Real Parents Share the Most Hilarious Lies They’ve Told Their Kids - and Why

The reality is— parenting is a mix of love, chaos, and an occasional white lie told in the name of sanity. You know, the harmless ones—crafted out of desperation, or the simple hope that bedtime might actually mean bedtime tonight.

From magical carrots to invisible Wi-Fi fairies, real parents have shared their most ridiculous, clever, and side-splitting fibs—each with a purpose, and almost always with a smirk.

Read below this article to read some hilarious lies that parents have told their kids.

You want to admire your kid’s pure joy at the jingle of an approaching ice cream truck—until it’s 10 a.m. on a Tuesday and you’re in your pajamas. Enter this now-legendary parenting lie. Thousands of parents have passed it down like an heirloom of peace.

“My dad told us this for years. We thought it was just the saddest ice cream truck ever,” laughs Priya, mom of two in Pune.

It starts small—“eat your broccoli.” But then it evolves into holiday-level threats. The North Pole becomes a leafy green enforcement agency.

“I told my daughter that Santa has a kale detector. The more she eats, the more gifts he puts on the sleigh,” admits Karan, dad of a 5-year-old with a strong dislike for anything green.

Some lies aren’t practical—they’re just family tradition.

“My nani used to say it, my mom said it, and now I’ve said it,” says Richa, mom to a very concerned toddler. “It’s how we explain fruit anatomy and digestion at the same time.”

Screen time battles are real—and so is creative storytelling.

“We had a whole backstory,” laughs Sunil. “We told our son the cable company controls the TV and turns it on only after 5. We even made up a name for the imaginary ‘TV Uncle’ who manages it.”

Desperate times call for imaginary customer service.

In a digital world, this might just be the new “boogeyman.” One mom in Bangalore confessed, “We said our Wi-Fi goes to sleep at 8 p.m. to rest for the next day. My kid even started saying ‘goodnight’ to it.”

This one’s equal parts adorable and genius. Brushing teeth can be a battle—unless there’s a promised reward.

“We told her that if she brushes really well, the tooth fairy sends lullaby dreams,” says Meenal, who’s now the proud parent of a child who begs to brush.

Toy Story walked so these lies could run.

“It started when my son threw his action figure,” says Aarav. “I told him the toys have a secret WhatsApp group, and they discuss which kid is treating them kindly. He apologized to Buzz Lightyear with a full speech.”

If you've ever pretended that the swings were “broken” or the slide was “getting repainted,” you’re not alone. Sometimes, you just can't go to the park for the 10th time that week.

One dad shared, “I made up a story that the squirrels were in charge of maintenance. Now my daughter checks the trees for squirrel workers every time.”

Parenting involves a lot of honesty, role modeling, and open communication—but it also includes knowing when a harmless fib might just buy you a moment of peace, a few bites of spinach, or one precious hour without screen time.

And when your kids grow up and realize the truth, you will probably laugh about it.