Just like most of the American public, I believe it is wrong to tell a lie. Seems like a pretty easy thing to agree to, right? Like when I hear a politician running for office say he/she is pro-education and pro-jobs. That’s how I feel about lying. I’m anti-lying.
Except, once I became a parent, I found the world to be a little more complicated. For example, what do you say when your young child asks you in his/her most earnest, world-is-beautiful voice:
I was stumped a million times over, and I wonder if I will be as stumped when I have grandchildren.
Somehow my kids always seemed to catch me off- guard (in the back of the car while we’re driving to soccer practice or on line while we are waiting for a movie to start, to ask me their toughest questions… And, I’m not sure I was always successful or prepared, but mostly I tried to tell the truth in the simplest and most age-appropriate way possible (or evade the question with my best “well what do you think?”).
But now, what if your 5 or 15 year old asks you these exact same questions? Then, what do you say? When do you feel like it’s time to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, if ever? What’s the most challenging question your son/daughter has ever asked you?
Leave a Reply