HOW TO HANDLE YOUR LYING CHILD
So. In a world where, if we’re honest about it, lying is not only common but seemingly necessary (at some level) but truth-telling is extremely important, how should we as parents handle it when we discover our kids lying to us? The impulse, of course, is to say something like “you should never lie,” but that statement, taken literally, is a lie—and kids know it. Our kids see us lying all the time. Take the time my son and I were at a wedding, and I whispered to a friend that I thought the bride’s dress was unflattering, only to later tell the bride she looked beautiful. My son heard both, and asked about it. How do you explain that it’s okay to lie sometimes, and not okay to lie other times? Well, you pretty much do it by saying exactly that.
