! What about the major lies y'all tell? Like Santa is real, so is the tooth fairy, Easter bunny and so on? What harm is it in telling your children the truth and then explain to them what things really mean? You're only setting them up to be liars them selves.
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3-09-2010 @ 11:26AM
Jolis said...What I find sad is that kids are the most honest and observant little buggers. They embarrass parents because parents try to keep secrets and tell white lies and when the kid spoils it for them, they get angry. Wouldn't it be nice if people were just honest for once? Isn't more cruel to run with a lie for years and destroy it after leading them on, than to give a viable reason before the kid gets too attached to it? Why can't people explain that Santa Claus is a spiritual sort of figure that those who partake in Christmas usually recognize? You can still let your kid have an imagination without lying to them. And the funny thing is, lying to your kid no matter how harmless it's supposed to be is going to bite you in the butt one day. "No mom I'm not pregnant. Yes mom I'm only sixteen. No mom I didn't have sex with a guy. The stork brough the baby, duh!" Hmmmm but then the kid gets the short end of both sticks. How sad.
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3-09-2010 @ 1:06PM
dtemplet said...Well I have a 2 year old so I don't know yet if I'll ever have to tell her lies, but right now she does not get the concept of me trying to compromise with her and no is not an option for her. If I tell her no about something she will throw herself into a fit of rage. LITERALLY! And the fit won't just fade away after a few minutes. She has carried on once for 45 minutes. She does not respond to time out or a slap on the hand. So when she asks for cookies, instead of telling her no and having her ask me 20 more times with hours of fit throwing, I just tell her that we don't have any cookies. Little white lies like this are acceptable at this age when they don't quite understand the concept of NO. I'm not going to fight with her everyday over cookies and cheetos when I can avoid the headaches, lost time, and her tears with a simple, "we don't have any."
I do believe that there are some parents out there that maybe don't lie to their children, but I find it a bit hard to beleive that all of the people who are commenting on this article don't. There are just not that many honest people in this world. I find that some people who beleive that they are so "honest" and "trustworthy" with their children, actually have children who believe they are full of crap.
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3-09-2010 @ 11:36AM
casey said...The meat you ate is not an Animal and it was not abused in horrible unsanitary factory farm, look up videos. It was a fairy tale family farm.
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3-09-2010 @ 11:26AM
Stephanie said...Wow! If all these kids turn out to be like their lying parents, the pool of eligible, decent women for my three boys to marry will be puny.
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