Why I told my son it's okay that people lie.

Recently, my son started paying attention to commercials. ALL of them. He's six now. I guess he just doesn't want to miss anything. Very seriously, he told me that we need such and such cleaning products and such and such shampoos and such and such for our health. He explained why we need these things. According to him, he was sure of this because he saw it on TV.

Meanwhile, I'm left wondering how to explain to my son that it's okay that people lie on TV. He needed to know because he thought he had it all figured out. Poor little man just didn't understand the dynamics of television just yet.

So, I told him that you can't believe everything you see and hear on TV, especially from commercials.

He momentarily looked confused. "But, mom, that's lying," he said.

Right. Yep, I knew he was exactly right, but that answer didn't sit well with me. It's more like exaggerating, I tried to reason.

What's exaggerating, he wanted to know. I gave the best explanation I had. Then, he said, "Isn't that still a lie?"

Well...yes. Okay, I was stumped for a moment. I nodded.

"So, why is it okay for people to lie on TV?" he asked.

I couldn't answer that one. I let the subject drop. It shouldn't be okay. But, it is. We allow it every day. How can I explain that? It's wrong. It happens anyway. That's just a part of life.

I hated not having the answer for him. I hated the answers I gave. Did I really try to convince my son that it's okay when people lie on TV, but not any other time? I hate that circumstances have put me in the situation where I had to give an answer I don't believe in.

But...There again, that's just life.