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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
I was having lunch with some friends the other day, and we were talking about Santa Claus. One of the parents was concerned because her child was getting to the age where she was asking a lot of questions about Santa Claus: How does he visit ALL the houses in […]
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 […]
Science and social progress tend to cause friction with organized religion. And when science and religion disagree by 4.5 billion years, it’s going to be difficult to find middle ground. Creationism holds that the earth is around 6,000 years old, whereas most scientists agree that the earth is 4.5 billion […]
