My Daughter is a Liar!

DISCLAIMER: I will never speak negatively about my children and hope that this blog does not encourage you to further judge my 7-year-old according to her underdeveloped behaviors and actions. My intent is to share that our children, although we may encourage you to believe so, are not always as angelic as we paint them to be.

Now that’s out of the way, It’s time to spill the tea on all of y’alls Social Media bestie. Recently we discovered our 7-year-old well, stretches the truth (for lack of better words). Most often they are little white lies or “I gotcha’s” as she uses to cover her untruths. Like most sibling groups, my two sometimes forget to keep their hands to themselves or occasionally calls each other names. When asking Harper if she said anything that could get her in trouble, the child will stare you in the eyes and swear her life away pleading her case. “Mommy, nuh-uh! I didn’t say that.” Most kids do this, right? It’s not so bad when the lie is this harmless. Yeah, we thought so too UNTIL…

Allow me to set the stage. Last year, Harper received a phone from her Tee Tee. This phone was simply for entertainment purposes only. She is unable to call out and all of her notifications are monitored on Trey’s phone. She basically uses the phone to practice her TIK TOK dances and make pretend YOUTUBE videos, Harmless! Our main rule is no cell phone during the school week. In this house, we believe school trumps all leisure activities. This school year, my kids participated in virtual school in a daycare setting. Our mornings are usually hustle and bustle with many pleads to ‘get your backpacks (previously packed the night before), and get in the car.’ This particular morning was like all others…

And ACTION!

Y'all, believe it or not, my SONBOY is who snitched! That afternoon, he kept saying “Harper took her phone to school today”. My child, bless her, looked me in the eyes and immediately denied all allegations! I asked her to bring her backpack so I could play detective. I just knew the phone would be tucked away in one of those compartments. Nope, no phone. So now, I’m sweating trying to decide my next move. I quickly run upstairs to check her room and found the phone, high on the dresser where we place it every Sunday night.

As I’m holding the phone in my hand walking back downstairs, my child looks at me like, see mommy, told you it was upstairs. We all KNOW our children right?! I KNEW my child was holding something back. I asked again giving her the opportunity to correct her wrong. Side note, I’m a believer in allowing a person to tell their own truths. This is one quality I stand by. I don’t want to have to look for any evidence. BUT in THIS case, my child was sticking to her own version of her truth.

I asked if I turned on her phone, would I see something that would negate the reality of her truth she firmly held on to her ANSWER—“NOPE”. STRAIGHT FACE.

*Deep breath*

I turned on the phone and went straight to the photos where I was convinced I would find the evidence I searched for to conclude my case. There it was. I found pictures of her at the daycare in the same clothes she sat across the table from me wearing. I mean, sis was living her best life, duck lipping, peace signing, and sticking her tongue out between her fingers with her daycare girlfriends. Camera role was full of evidence and at this point, the waterworks were started.

If you’re wondering, Harper did not receive your traditional punishment. Instead, I hit her where it really hurt. Me calling upstairs: “TREY!!!!!” If you have a Daddy’s Girl like I do, you know that having your daddy voice his disapproval is pure torture. Trey calmly explained why she can’t tell lies, daddy is so disappointed, yatta yatta yatta. And as the little one peeked around the corners, he was lectured on the Golden rule, snitches get stitches! LOL!

Harper’s charges- Guilty! All love has since been restored in the Strickland household. Harper and I have had several conversations about why it is important to be truthful. At this point, I can confidently say she is scared straight to stretch the truth so far. She is well aware of how much she is loved and always encouraged to come to us with anything her heart desires no matter the believed punishment.

I want you to know as much as we instill truths in our little ones, they will have to make the truth their own (IYKYK), and do the right thing even when they think no one is watching. Someone is ALWAYS watching!

I hope you enjoyed this crazy story about my family! Lol, trust me I have more to share.

But this is the Girl Gang and it’s all about us sharing with each other, so what crazy lies and half-truths have your kids told you?

~Sincerely Seven