Make it a good one...

I have come to believe that lying is an innate trait that all children must try out at some point or another.  Some children (scarily) are very good at it, while others...not so much.  Lying is one of the biggest things that I cannot tolerate, I rarely find there to be a good reason to lie.  However, on a recent job application I was asked the question, "Is it ever okay to lie?"  I honestly didn't know how to answer this.  If I were to say no, that would be a lie, because I do think that at times you really have no option but to tell a small lie to protect someone else.  There are also the times that you just neglect to tell the whole story, which my mom taught me is lying.  There are also the times when you just omit the entire story and pretend you have no idea what is going on, also lying according to my mom (and that is who told me what lying was).  However, if I were to answer this question with a yes, without having a spot for an explanation, well then that is just a stupid move if I expect to get a job from them... "Is it okay to lie?"  "Yes, but at least I am being honest about it"? Give me a break!   This really is beside the point though...because as a parent, I maintain that lying is never okay, but sometimes funny.

Moo is one of the very worst of liars, and as one of his parents it is very hard for me to keep a straight face when confronting him with his lies!  I am hoping this is just a phase, and that he will realize there is no point to lying and get over it, but in the meantime I am going to enjoy it (not that I am pleased that our child lies...but come on we need some entertainment).  Yesterday I had an early morning meeting which the boys accompanied me to.  Moo is much like his dad in that he hates waking up in the morning...it is a long, drawn out, and whiney time.  Since Moo refused to wake up in time to get dressed, he went to the meeting in his pajamas, which did not match.  During the entire meeting, and the 2 minute car ride home, he complained and refused to be pleasantly social with his brothers or the other kids that were forced into this torture.  So, as soon as we arrived home I told Moo that he needed to go take a nap and get over his attitude.  He acted like he was going downstairs to his room, but then ran up stairs to the family room when I turned my back (I heard him, but hoped he would just fall asleep on the couch or something so, I let him go).  About an hour later he came down to my office to ask me something.  I asked him if he had taken a nap like I had told him to.  He responded, "Yes."  Knowing that he hadn't, I asked, "How long of a nap did you take?"  He told me, "I slept until 2 o'clock." I looked at the clock on my computer...12:15.  When I pointed out to him that it wasn't even 2:00 yet, I repeated my question about whether he had taken a nap.  He lowered his head and under his breath sighed, "No."  I told him that lying wasn't acceptable, and that he wouldn't have been in trouble for not taking a nap if he was pleasant to be around, but he needed to go to time out for lying.  After 7 minutes (because he is 7 years old...I remember the rules of time out) I went to the corner that is "time out" at our house, to discuss, forgive, and try again, like a good mom would do.  Hoping to effect a change in behavior I asked Moo if he knew why he was in time out.  He got this really puzzled look on his face and replied, "Because you told me to come here."  So, I asked, "Why did I tell you to come to time out?"  He threw his hands in the air like he could not believe we were having this conversation and said, "Don't you remember when I lied to you?"  The child thinks I'm crazy...

Today, I was getting ready to leave for another errand when Skater rushed into my room to tell me that Moo was "swinging a Nintendo DS charger, and it was hitting the walls and the pantry door."  I walked out to find Moo sitting on the stairs, and I asked him if what Skater had said was true.  The reply, "Skater always lies about me...he is lying!"  Skater was not going to be the bad one, so he immediately protested, "No Moo, you were swinging a DS charger, and you hit the walls.  I saw you!"  This is the clincher that tells me Moo doesn't understand the purpose of a lie, "No, it was a game boy charger, but I didn't do it!"   Really? You didn't? Then why correct the type of charger?  I just pray that he gets over this before he gets good at it!