Parents Online Reveal 30 Little Lies They Tell Their Kids That They’re Considering Parenting Hacks
While it’s easy to judge parents for all of the wrongs they do when it comes to making their kids behave, it’s once you become a parent yourself that you understand that there’s a spectrum of what’s actually wrong and what’s still kinda sorta OK because otherwise you’d crack under the pressure of parenting.
One of the many things that most parents resort to, though still with a certain degree of caution, is white lies, which are, if anything, cute and kind of a long-term investment that will end in laughs in the future.
Image credits: Louisa Mac (not the actual photo)
A tweeter by the handle of @Lhlodder shared one such lie that her friend uses to make her kids buckle up for the car ride, saying that the car won’t start unless they are all wearing seat belts. This inspired others to share their white lies, whether they're the ones duping or the ones who were duped.
Bored Panda has collected the best of the best tweets from the thread and created a neat little curated list for y’all to enjoy, so go vote and comment on them. And while you’re at it, share some of your cutesy white lies in the comment section below!
Image credits: Lhlodder
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My girls were about eight before they could cross a street without holding the hand of an adult. They never asked about rules or anything, that's just how things ARE.
It's not too much of a stretch. We get told lots of things are healthy. Milk makes your bones stronger, broccoli makes you taller, crust makes your hair grow longer. Who would think to question it?
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That's true, you have to wrap your hair around the crusts and sleep with them in.
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It was curly when I was a pup. Which was easier to prove wrong
my mom convinced me to eat peas so I could be pretty. I'm 39 and kinda still have that in the back of my mind every time I eat peas
I love the crusts, my friend hates crusts, guess who gets all the crusts, me!
This was an old wives tale I remember as a little kid. That and burnt toast makes your hair curly.
Kind of don't understand this? Were you getting your hair cut short until that point? Shouldn't you already have long hair if you're just a kid of like 3 or 4? I usually don't see kids getting their hair cut until about 4 years old.
Not too similar but made me think of it as I was the top bunk ( and the older) sister! Our mum used to tell me that it's really bad luck to go to bed with the wardrobes or the drawers in your bedroom left open. Like, you'd get nightmares or just bad luck the next day. So this seemed perfectly rationally to me well into my adult years (I guess as much as any other superstition would) A couple of years ago I asked her where that superstition came from and she said, "oh, it was just to make you tidy up and put everything away before you went to bed." And it bloody worked. I'm in my 30's now and still do it out of habit! Sneaky mum.
Granny Weatherwax had this issue, legitimate problem for some people.
Heaven forbid we just tell kids they are not allowed to watch tv whenever they want.
I don't even see the point of this lie.. he could have just as easily pointed to the engine temperature gauge and said when the car is "in the warm area"...
Note: this post originally had 37 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I strongly disagree with lying to your children as a parenting technique. If you want to be able to trust your kids, you need to trust them. If they're old enough to ask the question, they're old enough for a truthful answer at an age-appropriate level. All of these entries smack of sheer laziness on the part of the parent to do actual parenting. Parenting is two things: helping the animal you gave birth to to become a human being, and teaching that human being how to manage life without you. Lie to them, and they'll learn that lying is a valid tactic.
I agree. The one where they said the main character of the TV show was asleep or they don't make batteries for that toy anymore really annoys me. I can't believe people would do that to their children.
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I'm going with the late great Terry Pratchett on this one - we tell children small lies to prepare them for the big lies they will have to swallow as adults
Taken out of context. Please don't insult Pratchett like this. And it wasn't Pratchett, it was one of his best (and most unhuman) characters who said it. "All right," said Susan. "I'm not stupid. You're saying humans need... fantasies to make life bearable." REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THAT PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE. "Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—" YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES. "So we can believe the big ones?" YES. JUSTICE, MERCY, DUTY, THAT SORT OF THING."
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Y'know, with all the lies we're told when we're children, it's amazing we believe anything is true when we're adults...
I'm wondering if there is a link between conspiracy theorists and their parents/caregivers lying excessively during their childhood.
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When I was pregnant with my son my husband's step mom told my daughter a stork would bring the baby. That pissed me off so bad. So I went and got the Dr Sues themed book for how a baby came into the world. It was age appropriate for her at the time.
Don’t be surprised if your kids never believe you ever again. Or if they never talk to you again after moving out.
Last Christmas was the first with my kids knowing there is no Santa. Oldest son figured it out on his own but my youngest at 9 was frustrated. He kept hearing conflicting stories about Santa and tried to figure it out. Finally he was in tears and told me that he only wanted the truth. So I told him and he was very happy.
