Children


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 […]


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 […]


Christmas: That Magical Time of Year When We Encourage Our Children to Lie to Us

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 […]


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 […]


Talking Honestly to Kids about Drugs, Alcohol, and Tobacco

We are honest with our kids, but we are also age-appropriate. I tend to explain things at a higher level than I think the kids will understand. This way, I can explain things in a way that is easiest for me. What I’ve found is they understand what I’m saying, […]