people who try to live 100% deception-free are deceiving themselves
it’s more important to teach kids when to be truthful (when they’re young, that’s almost always) and when to be politely or justly deceptive (when the next door neighbor asks if you liked her cookies you say “yes” even if they sucked, and when a police officer asks if you’ve seen the kid in this photo you say “nah, I don’t know him”)
“mom lied about Santa!” eventually gives way to “I’m glad my mom created Christmas magic for me when I was a kid, so that I could enjoy child-like wonder and traditional holiday mythology”
people who try to live 100% deception-free are deceiving themselves
it’s more important to teach kids when to be truthful (when they’re young, that’s almost always) and when to be politely or justly deceptive (when the next door neighbor asks if you liked her cookies you say “yes” even if they sucked, and when a police officer asks if you’ve seen the kid in this photo you say “nah, I don’t know him”)
“mom lied about Santa!” eventually gives way to “I’m glad my mom created Christmas magic for me when I was a kid, so that I could enjoy child-like wonder and traditional holiday mythology”