That is when you talk about the Real St Nicholas and how the "magic" of pretend started. Of course for the longest time our son thought Santa was fake, but the easter bunny was real... LOL.
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Some of these were cute ( the bird, biscuit or the flower) the rest seem to focus around deceiving children. That's something I cannot agree with.
Everybody here in the Netherlands make 'lies' before the 5th of December (Sinterklaas). His 'pieten' are always watching, so be a little nicer to your little brother. But when it is 'Sinterklaasavond' there are a lot of presents!
It depends on what the lies are about, and it depends on how long your parents continue to lie to you.
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Sure are a lot of self-righteous judgemental parenting experts on here!
Totally, ChickyChicky. This comments section is full of “my children would never act like that” and “I would never do such and such” energy.
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I mean, there are cute fun things that you can tell kids, that they will figure out when they grow up, that does no harm. But I really don't like the "external threat" method, that someone or something will get you/check up on you/watch you if you do/don't do a thing. That's just poor parenting. You really should be able to set boundaries with your kids without resorting to this.
I have a dust allergie and have to wash my kid's stuffed animals regularly. One time my youngest saw his bear in the washing machine and cried his eyes out because his bear was hurting. Didn't matter what I said he didn't believe it wouldn't hurt his bear. After that his bear just went on vacation (washing machine) every so often.
I grew up believing in Santa Claus, and the Easter Bunny, and all sorts of little lies that parents tell kids, as did most of my cohort, and we all grew up to trust our parents. These lies are not as deceitful as some on this gallery, but they are untruths nonetheless (unless you are under 10 years of age, in which case I am totally lying and Santa Claus is absolutely real). I was completely enthralled by the stories of fairies and elves I was told as a child, and never grew up resenting being told them.
some of those are kind of cute, most are understandable (like the stuff about watermelon seeds - it's bs, but it does protect the little ones from the danger of getting them in the trachea). but the sh!t about passports for animals or pretending to have cameras installed? that's just generating trust issues. Also i think that "dad tax" is a d**k move.
My 6 year ols daughter is very practical and wouldn't appreciate being lied to.. sometimes it's hard for her if I tell her she can't do something but I tell her the real reason and if she has a tantrum we talk about it and next time is better. ( like not that her character is napping on TV.. I would just tell her that show is a little too loud and fast, why not chose a calmer show at this moment since we are all in the room)
Black and white people should come to the world of color, it exists without your belief anyway.
Geez, it broke my heart to lie to my kids about Santa Claus and these guys are lying to their trusting young children for amusement and convenience? This may surprise a few people but the word "parent" is also a verb. You should try it sometime.
The frontal lobe does not fully develop until around 25 years of age. I'd love to be able to use logic to explain why my children shouldn't do things, but their capacity to understand that logic is limited. "Why can't I come that tree?" "Because you might fall and hurt yourself." "I won't fall." Ok, now where are you going with this? It's a perfectly logical response to a young child to say they won't fall, but as an adult you know that falling is a real possibility. And now you have to pick up your toddler from school, but your seven year old will argue for the next hour about this. Are you lazy, or is reality a concept that you are forced to live in and your child isn't capable? Of course you could let him climb the tree and have nature takes its course. There are levels to everything. Running over somebody's foot with a matchbox isn't the same as doing it with your 4000 lb Volvo, but the black and white people will tell you they are equal. ❤️
I told my kids that mom's have eyes in the back of our heads, and you can't see them until you're a parent.
Back in the day, before Netflix started sending movies in the mail, you'd have to go to a video rental store. There was one near our house that we had to pass almost everyday. Without fall my son begged "can we get a movie? Pretty please!" as we drove by. When I said no, he would get all huffy puffy, so I started telling him it was closed. They had tinted windows, so it looked kinda dark in there. If we were actually planning to go, is pretend to call the store and ask them to open so we could get a movie. Lol
Yeah I knew when I saw the title there’s be holier-than-thou comments about how lying to your children literally ever will turn them into mistrustful goblins who never tell the truth and never believe anyone ever. Most people tell white lies to their kids to get them to behave. Kids are stupid and sometimes don’t shut up, or will purposely do something you told them not to if the reason not to do it is just that it’s annoying or wasteful. I’m glad you sanctimonious commenters have perfect children who put up with the 100% truthful explanations for why they have to do things, but most children are selfish and awful because that’s just how kids are, and it doesn’t hurt them to bribe them with a small lie to get them to behave. Like you guys really think the kid who got told if he goes to sleep someone will deliver a flower is going to be traumatized and never trust anyone?? No.
