Children are clever. To lie to them in order to reach a goal or to get a little bit of peace is in my opinion a rather short-term strategy, which does not really work.

I never lie to my children, even though it is more exhausting to struggle with the truth. To truthfully discuss with my five years old son every other evening why he has to brush his teeth regularly costs a lot of strength. It would be easier to say that otherwise he will lose his teeth. However my credibility would suffer after a short time.

Also the discussions why he is only allowed to eat 5 Haribo sweets (his favourite food) and not the entire bag at once are often long and for both frustrating.

Yesterday we visited his cousin (she is only 4 years old). She asked: “When can I see the bedtime story on TV?” It was already late and the story had ended 20 minutes before. The mother made use of a white lie and said: “Today there won’t be any bedtime story on TV but I can read one to you.” The little one answered: “But yesterday they said on TV that tomorrow would be the continuation.”

We all sat there puzzled. Amazed that lies are catching up that fast and apart from that, digital TV is already available on the market, so missed shows or films can be recorded and watched at one’s whim.

However the most interest finding was the incredible intelligence of our children, if they want to reach something. Especially if it’s about a bedtime story. 🙂