For Children.
Now, remember, children: Lying is bad. You should always try your hardest to tell the truth. Sometimes, it is very difficult to tell the truth. As you grow, you will see- and have probably already seen- that sometimes you feel like you have to lie to get out of a certain situation. There is always a way to tell the truth. However, some ways of telling the truth are more creative than others. If you are creative, you can tell the truth without the pain of obeying the rules.
Here is an example:
Parent (on phone): *hears music* "Are you having a party?!"
Offspring: "The T.V. is on."
Notice that the Offspring did not say that she/he was not having a party. This is therefore truthful (assuming the T.V. is on) and there is no lie here!
Here is another example:
Parent: "You would never give in to peer pressure to do drugs, would you?"
Offspring: "Only stupid people would do drugs!"
Now, remember that drugs are, indeed, stupid, and this bit of conversation is not telling you to do drugs. However, this basic idea can be carried over into other contexts. But since the drug example works so well,:
Parent: "You have never felt peer pressure to do drugs, have you?"
Offspring: "No, I have never felt any pressure to do drugs."
Offspring does not say whether or not she/he has done drugs, but that she/he has never felt any pressure to do drugs.
And now, for one final example:
Parent: "What did you do while I was gone?"
Offspring: *sarcastically* "I drove your car to the bridge to do some graffiti, then I went into that bookstore you told me to stay out of."
If this is truly what Offspring did, then this was the right thing to say. Tone of voice doesn't make something a lie or not.
Children, I hope you have learned some lessons here. Now go out into the world, drink your milk, always hug puppies and kitties, treasure every day, and never lie again.
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Disclaimer. I am not pushing any particular activities, they are merely suggestions you could build off of to expand your creative horizons.
Here is an example:
Parent (on phone): *hears music* "Are you having a party?!"
Offspring: "The T.V. is on."
Notice that the Offspring did not say that she/he was not having a party. This is therefore truthful (assuming the T.V. is on) and there is no lie here!
Here is another example:
Parent: "You would never give in to peer pressure to do drugs, would you?"
Offspring: "Only stupid people would do drugs!"
Now, remember that drugs are, indeed, stupid, and this bit of conversation is not telling you to do drugs. However, this basic idea can be carried over into other contexts. But since the drug example works so well,:
Parent: "You have never felt peer pressure to do drugs, have you?"
Offspring: "No, I have never felt any pressure to do drugs."
Offspring does not say whether or not she/he has done drugs, but that she/he has never felt any pressure to do drugs.
And now, for one final example:
Parent: "What did you do while I was gone?"
Offspring: *sarcastically* "I drove your car to the bridge to do some graffiti, then I went into that bookstore you told me to stay out of."
If this is truly what Offspring did, then this was the right thing to say. Tone of voice doesn't make something a lie or not.
Children, I hope you have learned some lessons here. Now go out into the world, drink your milk, always hug puppies and kitties, treasure every day, and never lie again.
---
Disclaimer. I am not pushing any particular activities, they are merely suggestions you could build off of to expand your creative horizons.