“Mommy…Daddy…Why are you lying to me?”

The bad example parents don’t know they are setting.

I remember it as if it was yesterday, jumping out of bed, waking everyone else up, running down stairs. All this commotion to see the presents wrapped neatly under the lit tree. “Santa came! He came! What’s in this one? What’s in that one? I’m going to open this one first….wait no that one! Look Mom, I got a new bike!! Dad, come see my new video game!!” A years worth of anticipation, a years worth of being on the “nice list” all lead up to this one day.

Years and years from now the festivities stay but something is different. Suddenly, you start to question Santa. You hear friends talking, you see the commercials on TV. However, you don’t talk about because you’re still not sure. Then the day finally comes, the day you are told the truth, the day imagination dies, the day Santa is declared nonexistent.

When hearing that Santa isn’t real you realize that your parents have been lying to you. This may not phase you, its just one lie, but what happens when your parents tell you that you have to lie? Your parents specifically told you to never EVER lie but now they want you to lie to your baby brother and pretend Santa exists, to pretend you’re excited, to pretend that your spirit hasn’t been crushed.

Its humorous, in a way, that people can’t seem to find the reason why kids lie. It’s often thought that kids lie as a way to protect themselves from getting in trouble. According to the article, “Learning to Lie”, Po Bronson flawlessly captures the true reason why kids lie “Kids lie early, often, and for all sorts of reasons- to avoid punishment, to bond with friends, to gain a sense of control. But now there’s a singular theory for one way this habit develops: They are just copying their parents.”

Your parents lie to you, you lie to your baby brother, he lies to his friend, who lies to his cousin, who lies to her teacher, who lies to her nephew, who lies to the police, who is now sitting in jail. While this example escalades quickly, it still shows the endless cycle of lies and how easily lying can spread. When will the lying end? Will it ever end?

“Mommy….Daddy….When will you stop lying to me?”