White Lies

Before I became a mother I swore to myself that I was not going to lie to my son, along with many other things that I “wasn’t going to do”. But lying was a big one. I don’t like lying, I don’t like people who you can’t trust, and I believe that people should tell the truth…. no matter how bad it is.

That being said, I have now come to the conclusion that a little white lie is NOT the same as an average sized lie. Little white lies just happen, and sometimes they make life a lot easier. Especially when it comes to kids.

Charlie has entered the “why” phase of life. Which I actually really like. I like to explain things to him and I like to teach him new things, even if he really doesn’t actually care to hear about the “why” when he asks. My trouble is, when I don’t know the answer to “why”… that’s where I get stuck. I often find myself referring back to daddy with a statement much like this one, “You know what Charlie, that is a good question and mommy doesn’t know. We will have to ask Daddy when we get home.”  Like, why is there fog in the morning? Why do the clouds make rain? Why is the car wet in the morning? I am sure at one point in my life I knew the answers to these questions, but having not used my 8^th grade science knowledge in say 12 years, I have forgotten.

But sometimes it is just easier to tell a little white lie. I know I am probably not going to get the mother of the year award for this one, but it is the truth. I bet not a single one of you mom’s out there can say that you NEVER told your kid at least ONE little white lie.

So here is my most recent little white lie…. Gum.

Charlie has started to chew gum, which is fine, I let him start. However, when he was first chewing gum, and every once in a while after that he swallows it rather than spitting it out. Now, my entire life I have been told not to swallow gum. I’m sure it is not good to swallow, but I really don’t know WHY? So when Charlie asked, “why can’t I swallow it?” I lied. I straight up came up with a crazy lie, and here it is:

“Charlie, you cannot swallow gum because it will go into your belly, grow, and you will have gum growing out of your butt.”

Haha… so that was a pretty BIG little white lie, but I was totally put on the spot. Today at Walgreens Charlie got some gum and stated, “we can’t swallow it because it will grow out of my butt if I do.” Charlie, I apologize in advance for the day when you are with your friends and you learn that gum will not actually grow out of your butt. You will most likely be laughed at, and you can blame me,  and even be made at me if you want. But for now, it works.