Exaggeration! Do you exaggerate while talking about your Kids? Is it cheating?

I hate parents appreciating their own kids. It is childish to exagerate in front of the kids. Appreciation must come from others to make the parents proud of their children.

I do not exaggerate (lie) about things my son has done or how he is. I might brag, meaning I talk about it more often than I should at times, but I do not make anything up when it comes to his accomplishments or how he acts/behaves or does things. I do not mind people who also brag about their children as long as they aren't doing it to out-shine someone elses child. I also do not mind as long as they aren't purposely trying to put someone else down in a 'round about way. When I brag about my son, it's to my sister (she has no children and loves to hear about her nephew) or my dad or my nephew who is an adult and is like an older brother to my son. They all want to hear the good things about him anyhow and if I haven't talked about something in awhile, they will start asking me how he is doing in sports or school or whatever. They are very involved in his life even though we don't see them all the time. What I hate is when people say things without thinking first. For example - my son plays football for his high school but the position he plays already has a few other boys who are older and better playing it on the Varsity level so my son was unable to play Varsity last year. It's fine, he'll play some this year and then he'll play the most his senior year. We were a little sad that some of the kids his age have already received their letterman's jacket while my son has to wait until he plays Varsity. The other boys do not have older kids playing their positions so they were able to move up last year. Anyhow, one of the mom's of these boys is a friend of mine and she knew our frustrations and disappointment over him not playing last year. But she had no problem bragging to me early this year about how her son's got their letterman's jackets etc etc. It was like she was trying to rub it in my face. I was happy her boys got it but I would have been fine if she hasn't been rubbing it in my face. I would have never done that to her if the roles were reversed because I try to think of other people's feelings when I say things regarding my son. So to answer your question, no I do not exaggerate but I do brag to family from time to time. I see nothing wrong with it because I love my son and I'm proud of the young man he has become. I wish everyone could be as proud of their children as I am of mine.

i dont exagerate if i share something about my niece. all her actions are really exaggerated by itself. :) haha

could it be that the excitement of the parent makes the way they talk about their kid like an exaggeration? but to them it's just being full of awe about what their kids can do or has done? in a way, they are also being like kids themselves. .. like a small kid can look at a dog as being as big as an elephant and that wouldn't be taken as an exaggeration, right? anyway, i don't think i'd be making exaggerations about my son. but i wouldn't be surprised if others would hear it as if it was. . .

I don't think i exaggerate - i might go on a little about it but i only tell people what my daughter has done & when she did it. I think some people might exaggerate a little if they feel their child isn't as advanced as another but i haven't done that myself. My daughter is doing well with her development - she's in front with a lot of things so there's no need to exaggerate!

I don't like to exaggerate when it comes to my 4yr old, he is so good, I don't have to,lol. No actually that's a bit of a sore point with me, I think because of my mother in law. Every time we tried to tell her something that our son had done that we were excited about, she just told us that one of her kids, often excluding my wife, had done the same thing earlier, or did it better. My wife would often come away from there and say that it was a different child that had done this particular thing the last time the story was told. In the end, we just didn't tell her anything. And by the way my son IS very good at most things he tries. Ok I am a little biased!!

I think that all parents like to brag about their kids. Mine are grown up now and they are doing well. I simple tell my friends what they are doing now and leave it at that. I don't need to exaggerate.

i dont think there is any problem when perents appreciate their children..... i dont thin there is a problem when they do it in front of the child.... but when it comes to appreciating their child in front of others.... then i dont like it... it feels soo false.... it feels as if the parent if trying to hide the child's bad qualities......and the people who are listening to the parent .... they look as if they are laughing inside themsleves.... but in a few minutes.... you will find they themselves are doing the same thing....... i do not know what is wrong in it..... but i just dont think it is right

I think that when parents over exaggerate about their children, especially within earshot of them, they make them feel apprehension, and lower self confidence. I also think it makes a child feel as if their parents have these incredibly high expectations that they have to meet, and that can cause them large amounts of stress. Granted, it's normal for parents to brag on their children and embellish on it a little bit. But they shouldn't make their children out to be something totally different than what they really are.

Yeah, I would exaggerate how cute my kids were. In fact, whenever I want to talk on things I am excited about, I would exaggerate. This is my bad habit.

