Are We Teaching Our Kids to Lie?
Ever on top of things, I just came across the following, fascinating story today, although it was actually published about two months ago. (Props and thanks to Alexander Russo's This Week In Education blog for alerting me.)
Appearing in New York Magazine and penned by San Francisco-based writer Po Bronson, the intriguing piece titled "Learning to Lie" examines a load of recent research into lying by kids -- when they start doing it, why they do it, what they do it for, etc. -- that suggests they're simply following in their parents' footsteps.
Here's a short sample:
"The most disturbing reason children lie is that parents teach them to. According to Talwar, they learn it from us. “We don’t explicitly tell them to lie, but they see us do it. They see us tell the telemarketer, ‘I’m just a guest here.’ They see us boast and lie to smooth social relationships.”
Disclaimer: It's a long, beefy read. Also it's pretty interesting stuff. You make the call, people.