Honesty- is it always the best policy?

My oldest child is the kind of kid who always says what is on his mind. He doesn’t mince words or gloss things over to make you feel good. I, on the other hand, am generally known for trying to choose my words carefully. (Which isn’t to say that I never find my foot in my mouth but I am pretty sensitive about it.)

Which is probably why I ALWAYS find myself  telling my son to “think before he speaks.” In his eyes, he is just being truthful and doesn’t mean to hurt anyone. But still, I can’t help at least attempting to explain the age old adage, “if you don’t  have something good to say, don’t say anything at all. ” I’m pretty positive the whole concept is lost on him.

(Case in point) Just yesterday I was teaching my kids to play boggle as I cooked dinner. They were having a fun time trying to make up words and when they finished, I thought I would point out other possible words that my son could have used. He had found “land” and I casually remarked that he could have also jotted down “bland” using a nearby letter “b”.  He wasn’t quite sure what that word meant so I explained that it could be used to describe something that seems plain or doesn’t have much flavor.

Suddenly it was as if a light bulb went off in his head. “Oh! You mean like the dinner you made last night!”

Wow. OUCH. Could have definitely used some subtlety there. I mean, the truth sometimes hurts.

But on the flip side, the awesome thing about my son’s unbridled honesty is that I know when I receive a compliment from him, he isn’t just flattering me. He really means it with all of his little heart. So … I can in all honesty say that I am really content and quite happy with my title of World’s Best Cuddler even if I won’t be able to claim to be a 4-star chef anytime soon 🙂