'I tell my son the same lie about school every Friday'

"People say it's wrong, but it makes life easier." We think this mum deserves a medal for ingenuity.

Getting your child to school can be a sh*t show of a task.

But one mum recently shared her unconventional approach to getting her son out the door without a fuss, and it's downright genius.

Naturally, though, not everyone on the interwebs thinks it's appropriate.

Let's get into it, and you can make up your own mind.

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The genius white lie she tells her son

In a Reddit post, she revealed that her four-year-old son, who started kindergarten this year, "hates" going to school, making mornings an absolute nightmare.

So, to alleviate the daily struggle, she decided to tell him that if he goes to school Monday through Friday, he won't have to go on Saturday and Sunday, as long as he behaves.

"He hates school so far and says it’s boring, so I tell him that if he wakes up and goes to school without fighting me, he can stay home two days out of the week."

She then said she "reminds him" about their arrangement when he's being naughty, "so he thinks I let him skip school on Saturday and Sunday because he's well-behaved."

Her harmless white lie seems to be working a treat. He's now more willing to go to school, knowing he'll get the weekend off!

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"Manipulative"

"I back this," one mum wrote in the comments.

"It's a totally common practice to tell minor 'lies' like this to children around that age - mostly because it can be challenging for them to understand more abstract concepts because of where their brain is developmentally."

A second woman wrote: "He'll figure it out in the next year or so, and he might be angry in the moment. But you're not doing it to hurt him, when he grows up he'll probably think it's hilarious."

Image: iStock

However, others didn't agree with the mum's approach, with one saying it was "manipulative."

"Can't we do positive reinforcement here?" they asked. "For every great morning going to school, he gets so many hours doing what he wants. We've gotten too law-and-order with our kids."

And someone else urged the mum to "never lie to your kid, no matter how convenient it is."

This article was published in May 2024 and was updated in September 2024. 

Originally published as 'I tell my son the same lie about school every Friday'