Today, I had the opportunity to take part in a discussion on BBC Radio about parents lying to their children. Apparently a study was recently published that “discovered” the vast majority of parents lie to their children. I put “discovered” in posts because, well, no shit parents lie to their kids.
Anyway, they had me and a couple of other parents on the show as well as the psychologists involved with the report. I’m not really sure how I did—let’s just say I have a face for radio and a voice for silent film—but I was amazed when a couple of parents called in and said they never lie to their children. Ever. About anything. Not about Santa, not about the quality of the art work their children produce in class…they don’t even create fictional monsters that eat children who don’t sit in their seats at dinner! Shocking, I know.
Obviously, I’m not that good of a parent.
Here’s the podcast if you’re interested. After the bit about parents who lie, they switched topics to Beyonce’s inaugural performance. Obviously, I’m honored and humbled that I got to share air-time with people who were even mentioning Beyonce.
Daddy Drinks 
And she was mouth syncing!
Okay, seriously? I think it can be damaging to never lie to your kids!! They don’t need to hear “honey, your art work looks like shit because mommy dropped you on your head when you were a baby and no you don’t have facial deformity, you’re just a little ugly.” Lie parents, lie!
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A few things that came to mind from listening to that Podcast:
1. Apparently I don’t lie frequently (or creatively) enough to my kids.
2. Don’t move to Nairobi.
3. Why aren’t we talking about bribery? I bribe the hell out of my kids. “No Minecraft until you finish your reading homework.”
4. Parents who tell you that they don’t lie to their kids apparently prefer lying to adults.
excellent point Eric. Bribery is in its own category of “parenting tools.” I think the term “bribery” is a little harsh though. I prefer to call it “negotiating.” We’re making deals with our kids, not bribing them. And we’re teaching them a valid life skill in the process. Being an adult is just a series of negotiations (or bribes if you will).
Let me get saucy and ask, did they include religion in the mix? Yeah, I went there.
saucy indeed!
What the heck! You weren’t kidding – no one brings up religion yet Beyonce’s lip syncing gets analyzed? Haha! I thought you guys were going to go there with the family “myth-making” bit or perhaps the Christmas bit, but no one was quite ready push it. I would have loved to hear the responses.
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