Yeah lots of comments like "or you could just tell them no". Sure, sure, but after the 23rd "but why?"... sometimes you want some peace and don't want to utter "because I said so".
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Actually I did lie to my little brother one time when he was a teenager. I worked in a job where I knew a lot about medication. He was just starting to get into drugs with his friend and he asked me what a certain pill was. I knew he had probably stolen it and taking it with his friends not knowing what it was so I told him it was a hormone that people took to grow boobs when they were born male. He freaked out! But I did tell him an hour later it was in fact a harmless stomach acid pill. Told him it served him right for taking something without knowing what it is.
When I was a child, my grandma would try getting me to nap by telling me the devil would come and get me if I didn't fall asleep. I still have insomnia to this day.
I get it, we need to deceive the kids to get our way. But thinking into adulthood the bullshit peddled by parents actually applies, that speaks volumes about just how ignorant the U.S. population is with zero ability for critical thinking.
Of course, because parents from other countries never, ever lie to their children. 🙄.
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I remember my dad joking with me that if you keep playing with your belly button your butt will fall off lol...as a kid I was like wow okay don't do that...as an adult I see the humor...seriously folks not all lies are bad...
How was that useful either though? There's no harm in playing with your belly button. At worst you'll just make it sore and then you'll learn not to do it again.
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1/2 a century ago... My Dad was driving "jr rock hound" kids out for a field trip in his old Willys & they were talking about lunch. My dad, who hated peanutbutter, told them the car hated peanutbutter too. so of course they wouldn't shut up about the PBJs they'd brought for lunch. Dad readjusted the hand choke & the car died dramatically.
We did play the fantasy figure games, and the game of G*d bowling during a thunderstorm. But I can only think of one real lie, Son was extremely inquisitive and talkative. I could not/ would not tune him out as it was not mindless chatter. I would ask him nicely " sweetie can you please stop talking for a bit, mommy's ears are tired. LOL I did not use lies to manipulate, Santa was not a threat (ok bad kids got ONLY socks and underwear), but that turned into a huge joke from the start ( goofy undies were cause Santa knew he was not perfect and that was ok.)
As a former child myself my two cents is once you're child catches you in an outright lie they will never believe you about anything fully ever again.
Three that we told our children. 1 - That there was a little monkey inside the ticket box as you pulled into a carpark that typed up the ticket and poked it out of the slot for you. Till about the age of 8 my daughter would shout out "Thank you monkey" when the ticket came out. 2 - The flashing lights in the sky at night were flying elephants. They were too embarrassed to fly during the day and so only flew at night but wore flashing earings so they can see each other and not bump into each other. Can you imagine the damage a falling elephant would do? 3 - That the balloons and sweets at the checkout were fake and just for show to make it look prettier.
My oldest didn't like cola (still doesn't at the age of 19),so when his baby sister began to want what is grownups drank, we would tell her that it was something that only grownups like, children doesn't. And her big brother would agree. When she was about 4 or 5,she realized that other kids liked it, and found that she did too. Well, at least she didn't drink it for the first years of her life.
And now you've turned it into forbidden fruit and she'll possibly have a coke fixation for the rest of her life. And for the first few years of her life she shouldn't be near carbonated drinks even if she loves them so much she wants to marry em. The short and simple answer is no, you can't have it. And the tantrum gets you a time out, not a tall glass of coke.
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I once told my nephew that Target was all out of toys. I felt kind of bad, but he's 4 and I just did not have the energy for that. We were getting a gift for his parents. On the flip side, I was honest with him about why he needed to hold my hand and not run off in parking lots. Still not sure if that was the best move lol
I strongly disagree with lying to your children as a parenting technique. If you want to be able to trust your kids, you need to trust them. If they're old enough to ask the question, they're old enough for a truthful answer at an age-appropriate level. All of these entries smack of sheer laziness on the part of the parent to do actual parenting. Parenting is two things: helping the animal you gave birth to to become a human being, and teaching that human being how to manage life without you. Lie to them, and they'll learn that lying is a valid tactic.
I agree. The one where they said the main character of the TV show was asleep or they don't make batteries for that toy anymore really annoys me. I can't believe people would do that to their children.
Load More Replies... I'm going with the late great Terry Pratchett on this one - we tell children small lies to prepare them for the big lies they will have to swallow as adults
Taken out of context. Please don't insult Pratchett like this. And it wasn't Pratchett, it was one of his best (and most unhuman) characters who said it. "All right," said Susan. "I'm not stupid. You're saying humans need... fantasies to make life bearable." REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THAT PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE. "Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—" YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES. "So we can believe the big ones?" YES. JUSTICE, MERCY, DUTY, THAT SORT OF THING."
