The Value of Parental Integrity

By: Emilee Norton

     Have you ever felt your parents have been dishonest with you? When this happens, they aren’t having integrity. Integrity can be defined as being honest despite what others think. When parents do this, they believe that they are doing what’s best for their child(ren), but it often ends up creating more problems then if they had just told the truth at the start.

     Many children can remember their parents lying to them, whether it’s about something small like Santa Claus or something bigger like divorce. To make this article really come to life and resonate with others, I interviewed five different people. One example I was given was when their parents were going through a separation. Now, instead of them not telling them, they decided to sit down and explain the situation. This saved the child from feeling like it was their fault and also helped their family work out afterwards.

Now on the opposite side of the spectrum, I also got bad examples from people as well. For example, one person’s parents weren’t their biological parents. When they found out that they were adopted, it really broke them. It made them question everything they knew, from why would my adoptive parents lie to why would my biological parents leave me? Now, when your young they wouldn’t understand, so you would want to tell them at an age they could understand. Except this particular person was now in highschool and just recently finding out.

     As you can see, integrity is very important and saves lots of potential problems. I can’t speak for everyone, but I don’t want my parents keeping secrets from me. So, when you have children of your own, remember this: think back to when you were a kid and what you want from your parents, and parent how you wanted them to.