Don't lie to kids

People lie to small children everyday for a few reasons.

1. It is an easy way to get a child to do what you want them to do. (They are to lazy to explain the truth to the child.)
   
2. They don't think the kid can handle the truth.
3. They don't want to discipline the child
4. It is an easy way to entertain a child
   

There are probably other reasons people lie to children but these are the ones that I think of first. I bring this issue up because of an experience I had last week at my job. I work with small children in the dark. We use red rope lights to bring some light in the room that will not disturb the dilation of their eyes. I was working with another co worker and we had a class of 4 year olds who couldn't keep their hands off the lights. My co worker told them it was hot lava while I told them to please leave my lights alone (please notice I said told them and not asked). I was concentrating on taking pictures and kept stepping on the lights. It was mentioned to me to stop stepping on the lights because they are hot. I didn't have the time or patience to worry about where I was stepping and said that the hot lava lights don't burn me. Then a little boy said "fire doesn't burn me either". I started to imagine that little boy at home touching the stove and getting burned. That's what happen when you lie to kids! They believe you and do stupid stuff or believe dumb things into their teenage/adult years and when they realize that it is not true they feel like a fool (I'm speaking from personal experience).

Now I'm not saying that people should not encourage kids to use their imagination. Imagination is a great thing to have. It makes people interesting. I think I have a very active imagination. I make up back stories about people all the time from strangers to close friends. (My stories are very believable and I start to believe them at times - maybe they are the truth and I have a gift.)

There are two instances in my childhood where an adult lied to me with no ill intentions that lead me to do something really dumb.

Example 1: Quarter trick gone bad
When I was around 5 or 6 my aunt did a quarter trick with me where she pretended to put a quarter through one ear and take it out the other. I remember sitting on the couch eating popcorn one day watching a show on Nickelodeon and seeing someone do the same trick. I was inspired to try it but all I had in arms reach was my popcorn. So I stuck a piece of popcorn in my ear and pushed it as far as I could. I was amazed when it didn't come out the other ear. I also began to imagine it floating between my ears surrounded by red veins and fluid. Once I realized that the popcorn wouldn't go any further I told my mom and she took me to the emergency room where they used a syringe to shoot water in my ear and soften the pop corn so it could slide out. If only she would have told me it was a trick!

Example 2: Milk IS a liquid
I had a bad experience with milk in primary school and decided to only use it in cereal. When the cereal was gone I would pour the rest of the milk down the drain. When I was an adolescent I spent the night at another aunts house. In the morning my cousin and I had cereal and I went to pour the milk down the drain. My aunt then informed me that milk will clog the drain. From that day on I would go out of my way not to clog the drain with milk. In the middle of winter I would go out in the freezing cold to pour my milk in the yard. Later I started to cheat and pour the milk down the sink hoping that it wouldn't clog it. Finally a few years ago (senior year of high school or freshman year of college) I realized that milk is a liquid! I felt like an idiot. If only she would have told me to drink the milk because she said so instead of lying to me. I could have gotten sick going out in my night gown in the cold to pour out my milk. (haha)

I vow to not lie to children or adults for that matter. You never know what you tell them may lead them to do.