I know people who do that. While I appreciate that children need praise and encouragement, I don't think it is good for them to hear their parents exaggerate about them. What does it teach them? That adults lie? That their parents don't really know them? That they aren't good enough and so their parents have to make things up? I believe that talking about your kids affirmatively is important, especiall when they are there to hear it. They need to know you are proud of them. But exaggeration often leads to low self-esteem because the kid feels you are not satisfied with them as they really are. Parenting is not an easy job!

I can understand if a parent kept telling others about their children. But to go to the extend of exaggerating isn't good. I knew of a mother before who kept doing that. We've been together for 8 hours and she did nothing but to keep yapping about her kids. There is always the proper place and proper time of sharing about kids. Not everyone can appreciate what your children are doing. I could very well share something about my little ones because I'm proud of them. But I know my limit and I don't like to bore others with the same topic.

I am too small to be parent! hihihi But I want to comment on your posting. I feel that parents must show their positive attitude before their children but exaggeration would rather go against. How, let me tell... Those children who see their parents lie before them would opt lying too. Secondly they will not become a good personality and would seek help of others and it would be a bad thing in making them confident. Parents must do love and appreciate but never exaggerate.

Aliasad, I do not exaggerate on my kids....I do not think that it does them or anybody else any favors......I do believe in positive reinforcement with my youngest son....the others are all grown but my parenting has not changed much over the years. I believ in truthfully telling him when he needs to cotinue to work on something that is giving him difficulty....for example...when we were working on his alphabet...he like most children had difficulty with his "b's" and "d's"....he would get them confused because they are so similar.....when he made a mistake I would tell him to look closely...are you sure??? why am I asking you to look closely??? He learned to tell the difference; by me drawing a large "b" and a large "d" on paper so he could drive his little cars over them as a roadway....he decided that when cars where in a hurry they would go to the right and when they were slowed down they went to the left....following the ideals of the directional differences of the letters....I thought that was a very unique way to differentiate between them.... I am sure that these mothers just have not thought about the possible impact of their statements....if we do not recognize and discuss the things are children can't do or are having problems with; how do we expect them to feel the ability to come and talk to us when they feel they are having probllems.....when we are not realistic and truthful with them or about them???? That is my opinion, my friend. Have a blessed day!

No I do not as I think a Parent should be proud of their Child the way they are If they sit there and say things like that it can actually give the Child a Complex as it thinks it is not good enough and disappointing the Parent I have always been and still am proud of who my Kids are and what they do and as far as I am concerned they are decent People that work and that is what matters I could not ask for better Kids and I will always support them in everything they do So be proud of your Child and do not put it in the Position where the Child thinks it is useless

It is not fair to the child to brag in this way. It does make them insecure, fearing to let you down. It actually sends a message that they are not good enough, just the way they are. I hopefully did not do this to my kids.

Hi aliasad, i personally do not care about comparing one child to another. I do come from a HUGE extended family and do always hear my aunties and sister in law say how clever their children are. I don't really take a moment to analyse if the stories have been exaggerated. In fact i just let it pass. Personally, i think that each child is different. Each child has different likes and dislikes. Each child is gifted in somethings but not ALL things. Each child is an individual. Each child has tantrums. Each child has limitations (even for us!). For example, if a child can colour a picture very well at 5 years of age, that is excellent. Does she/he, however, have the ability to express his/her thoughts by drawing? Is he/she capable of verbally expressing himself/herself? Or even the picture the child just colored? There are many aspects to being smart or clever. Exaggeration to me simply means that those people need to blow something out of proportion to feel good about themselves and feel proud that they were blessed with such clever children be it a fact or fiction. Cheers! - Lyn

Thats true that mother makes a lot of exaggartion while talking about their children as this give them importance on public.It doesn't make your kid confdent but initiates an habit of overvaluing themselves just for the sake of their mom.Its a cheating as you are promoting him/her to be dishonest with himself/herself.

I hate it, I don't want tell anybody what is not there in my life.

It is a normal thing. We exaggerate while talking about our son because we think our son is the best. We believe that we have thought our kids well that they will become a great individuals. For me, its called confidence. And it shows that you are a responsible parent. Oppositely, it is not normal if you are not trying to prove that your kids are the best..