As any parent knows, sometimes a little white lie (善意的说言) is the only way to make a naughty child quiet. Indeed, parents have shared the top white lies they have told their children. While some of them are funny, others are somewhat cruel.

“Father Christmas is watching you” and “Your pet has gone to live on a farm” are among the top white lies. The top 20 list of little lies that adults use shows that four in five parents have told their children something that isn’t true. The threat (威胁) of Father Christmas is on the top, with 62 percent of parents using Father Christmas to keep their kids under control.

Most of the British people say that they lie to their children to save them from being upset or to stop them behaving badly. The top white lie told to kids about their pets is “Your pet has gone to live on a farm in the countryside”, which is used after a pet dies or has gone missing.

One 62-year-old man said that he couldn’t forget that when he was four, his parents told him that his cat had run away. However, after he grew up, he finally knew the truth — the cat had actually been given away. Another person said that he still remembered that when he was young, he believed his father’s words that the whole world used to be black and white.

Forty percent of parents say that they will certainly lie to their children if necessary, but over half say they will certainly tell the truth. However, one in ten parents say they have replaced (代替) their children’s dead pets with new ones looking the same to trick their children into believing they were still alive.