Lying to Children

[Asmodean]

Is it just money you want or other material things? 

Slaves. Lotsa' them. 

I have one, but she has a habit of strangling her amorphous blob overlords.

No neck - no worries 

[Sweetdeath]

Dye that mane gray and... Yes, yes, why not...

Maybe someone with awesome photoshop skills *COUGHPUDDINGORBUDHORSE* could do my mane gray.

Sorry, no computer. Gonna have to IOU that one. 

aww ok

[En_Route]

Is it just money you want or other material things? 

Slaves. Lotsa' them. 

I have one, but she has a habit of strangling her amorphous blob overlords.

Do you rent her out? That's exactly how I want to go.

[OldGit]

Thanks for the thought, Asmo, but 100 slaves is more than I can afford.  I could give you a dead badger.

[Asmodean]

Thanks for the thought, Asmo, but 100 slaves is more than I can afford.  I could give you a dead badger.

With maggots? 

[DeterminedJuliet]

Hahaha, Oops! I posted in the wrong thread!
Nothing to see.

[The Magic Pudding]

I remember talking to my daughter when she was little about hippos and their eating habits.  She thought they ate fish, I told her they didn't she looked at me in a cute quizzical manner, weighing this and that.  I'd led her wrong in the past, I never did detach her nose so it was reasonable she doubted me.  I think you should teach a kid not to be gullible, test their credulity.

[Ali]

I would have guessed fish too.  Off to Google.

[OldGit]

With maggots? 

It's hard to check without stopping the car, but I expect they have plenty of maggots when they're a month old.

[The Magic Pudding]

I would have guessed fish too.  Off to Google.

You could just trust me.

[Ali]

I would have guessed fish too.  Off to Google.

You could just trust me.

You've never detached my nose so.....

[DeterminedJuliet]

I would have guessed fish too.  Off to Google.

You could just trust me.

What do Hippos eat, Oh Magical Puddin'?

[Asmodean]

It's hard to check without stopping the car, but I expect they have plenty of maggots when they're a month old.

Tempting...

[Genericguy]

I don't see a downside in participating in christmas (santa) with your child, as long as it is not presented as real. Pretending is a huge part of childhood. I remember getting lost in it. The dinosaur toys were "real", although I knew they were not. There was a fine line between fantasy and reality as a child. It was as if we had control of the "line" and were able to blur it to blend reality with fantasy. If I had a child, I would introduce the story of Santa as something we pretend is real. I see no harm in that at all. Personally I would not say the words "Santa is not real". Maybe I'm over thinking it, but I feel like that would lessen the child's ability, or desire, to blend reality with fantasy.

The alternitave, however, can be devastating. I remember crying and being mad at my parents after I learned the truth. I felt betrayed. I also felt like an idiot in front of my friends. Someone (en-route maybe? I'm too lazy to check, sorry if I twist your words) said presenting Santa as reality is beneficial in that it provides a bit of distrust, giving the child the ability to discern fact and fiction. There are other ways to provide that ability. Perhaps you could tell the child you are going to tell a few lies throughout the day and he or she has to try to recognize them? This example is just off the top of my head and I'm sure other examples might be better, but my point is that it doesn't end badly. In fact it might be rewarding for the child to recognize the lie. It might give them a sense of pride as opposed to being humiliated and felling like an idiot.

[DeterminedJuliet]

Someone (en-route maybe? I'm too lazy to check, sorry if I twist your words) said presenting Santa as reality is beneficial in that it provides a bit of distrust, giving the child the ability to discern fact and fiction.

I also feel like this isn't necessarily a lesson that children need to learn from their parents. There's a whole lot of treachery out there in the world and I know for a fact that wee man will be exposed to it. I'd rather he feel like I'm one of the few people that he can trust entirely, rather than trying to impart some kind of lesson about not being gullible, when I'm sure there'll be enough real-world experiences to talk about with him regarding that.