For two years of my life, my grandmas watched me during the day while my parents worked. At my maternal grandmother's house, no day was complete without soap operas. She watched CBS which included Young and the Restless, A Search For Tomorrow, As the World Turns and Guiding Light (RIP GL).
Sadly the addiction began way back as a tiny little person and it continued into my teenage years. I remember being so embarrassed when the actors would start muggin' down. I'd pretend to be reading something or looking the other way when they'd make out...which is quite a lot on soaps.
Even into my 20's I was recording soaps...you just never know what you might miss. =)
It was a sad day in September of this year when Guiding Light went to be with the Lord. That's where all good soap operas go, right? Well, it wasn't sad because I'd have a hole in my day, as I'd ceased my soap obsession, but it was like a part of my grandmother (who passed 10 years ago) died again that day. I will always think of her when I see a soap.
All of this to say (making a very long post) I think I learned not to lie from soap operas. It doesn't take long to see that there would be absolutely NO story line if the people would be straight forward and honest. I really have no patience for lying...especially from my kids.
Take today for example. I'll spare you the details but basically Girl Wondertwin disappeared for 15 minutes during Brunchinner (we woke up too late for breakfast and she leaves for school too early to eat lunch...it was also dinner because she was eating her meal from the night before that she had refused to eat). I finally got her to come upstairs to eat and I asked her if she had been watching TV. No, of course not Mom.
I knew she was lying but didn't say anything until I went downstairs and found the TV on. She lied AND didn't bother to turn off the evidence. Wasting electricity was added to her list of iniquities.
She then missed her school bus and will be spending 30 minutes in her room after school. I was TICKED.
When do children learn NOT to lie? I have little patience for it. She needs a good soap opera to teach her a lesson.
This post is hilarious!
ReplyDeleteAbout the lying, I have the mindset that kids inevitably lie. I read something somewhere (pretty specific, right?) that at some age (hee!) they believe that if they say something, that will make it so. So, they're trying to remake reality so they didn't actually do the wrong thing, etc. I feel like that was age 4-5 but I can't remember.
Anyway, though, so far I haven't made a big deal of lying. My husband, like you, really can't stand it -- it's one of his big peeves.
I've tried to make it non-threatening to tell the truth. If I think they're lying, I ask follow-up questions and finally come out and state why I think they're not being truthful, until they come clean with me. Then we just talk about why the initial thing was wrong...
I lied to my parents A LOT when I was a teen and young adult. I hate what it did to me, and how the truth eventually blurred in my mind. I do think lying is a very big deal once a person is older. No idea how to drive that home with the kids. Maybe I need to get them watching soaps!!
Interesting about changing the outcome...hmm. Too bad it dosn't really work that way.
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