Parents lie about a lot of things—the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, baby-carrying storks. Or that picking your nose will make it fall off.
Well, did you know that Asian parents are the biggest liars? A new study that exams the practice of “parenting by lying” reports that Asian American parents are more likely than European American parents to lie to their children for the purpose of influencing their behavior. According to the researchers, one possible explanation is that Asian American parents tend to place a greater emphasis on the importance of teaching children to be respectful and obedient, and use a range of parenting strategies to meet these ends.
We can believe it.
In our office, we recalled certain fibs our parents told us. We can understand the reasoning behind some, but for others, we’re still scratching our heads.
“My parents said that eating fruit would make me pretty.”
“Mine said that if I flossed, I would get gaps in my teeth.”
“Mine said that cleaning my belly button would give me a stomachache.”
“My mom said that if I farted loudly, it wouldn’t smell as much.”
(That last one, you can test out for yourself.)
What are some lies your parents told you?
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