Parent Moments: Mom's a Liar

I rarely lie to my kids but one time our son caught us in a lie. We were in South Dakota and wanted to go horse back riding. Money was tight with three young children. We wanted to get the youngest to ride free so we lied about his age saying he was 3. The owner had a smile on his face as we were negotiating the price when we turned around to see our son shaking his head and holding up four fingers his actual age and no longer qualified to ride free.

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Lies become necessary, I mean do you really want to be the one to tell your kids about Santa, the Easter Bunny, etc. The difference is when the time comes you should have a reasonable reason to give your children on why you lied to them so they know the difference between a "white" lie and a mean one.

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Nothing wrong with little lies that make our children fell safer , more at ease, or create better habits, I tell my 3 year old , that she is safe to sleep in her Big Girl room because Tinkerbell sprinkles fairy dust in it everynight to give her good dreams.. .. I tell her eating vegtables and fruit will make her big enough to go to school sooner..because she wants to go so badly..she eats them .. whatever helps create good habits in your kids.. makes you and them happier .. as they get older they will love and forgive us for it..

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I tell little lies to my son and my nephews all the time if only to keep them young a little longer. sometimes it even keeps them from throwing a fit. if my son wants something that i don't want him to have he will ask if he can get/have it later and i always tell him yes. That satisfies him long enough to get past the issue. No i do not want my son to know about the scary things of this world. When i was a child my parents did not teach me about them and i do not feel cheated. let your children believe for a little while longer.

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Lies are definitely necessary in children's lives. My middle son is a red head. He just recently discovered that he has lots of freckles. He hates them. He wanted me to wash them off his face and was devastated to find that they won't come off. I very gently told him that freckles were where the angels kissed him while he was sleeping because they thought he was the sweetest child ever. He now shows off his "angel kisses" to everyone!!

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Innocent lies like the tooth fairy are a part of childhood, before you blink another child has told them otherwise then the jig is up. On the flip side I feel that it is important for children to be we informed and aware of the world around them. My son (7 yrs old) listens to the news with me in the car on the way home. If something "scary" comes up about people doing wrong or things happening in the world we discuss them. I have explained to him about how people can be from good to bad, so he knows the difference helping the values & morals sink in. He is very watchful of the world around him & I feel it my job as a mother to explain anything in question. So whether it is a white "lie" keeping his innocence or the truth of the world we as parents walk a fine line in keeping our children well balanced. Not matter what your method good luck to all.

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I am a firm believer in the little white lie. Why take the magic and sense of security away from our children before their time? More than likely they will forget all the lies we've told them by the time they hit the teens and we will have gotten away with preserving their innocence until that point. Bravo to the little white lie that saves our sanity and our childrens sense of what life should be!

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Boy, aren't all adults liars when dealing with kids! We'd all be sporting noses longer than Pinocchio!! I'm not a parent, but as a teacher and when dealing with children, I lie without thinking and for all the reasons listed in the article. It's our natural instinct to protect childish innocence and wonderment!

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Thanks for being a REAL MOM! Whenever I heard some 'miss-perfect-mother-of-the-year' bragging about how she don't lie to her child, or her child was potty-trained at 6 months, and reading novels by 3 years, made me want to PUKE all over her. Some people live a much larger lie, everyday. They can't even be honest with themselves. Thanks... Real Moms LIE! We do whatever it takes to keep the child safe, warm, secure, motivated, and sometimes... HAPPY! We marvel in their little worlds, knowing the school of hard knocks is fast approaching... enjoy it while you can little one. I love you.

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