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There’s one lie I will never tell my children

It’s ‘This won’t hurt’.

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Some lies we tell as parents, however well-intentioned, can do more harm than good, says the writer.

Some lies we tell as parents, however well-intentioned, can do more harm than good, says the writer.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: PEXELS

Allison Sweet Grant

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Parents who claim to never lie to their children are liars. It begins with Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. Then it’s yes, all kindergartners go to bed at seven o’clock and no, the chickens on the farm and the chicken on your plate are not the same kind of chicken. Most of these untruths are harmless – white lies, we call them. But there are some lies we tell as parents, however well-intentioned, that do more harm than good.

I learnt that lesson the hard way.

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