Load More Replies... Y'know, with all the lies we're told when we're children, it's amazing we believe anything is true when we're adults...
I'm wondering if there is a link between conspiracy theorists and their parents/caregivers lying excessively during their childhood.
Load More Replies... When I was pregnant with my son my husband's step mom told my daughter a stork would bring the baby. That pissed me off so bad. So I went and got the Dr Sues themed book for how a baby came into the world. It was age appropriate for her at the time.
Don’t be surprised if your kids never believe you ever again. Or if they never talk to you again after moving out.
Last Christmas was the first with my kids knowing there is no Santa. Oldest son figured it out on his own but my youngest at 9 was frustrated. He kept hearing conflicting stories about Santa and tried to figure it out. Finally he was in tears and told me that he only wanted the truth. So I told him and he was very happy.
That is when you talk about the Real St Nicholas and how the "magic" of pretend started. Of course for the longest time our son thought Santa was fake, but the easter bunny was real... LOL.
Load More Replies... Some of these were cute ( the bird, biscuit or the flower) the rest seem to focus around deceiving children. That's something I cannot agree with.
Everybody here in the Netherlands make 'lies' before the 5th of December (Sinterklaas). His 'pieten' are always watching, so be a little nicer to your little brother. But when it is 'Sinterklaasavond' there are a lot of presents!
It depends on what the lies are about, and it depends on how long your parents continue to lie to you.
Load More Replies... Sure are a lot of self-righteous judgemental parenting experts on here!
Totally, ChickyChicky. This comments section is full of “my children would never act like that” and “I would never do such and such” energy.
Load More Replies... I mean, there are cute fun things that you can tell kids, that they will figure out when they grow up, that does no harm. But I really don't like the "external threat" method, that someone or something will get you/check up on you/watch you if you do/don't do a thing. That's just poor parenting. You really should be able to set boundaries with your kids without resorting to this.
I have a dust allergie and have to wash my kid's stuffed animals regularly. One time my youngest saw his bear in the washing machine and cried his eyes out because his bear was hurting. Didn't matter what I said he didn't believe it wouldn't hurt his bear. After that his bear just went on vacation (washing machine) every so often.
I grew up believing in Santa Claus, and the Easter Bunny, and all sorts of little lies that parents tell kids, as did most of my cohort, and we all grew up to trust our parents. These lies are not as deceitful as some on this gallery, but they are untruths nonetheless (unless you are under 10 years of age, in which case I am totally lying and Santa Claus is absolutely real). I was completely enthralled by the stories of fairies and elves I was told as a child, and never grew up resenting being told them.
some of those are kind of cute, most are understandable (like the stuff about watermelon seeds - it's bs, but it does protect the little ones from the danger of getting them in the trachea). but the sh!t about passports for animals or pretending to have cameras installed? that's just generating trust issues. Also i think that "dad tax" is a d**k move.
My 6 year ols daughter is very practical and wouldn't appreciate being lied to.. sometimes it's hard for her if I tell her she can't do something but I tell her the real reason and if she has a tantrum we talk about it and next time is better. ( like not that her character is napping on TV.. I would just tell her that show is a little too loud and fast, why not chose a calmer show at this moment since we are all in the room)
Black and white people should come to the world of color, it exists without your belief anyway.
Geez, it broke my heart to lie to my kids about Santa Claus and these guys are lying to their trusting young children for amusement and convenience? This may surprise a few people but the word "parent" is also a verb. You should try it sometime.
The frontal lobe does not fully develop until around 25 years of age. I'd love to be able to use logic to explain why my children shouldn't do things, but their capacity to understand that logic is limited. "Why can't I come that tree?" "Because you might fall and hurt yourself." "I won't fall." Ok, now where are you going with this? It's a perfectly logical response to a young child to say they won't fall, but as an adult you know that falling is a real possibility. And now you have to pick up your toddler from school, but your seven year old will argue for the next hour about this. Are you lazy, or is reality a concept that you are forced to live in and your child isn't capable? Of course you could let him climb the tree and have nature takes its course. There are levels to everything. Running over somebody's foot with a matchbox isn't the same as doing it with your 4000 lb Volvo, but the black and white people will tell you they are equal. ❤️
I told my kids that mom's have eyes in the back of our heads, and you can't see them until you're a parent.
