As a parents , Sometimes we tend to lie a little bit to our children. For example, “if you don’t leave with me right now, I will leave you here in the mall.” , “I didn’t bring my wallet with me, we will come back another day.”Even the classic, no one knows why it works so well, “I’m counting: 1…2…” It’s inherently a bluff. Most kids never find out what would happen at 3. Few parents know, either.
eh eh.. sounds familiar right?
A study carried out by researchers at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University suggests that parents’ lies may have repercussions for their children’s mental health, including into adulthood.
In analysing the responses, the study’s authors noted that the adults whose parents seemed to have lied to them frequently were more likely to associate with other problematic behaviors such as rule-breaking, aggression, and intrusiveness.
Assistant Professor Peipei Setoh of Nanyang Technical University Singapore’s School of Social Sciences, the study’s lead author suggested that:
“Authority assertion over children is a form of psychological intrusiveness, which may undermine children’s sense of autonomy and convey rejection, ultimately undermining children’s emotional well-being. Future research should examine the nature of the lies and goals of the parents so that researchers can suggest what kind of lies to avoid, and what kind of truth-telling parents should engage in.”
Setoh tells NTU, “Parents should be aware of these potential downstream implications and consider alternatives to lying, such as acknowledging children’s feelings, giving information so children know what to expect, offering choices and problem-solving together to elicit good behavior from children.”
Source: NTU | Journal of Experimental Child Psychology