The lies we tell: Readers share whoppers

As my brother, sister and I were growing up, my parents, along with my best friends parents, told us salad was a dessert and if we ate all of our dinner, we would be able to have some. It made us eat all our food for some veggies. In 1st grade my best friend and I were the only 2 kids who put "salad" down as our favorite foods. To this day, my siblings and I love salad and laugh about how we were tricked into eating healthy.
— Chrissy, Meriden, Conn.

My mother lied all the time, thinking little 'white lies' were insignificant. Unfortunately she was very wrong, as the effects have lasted a life time. Her lies, which became obvious by age 4, induced lack of trust and respect from me to her. Fortunately once she was gone, I have learned to forgive her, but while she was still here, I resented her and her lies immensely! I found it sad that she continued to lie, even when the truth was known, throughout my youth and adulthood.
— Randi, Evergreen, Colo.

I remember our Dad telling my sister and I that our dog, Sam, had run away with his girlfriend. We were kind of sad for his leaving, but also kind of excited about him having a girlfriend. We talked about him coming back and bringing his puppies to visit. We laugh about it now that we're older. Now that I'm a parent I try to always tell the truth to my kids. But, a little while lie now and then doesn't hurt either.
— Lisa, San Antonio, Texas

My grandfather told me a lie that I didn't figure out until I was 10. To get me to behave he told me that a big crab was outside and would get me. In all the fuss I never realized that he wasn't in the room and making all the noise and calling my name outside. When I went to school I told the other children that crabs could talk. They laughed and told me "no", so I went to my mom to confirm that crabs could in deed talk. She finally told me the truth about it being my granddad. Man was I taken in.
— Too Ashamed, New York City

I was five and school sent home a letter saying we were supposed to be practicing "stop, drop and roll". My mother took this literally and told me one afternoon to stop, drop and roll. I looked around, determined I was not on fire and explained this to her. Her answer to me was that I could be on fire and not know it. I remained terrified of "invisible fire" for about three years and would periodically stop, drop and roll just in case I was on fire and did not know it.
— Anonymous

My Daughter would not eat potato salad. I told her we were eating a new dish called Mustard Ole. She ate it and loved it.
— Susan, SilverLake, Ind.

My wife and kids (who are 5, 3, and 2 years old) found a little baby dove on a walk one day around the block. The bird evidently fell out of its nest. They brought the bird home and my wife and kids for the next 3 months nurtured the bird (hand feeding it for the first month or so). My wife and kids loved that little bird and named it Rainbow. Rainbow was always with them even when they went on their daily walks; Rainbow would sit on top of the stroller as if it were her perch. While having Rainbow was fun, it was our belief that one day the bird would fly away and the story would be a good and happy one for our young children. However, one evening, my wife and I left the bird outside alone, something we've done many times before to allow the bird to get fresh air and to be basically be a "bird". Rainbow still wasn't able to fly quite yet. That evening when we went to put Rainbow in her cage for the night, we discovered one of the neighborhood cats ate our bird. It was a disgusting sight and my wife was devastated (so was I since I had to clean up the remains). And while my wife was able to fully understand what had just happened, I encouraged to tell the kids that Rainbow decided to fly away and find it's mommy. My wife and I discussed it further and concluded that there are certain things that you simply cannot tell children, particularly at a such a young age. There's enough ugliness in the world these days that they will see it for themselves in short order, as they get older. So telling a little white lie to preserve that innocence in a child is well worth it. I'm sure someday we'll tell them what the truth about what happened to Rainbow, but until then, we get to hear the excitement in their voices each time they say, "Look Mom and Dad!, there's Rainbow over there. Aww, she so cute and big now"
— Phong and Alice, Phoenix

A long time ago I had to tell my two boys ages 5 and 7, that their mother was not feeling well and went to a special place to get better. The truth was that mom ran off and started working at a strip club and was jailed several times for prostitution and drugs over the course of 8 years. The boys did find out the truth years later after their mother "shaped up" and wanted back into their lives. At the time they were mad at me for not telling them everything. But now I think they appreciate the fact that I tried to spare them the ugly truth.
— Bob, Sheridan, Ark.

In the 1960's and '70s, My mother sternly and regularly cautioned us to completely abstain from sex before marriage. She gave many lurid examples of women who had "fallen" and the bad things that happened to them as a result. When I asked how long she was married before she had her first child, she'd answer "about a year." Imagine my shock when I discovered her marriage certificate and my oldest sibling's birth certificate and did the math. She had been four months pregnant at the time she married our dad. Wow!
— Anonymous

Yes, I have I told our children that there pets went to live at the ocean and have baby's, when in fact they had either passed away or had to be put down for medical reason, now they admit that even now they look for there pets at the coast, even though they know it was a story.
— Darlene, Albany, Ore.

Since the time I was 12 my parents told me that they had been using three forms of birth control (condom, cream & IUD) when they got pregnant with me. I became convinced that my family must have some form of "super sperm" and/ or that truly no form of birth control was 100% effective. It certainly did shape my behavior and attitudes toward casual relationships. It wasn't until I was 33 that Mom admitted she had actually wanted to become pregnant and had stopped taking her pill some time before...
— Bryan, Texas

When I was young my father told me that only our family passed gas, it was a curse and never let anyone else know. I believed him until years later when I heard a friend pass gas. No harm done. Now a cherished memory.
— Susan, Greenville, N.C.

My husband and sons are meat eaters and I am not. I have been putting non-meat in our meals. I have always told the kids you never buy clearance meat. So I had made lasagna with non-meat. My son says "mom it tastes different." I said "oh...I bought the meat on sale."He said "oh thats why the sausage tastes different." Granted they ate every bit of the lasagna. I throw away all wrappers so they have no idea what the are eating. My husband said one of these days I will get caught! My sons are 19 and 17. So far, not caught!
— Denise, Riverton, Utah

For years my nephews were under the impression that once batteries died, they couldn't be replaced. It saved a lot of headaches from noisy noisy toys. One day the oldest came home from a play date very excited to tell his mother he'd learned you could actually buy batteries in the store!
— Anonymous

My husband and I would tell our daughter that if she didn't behave we would take her back to the kid store. One day she was acting up in the car and we pulled into a strip mall to "take her back". At age 31, she says she still needs therapy for that one.
— Barbara, Layton, Utah

I was probably 10 years old before I figured out that a car really could start without all the seatbelts being buckled. It worked though. I never ride anywhere without putting my seatbelt on before I start my car.
— Sabrina, Oklahoma City

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