Is it ok to tell your kids lies, even little white ones, to make life easier?
If you ask most people that, the answer you get is almost always a shocked, decisive no! As much as I hate lying, and as much as I want to say it is never ok, I am not sure I can. We tell our family and friends untruths all the time – and I suppose that at this point in my life I am more open to gray areas than I used to be. Â
Have you ever told someone to tell a caller you were unavailable when you were right there? Have you ever told someone that you weren’t angry when you were? What about telling a friend that the new carpet she spent several thousand dollars on looks great – when you really think it clashes horribly with the decor?
White lies – they are part of life. They seem to be especially prevalent once we have kids. We encourage them to eat broccoli by telling them it will make their hair curly (or whatever). We use them to get around tantrums and hurt feelings. We use them to explain why we were bouncing around under the covers with Daddy.
I usually separate the lies into two categories. There are those that protect my young children from information that they don’t need and would only cause them problems in the long run, and then there are the kind that are used to keep me out of trouble of some sort. The first is acceptable to me, but the second is not.
You are probably going to lie to your kids once in awhile. Accept it, move past it, and admit it when you get caught.
What are your thoughts about little white lies?
