Lying

At Sunday School today in the class that Ben and I attend, which is called PEP - Parents Encouraging Parents, there was such an important topic that we talked about. It was basically about why you should teach your children that it isn't doing what God wants when you lie. And about how to teach them not to lie. And that brought me to a question that I'm just not sure of the answer to. When my kids are mean to each other; biting, hitting, whatever the case may be, they are asked if they did it and always say yes. Then they are punished for being mean.

What I was lost about is - isn't that teaching them that telling the truth is getting them in trouble? They are smart kids...how long is it going to be before they start lying to avoid the punishment? My good friend and adopted sister - Cassondra Lauver gave me good advice when I asked her how do I teach them not to lie when they are being punished after telling the truth. She said she always used to thank Skyler for telling the truth, but let her know what she did was wrong so she needed to be punished for that. However, is she had lied, the punishment would be double/worse. I am thankful for these words of wisdom and I definitely plan on trying to reiterate that to my kids as we grow. It makes me nervous that I am soley responsible - along with Ben of course, for shaping these tiny people into the adults I want them to be. It is so scary!! But I love them so much and want them to grow into amazing people. So, if anyone else has any words of wisdom, I would love to hear them!!