Dishonesty Starts Young

A couple of my kids have had some experiences recently that have tested their integrity, instances where the popular thing would have been to give in to peer pressure. A few weeks ago Brittany told us that a friend in her math class had started asking her answers to the homework problems right before class began. After a couple of days Brittany realized the friend wasn't doing her homework and was just copying Brittany's answers, not really trying to understand the problems. Brittany quit offering the correct answers and she no longer sits by this friend.

This morning as Damon was getting ready for school he said he'd gotten an extra prize at school yesterday because somebody lied and he told the truth. I asked what had happened and he said the kids in his class were supposed to read a book with a partner. After they'd read the book two times, they were to raise their hands. The girl with whom he was paired didn't like the book and didn't want to read it the second time so she raised her hand and told Damon to do the same but he didn't. The girl told the teacher they were finished reading but Damon admitted they'd only read the book once. Damon's teacher thanked him for being honest and gave him a reward.

I guess I've always thought elementary aged kids are just so innocent and that the deception doesn't really begin until at least middle school and even then, certainly not at the beginning of 6th grade. Silly me. It starts really young and I think it's sad. It also makes me realize how important it is for us as parents to teach and reiterate the standards we want our kids to uphold.