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Parents Lie to Kids All the Time: Study
Nearly 80% of parents acknowledged fibbing to kids
By Nick McMaster
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Posted Sep 29, 09 2:19 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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Parents lie to their children, even while telling them that lying is wrong, so often it surprised researchers, a new study reveals. Presented with a list of seven hypothetical lies—such as “the police will come if you don't stop crying now” or “you did a good job at cleaning up your room”—nearly 80% of parents said they had told at least one similar falsehood.
And the parents may be fibbing on that as well—90% of undergrads in the sample reported hearing their parents tell a lie similar to one of the seven, LiveScience reports. The parents admitted to sending mixed messages: Though they acknowledged telling lies, more than 70% said they teach their children that lying is unacceptable.