Back in the day, before Netflix started sending movies in the mail, you'd have to go to a video rental store. There was one near our house that we had to pass almost everyday. Without fall my son begged "can we get a movie? Pretty please!" as we drove by. When I said no, he would get all huffy puffy, so I started telling him it was closed. They had tinted windows, so it looked kinda dark in there. If we were actually planning to go, is pretend to call the store and ask them to open so we could get a movie. Lol
Yeah I knew when I saw the title there’s be holier-than-thou comments about how lying to your children literally ever will turn them into mistrustful goblins who never tell the truth and never believe anyone ever. Most people tell white lies to their kids to get them to behave. Kids are stupid and sometimes don’t shut up, or will purposely do something you told them not to if the reason not to do it is just that it’s annoying or wasteful. I’m glad you sanctimonious commenters have perfect children who put up with the 100% truthful explanations for why they have to do things, but most children are selfish and awful because that’s just how kids are, and it doesn’t hurt them to bribe them with a small lie to get them to behave. Like you guys really think the kid who got told if he goes to sleep someone will deliver a flower is going to be traumatized and never trust anyone?? No.
Yeah lots of comments like "or you could just tell them no". Sure, sure, but after the 23rd "but why?"... sometimes you want some peace and don't want to utter "because I said so".
Load More Replies... Actually I did lie to my little brother one time when he was a teenager. I worked in a job where I knew a lot about medication. He was just starting to get into drugs with his friend and he asked me what a certain pill was. I knew he had probably stolen it and taking it with his friends not knowing what it was so I told him it was a hormone that people took to grow boobs when they were born male. He freaked out! But I did tell him an hour later it was in fact a harmless stomach acid pill. Told him it served him right for taking something without knowing what it is.
When I was a child, my grandma would try getting me to nap by telling me the devil would come and get me if I didn't fall asleep. I still have insomnia to this day.
I get it, we need to deceive the kids to get our way. But thinking into adulthood the bullshit peddled by parents actually applies, that speaks volumes about just how ignorant the U.S. population is with zero ability for critical thinking.
Of course, because parents from other countries never, ever lie to their children. 🙄.
Load More Replies... I remember my dad joking with me that if you keep playing with your belly button your butt will fall off lol...as a kid I was like wow okay don't do that...as an adult I see the humor...seriously folks not all lies are bad...
How was that useful either though? There's no harm in playing with your belly button. At worst you'll just make it sore and then you'll learn not to do it again.
Load More Replies... 1/2 a century ago... My Dad was driving "jr rock hound" kids out for a field trip in his old Willys & they were talking about lunch. My dad, who hated peanutbutter, told them the car hated peanutbutter too. so of course they wouldn't shut up about the PBJs they'd brought for lunch. Dad readjusted the hand choke & the car died dramatically.
We did play the fantasy figure games, and the game of G*d bowling during a thunderstorm. But I can only think of one real lie, Son was extremely inquisitive and talkative. I could not/ would not tune him out as it was not mindless chatter. I would ask him nicely " sweetie can you please stop talking for a bit, mommy's ears are tired. LOL I did not use lies to manipulate, Santa was not a threat (ok bad kids got ONLY socks and underwear), but that turned into a huge joke from the start ( goofy undies were cause Santa knew he was not perfect and that was ok.)
As a former child myself my two cents is once you're child catches you in an outright lie they will never believe you about anything fully ever again.
Three that we told our children. 1 - That there was a little monkey inside the ticket box as you pulled into a carpark that typed up the ticket and poked it out of the slot for you. Till about the age of 8 my daughter would shout out "Thank you monkey" when the ticket came out. 2 - The flashing lights in the sky at night were flying elephants. They were too embarrassed to fly during the day and so only flew at night but wore flashing earings so they can see each other and not bump into each other. Can you imagine the damage a falling elephant would do? 3 - That the balloons and sweets at the checkout were fake and just for show to make it look prettier.
My oldest didn't like cola (still doesn't at the age of 19),so when his baby sister began to want what is grownups drank, we would tell her that it was something that only grownups like, children doesn't. And her big brother would agree. When she was about 4 or 5,she realized that other kids liked it, and found that she did too. Well, at least she didn't drink it for the first years of her life.
And now you've turned it into forbidden fruit and she'll possibly have a coke fixation for the rest of her life. And for the first few years of her life she shouldn't be near carbonated drinks even if she loves them so much she wants to marry em. The short and simple answer is no, you can't have it. And the tantrum gets you a time out, not a tall glass of coke.
Load More Replies... I once told my nephew that Target was all out of toys. I felt kind of bad, but he's 4 and I just did not have the energy for that. We were getting a gift for his parents. On the flip side, I was honest with him about why he needed to hold my hand and not run off in parking lots. Still not sure if that was the best move lol
