Parents do lie to their kids at times. But there are some lies parents should never tell kids. Read on to learn when you should lie to your kids and when it is not good for them and for your relationship as well.Like other parents you must also be teaching your kids that honesty is the best policy in life. But, on the other hand you must be lying to your kids at different situations also. Well, children get confused sometimes and do not understand what exactly they need to do.
Experts are of the opinion that for a healthy child-parent relationship, truthfulness is very important. But at the same time they also agree that children are not ready to understand or grasp all kinds of truth anytime. After all a parent’s job is to protect their children and nurture them so that they grow up to become healthy and strong individuals.
Although it is okay to hold a truth or
lie to your kids especially when you feel that they are not capable of handling it, there are some lies that should never be told to kids.
8 Lies Parents Should Never Tell Their Kids
Here are some lies which parents should never tell their kids.
1. Lies About Family Problems
Whether it is illness,
divorce, unemployment or financial crunch, you should not lie to your kids. In fact, if you tell them the exact situation and explain them properly, they will understand and do their best to support and cooperate.
2. Lies About Marital Status
If you and your spouse are unhappy or there is any kind of stressful situation between you, you should not lie to your kids. No matter what the age of your child is, they know whether their parents are happy together or not. So, never lie especially when the situation is negative.
3. Lies About an Important Event Being Missed
If you miss any important event related to you and your child, you should not lie to your kid or make excuses. It is good to
apologize sincerely so that your kids know that they can rely on you in future. On the other hand if you lie to your child in such situation, it shows that you are avoiding your responsibility and when your child will learn about that, he or she will not trust you completely again.
If your child has not performed up to the mark, you should explain this to her with
patience. It is okay that you do not want to hurt your child’s feelings, but you should be very careful in such situations. Appreciate her hard work and effort, but help her improve by suggesting and supporting her.
5. Lies to Portray Good Self-Image
Well, this means that you want to convey that you were always perfect even when you were a kid. This is wrong and this is going to lower the
self-esteem and self-confidence of your child gradually.
6. Lies About Leaving the Child Alone
No matter what age your child is, this is definitely going to scare her out. What do you want to say to your child that you are going to abandon her? Just stop for a minute and think what kind of scar this is going to leave on your child’s mind and then think about an alternative, especially if it is very important for you to go out.
7. Lies About Loving the Sibling More
Do not ever say to your child that you love his or her sibling more. Saying this to your child will break her heart and perhaps leave her disheartened for life. By saying such things you may give rise to sibling rivalry between your children.
8. Lies About Failure
If your child has failed in examination you should not lie to her that everything will be fine. You must guide him or her properly and help him or her understand how to handle failure and work hard to achieve success. Make him or her sit and explain that you are there to support her and will help her fix the problems.
Never Overdo Lying
It is okay to lie to your child about fast food restaurant or toy store being closed, but it is not good to overdo it. Occasionally it becomes a necessity to lie on small things because having fast food often is not good for your child’s health. Let your child understand that you would take her to the restaurant once a week or month, depending on your financial condition and healthy habits that you follow at home.
Most parents think that by telling lies they are protecting their kids. But, the fact is, they are depriving them from emotional development. With the lies they just miss the chance to build trust and communication between themselves and their kids.
However, lies like hiding veggies in the dish you prepared for dinner or something like that is fine. Children will figure out these things after sometime on their own and believe it or not, they are not going to blame you for these once they are grow ups.
What kind of lies should be never told to children? What are the ill effects of lying to children? When is it all-right to lie to children? Discuss here.