Off With His Head

Save questions about the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, Santa and our Elf on the Shelf, I have always tried to tell my children the truth. They know where babies come from (thank you, National Geographic), where hamburgers come from and the sad fact that nobody lives forever. For awhile, I was pleased with my brand of frank, authentic parenting, but I recently started rethinking my “honesty is the best policy” policy. Despite an occasional maturity that belies their real age, there are some things they just don’t need to know about as yet. 

Which brings me to my story, which started innocently enough as I read them Ludwig Bemelmans’ Madeline and the Bad Hat.  Madeline, who is seven years old, is a wonderful character who is clever, brave and loyal – my kids adore her. In the story, Madeline’s neighbor, a naughty young boy named Pepito, had fashioned a miniature guillotine with a tool set he got as a gift.  Before I could turn the page and gloss over the inevitable question, my daughters sweetly asked, “What’s a guillotine, Mommy?” 

After a quick historical introduction that would have been more suitable for a teenager, “During the French Revolution, at the end of the eighteenth century…” I proceeded to explain how the device worked.  Halfway through my explanation, I noticed that my kids were looking at me with horrified expressions. I stopped myself: What was I doing? What had I done to these innocents? Quickly, I crafted the little white lie: “I’m totally kidding, girls! It’s a device for cutting meat…. and bread…. and cheese.”  They bought it. 

I learned several things from this experience. First, that it’s okay to fib once in awhile to protect your children. Second, that it’s not a bad idea to skim books before you read them to your children to make sure the content is appropriate. And finally, that it’s never a bad thing to at least try to tell the truth to your kids.  I would rather they hear it from me than from the older sibling of a classmate with zero censorship ability.