Of course telling fibs are natural and kids are going to do it, but what recourse do parents have then? I have a pretty good idea when my kidlets’ wording sounds suspicious. I think most parents rely on that. But has anyone taken a good look at some of the content on the internet lately? There are sites that teach someone how to lie, how to read body language, and sites which teach someone how to lie to a body language expert. Where does it end?
Tall tales
I mean come on, we parent’s need a fighting chance. Time to fight fire with fire. Next time you catch your teenager speaking a non-truth (next time their lips are moving) I propose a “fib” right back. Yes, a little dose of their own medicine.
Consider this scenario:
Teenager: “Yes, I did my chores.” (Truth: Did not do chores)
Parent: “Ok great! Would you like to go to the movies? We will leave in 2 hours.” (Parent makes sure there is still plenty of time for teenager to do chores.)
*Parent and teenager go about their business for 2 hours until it is time to go to the movies.*
Teenager (2 hours later): “Ok, I am ready to go to the movie.”
Parent: “Why did you not do your chores? You said you did.”
Teenager: “Oh, I will do it when we get back.”
Parent: “You lied.”
Teenager: “I know, I will do it when we get back, I promise. Are you ready to go”?
Parent: “Go where”?
Teenager: “To the movies. You said we could go.”
Parent: “Oh, I lied.” *Parent walks away being careful not to show immediate joy*
At this point your teenager will mostly become enraged and turn a lovely shade of green or red (depending on whether or not he or she is envious of such a well thought out plan or furious for obvious reasons). But hey, I’m not going to lie myself, I happen to like the idea of not really going to the movies. I would have to spent too much money anyway. Your teenager may even try to apply the guilt. Oh, sweet perfection to come up with such a wonderful plan. Don’t be fooled by the drama.
Not for the faint of heart
Now, I would not recommend lying about big stuff such as, “Yes, you have lunch money in your account” or “I love you so much.” You would not want your little ones to think there really is lunch money in the account and they’d go hungry, or that you don’t really love them and that you lied when you said it. I wouldn’t even recommend this game unless you have teenagers who need to break the “fib” cycle; by the way, most know right from wrong and have known right from wrong for more than half their life.
The key here is to communicate the consequences. Hey, if you lie to me, I will lie right back. Oh yes, it is a dirty little trick but one worth playing.
Photo credit: Brett Jordan Pexels free use
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