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Sunrise's Edwina Bartholomew divides opinion after admitting lying to her kids
Parents were divided over whether it's OK to tell your children white lies.
Sunrise star Edwina Bartholomew has sparked debate after revealing a self-described “spectacularly bad parenting moment”. In an attempt to restrict her daughter’s sugar intake, she got rid of the 3-year-old’s lollies late one night.
In her column for The Daily Telegraph, the star admitted she lied to her daughter Molly in the morning about their whereabouts. Instead of saying they “disappeared” or coming clean about throwing away the candy, she blurted out a bizarre lie.
“I told her a fox ate them. I’m not even sure why. It’s now a week later and the complex story surrounding this mythical fox is getting more complicated by the day. I’ve even had to recruit my husband into my dark web of lies,” she quipped.
The mum-of-two said her “smart” daughter is inquisitive and won’t stop pestering her parents for answers about the fox.
“[She] always asks A LOT of questions but her obsession with this fox is next level,” she wrote. “She is not afraid of it, as such, I just think she is secretly hoping to catch a glimpse of my Fantastic Mr Fox next time he drops in.”
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The messy parenting situation made the star think about lying to children, and asked if there is ever a time that’s acceptable to “tell a little white lie”.
“Annually, we all tell our kids furphies. Santa? Most of the world is in on that one. Elf on the shelf? That is an increasingly elaborate and annoying pantomime,” she pointed out.
After Edwina shared her column on social media, she faced some backlash from people who disagree with her parenting style.
“At your kids’ age, no lies, you have to teach them the truth as you will never get into trouble if you tell the truth,” one person wrote.
“No, you are teaching them deceit is okay. Teach them the origins of Santa, teach them the meaning of Easter, teach them about mythology, fairies, vampire, werewolves, watch their imagination grow, don’t lie…teach!” another suggested.
“A simple ‘no’ would avoid the need for ‘white lies’,” a third chimed in.
“Yep, never want to lie because it always leads to more questions,” another pointed out.
However, some fans stepped up to defend Edwina’s actions, with many saying that it’s common to lie to your kids.
“Don’t feel any guilt, we all do at some stage, you are parenting the best you can,” a fan commented.
“Well is telling them about Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairy lying? If so, then how do we reconcile that to our kids? Sometimes it’s okay to lie if it’s for a good reason?” a second asked.
“As a parent of now older adults I often did a white lie and they turned out to be brilliant people. Sometimes you just have to do what you think is right,” another remarked.
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Others shared hilarious parenting lies they had used on their own kids.
“I told my daughter that when she lied, the whites of her eyes turned red. If she was lying, always had the eyes closed. So I did lie, but it always got the truth out of her,” admitted one parent.
“I told my kids the internet is solar powered, so it doesn’t work once the sun goes down,” another added.
“We told our nearly three-year-old that if he doesn’t stop sucking his thumb, his teeth could fall out. Not a proud parenting moment but said in an effort to stop a habit that isn’t helping his teeth situation! I think every parent has been there at some point!” shared a third.
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