The Lies of The Elf on the Shelf

The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition is basically a child behavior modification kit containing a hardcover book and a “scout elf”. The book explains that these elves are how Santa Claus learns which children are naughty and which are nice. Santa sends his elves out to be adopted […]


Being Honest When Everyone is Watching

I recently came across an interesting article regarding a concept called pluralistic ignorance. This is the concept that individual members of a group don’t believe something, but mistakenly believe everyone else in the group believes it. It can be seen in many examples of human behavior, from the mundane to […]


Lying May Be Good for Kids 1

Here at The Honesty Thing, we like to be well, honest. So when I learned about some studies suggesting that children’s lying may lead them to be more successful when they are adults, I had to share. My spouse and I are parenting our children to put a high value […]


Tell the Truth in Your Stories

At 3 a.m. on New Year’s Day, our doorbell began to ring. Assuming it was a reveler playing tricks on the neighborhood, we didn’t think much of it. We opened the front door, to check on things, and the man who rang the doorbell was still there, trying to get […]


A New Year’s Resolution for Honesty

We’re coming up on a new year! Time to start thinking about getting healthy in the new year. One way to do that is to consider The Honesty Thing: trying to be more honest and seek out truth in the world around you. Being more truthful may make you more […]


The Truth About Santa Claus

Before we had kids, my husband and I discussed our parenting philosophies. When the subject of Santa Claus came up, my husband said he didn’t feel a need to lie to his children. I laughed, and then realized he was serious. I said NOT participating in the Santa thing would […]


Parenting Tips to Inspire Honesty in Kids

From the time our children were very young, we as parents have laid the groundwork for our policy of truth and honesty. We understand through our own life experiences all of the problems with a situation when lying, deception or misdirection is used. We found through learning from these experiences […]


Dishonesty of Hiding Vegetables in Food

Our household aims to eat healthy. Occasionally we have some French fries or sugary treats, but my husband and I think one of the most important things we can teach our children is healthy eating habits from the start. We talk to our children about nutrition and which foods are […]