There is a troubling article on the Children’s Health Magazine online site. It’s difficult to tell whether or not the advice is meant to be taken seriously or as a joke, and a case can be made for either. Entitled “10 Lies Every Parent Should Tell”, it is a list of untruths that is apparently meant to make parenting easier. For example, #2 is “Monsters like to eat dust bunnies. I bet you’re going to get lots of monsters in this room.”
The problem with all of these lies is just that: they’re lies. The problem with telling a lie is that it’s likely to be discovered to be a lie sooner or later. At best, these ten lies insult the intelligence of your child; at worst, they breed fear and false hope. Another example: “Don’t worry, sweetie, that can’t happen here.” The accompanying explanation to support the lie says that we’re meant to ease the worries of our children with this lie, but what happens when the worst does happen? In this particular example, a far better thing to tell a child is that 1) the odds are against something disastrous happening, and 2) if something terrible does happen, there are ways that we know to fix/preempt it. That puts the power into the family’s hands, and turns the situation from something unstoppable into something manageable.
Look over the list yourself and think of ways to better address each particular situation than what the article advises. I guarantee you’ll find something more positive than what’s listed — and let’s hope the post is meant to be humorous.
