I make a point of not lying to my children, yet as I posted a while ago, I am guilty of perpetuating the tooth fairy fib. I am also guilty of hiding vegetables in my daughter’s food without telling her, and if she mistakes quinoa for couscous, who am I to argue?
The ice cream van only plays music when it’s run out of ice cream….there’s a princess in your tummy who can only eat vegetables….and there’s a baby dragon in the hand-drier who needs to practice his fire-breathing on your hands.
These are just some of the white lies parents have admitted feeding to their children to steer them onto the correct path in life, according to new research.
Some 90 per cent of parents have a list of creative tales they tell to their little ones, with other favourites including that you’ll be washed down the plughole if you stay in the bath too long and that eating green food will turn you into a superhero.
The traditional tale of the tooth fairy remained the most popular story, used by 38 per cent of mums and dads, while other prevailing stories include giving different foods more exciting names to get kids to eat them, such as calling broccoli trees (21 per cent) and feigning phone calls from teachers to tackle reluctance to do homework (16 per cent).
TELL ME LIES, TELL ME SWEET LITTLE LIES
- 35 per cent of parents disguise vegetables in other foods to get children to eat them
- A third of parents spell out certain words to each other using letters rather than say the word in full
- One in seven (14 per cent) parents wind clocks forward to get children to bed on time
- 2 per cent of parents tell their child that the music played by an ice cream van means they’ve run out of ice cream.
- Parents surveyed as part of the research admitted to getting creative with their children in order to improve behaviour (58 per cent), encourage them to eat nutritiously (56 per cent), improve imagination (39 per cent) and improve their health and well-being (38 per cent)
- The traditional tale of the tooth fairy remained the most popular story, used by 38 per cent of mums and dads
Click on the link to read A Case of Parenting at It’s Worst
Click on the link to read Father Posts Daughter’s Controversial Worksheet
Click on the link to read Dad’s Letter to 13-Year Old Son after Discovering he had been Downloading from Porn Sites
Click on the link to read A Parent that Means Well Doesn’t Always Do Well
Click on the link to read A Joke at the Expense of Your Own Child
Tags: 90 per cent of parents have a list of creative lies, Children, creative tales, Family, kids, lies parents have admitted feeding to their children, Lies that Parents Tell their Children, Parenting, parents disguise vegetables in other foods to get children to eat them, Tooth Fairy, tooth fairy lie
Topical Teaching 
November 24, 2012 at 9:19 pm |
Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after checking through some of the post I realized it’s
new to me. Anyhow, I’m definitely glad I found it and I’ll be book-marking and checking back often!