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It is important for adults to instill a sense of honesty and trustworthiness in children at an early age. Should parents always be honest, or are there times when it is okay to "stretch" the truth? Write an argumentative essay explaining whether or not parents should always be honest and trustworthy.

Introduce a clear, focused topic


Organize information in a way that makes sense to readers


Develop the topic with reasons, evidence, definitions, and details from the passage


Cite reasons by title or number


Use appropriate transitions to link ideas


Use clear language and vocabulary

Mom’s Promise

Jasmine and Jeremiah’s mom was dedicated to her children. She taxied them back and forth to school, dance classes, soccer practice, and any other activity they wanted to do — basically, if the kids had a desire to pursue it, their mom would find a way to make it happen.
Of course, there were times that Jasmine and Jeremiah couldn’t get what they yearned for. For instance, one summer, Jasmine and Jeremiah begged to visit a large amusement park that they kept seeing advertised on TV, but their mom knew it was beyond their budget for vacation that year. She told them she would do everything she could to make their vacation dream come to fruition the next year, but she made “no promises.”
At the time, Jasmine was vexed. She rolled her eyes as she reflected on how her mom had never kept a promise in her life! But that wasn’t true — it wasn't that Mom didn't keep promises. She had never actually made a promise to Jasmine and Jeremiah.
Before the kids were born, Jasmine and Jeremiah's mom made an oath to herself. She knew that it would be important to instill a sense of honesty in her children. She wanted them to know the importance of being trustworthy — and she also knew if she made promises she didn’t keep, her children would not have confidence in her. They wouldn’t depend on her because they wouldn’t know if they could actually rely on her.
Mom never wanted that to happen, so once Jasmine and Jeremiah were around, she avoided ever making promises.
Of course, the kids would try to trick her — sometimes, they would try to get Mom to promise something really simple that seemed to guarantee to happen! There was no danger in making a promise that she would keep, right? But every time, Mom would still refuse.
Sometimes, on Thursday nights, Jeremiah would ask Mom if they could have pizza for dinner the following night. He knew that they had a family pizza night every Friday, but he wanted to try to scheme his mom into making a promise.
When Mom agreed — with a smile, of course, since she knew their tricks — Jeremiah would grin back and ask, “Promise?”
But Mom wouldn’t promise — and anytime they asked her to, she would reply with a loving, “I’ll try my best.”
One day, when Jasmine and Jeremiah interrogated Mom about why she wouldn’t make a promise, she explained it like this: “I want you to always trust me, and I want you to know that I mean what I say. But sometimes, things are out of our control; nothing in life is guaranteed. I might want to tell you something is definite, but there are some circumstances out of our control. I never want to break a promise to you, and the only way to guarantee I don’t break a promise is to never make one.”
Mom put her hands on Jasmine and Jeremiah’s shoulders. “I will make you one promise, but it’s the only one I’ll make. I promise I will always try my best.”

User Trisped
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1 Answer

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i tried to write like two paragraphs

parents should try to always be as honest as they could be. If they can't be honest they should not tell them anything that isn't guaranteed. being open builds a foundation of trust because trust is vital for any relationship but especially those with children. being open and honest gives a child no reason to doubt the parent unless the parent gives them a reason to. without honesty, children may find it difficult to build healthy relationships and have a successful future. parents need to set a positive example so that when their children are older, they are honest with people close to them.

for parents, it can be hard, to be honest, all the time because they can be dealing with difficult situations where the child might not understand. parents want their children to look up to them, respect them, love them, and believe that they will always have the right answers to many of their questions. but many parents think that lying is the best way for that to happen. being honest is always the better option. it gives the child a sense of security that their parent won't lie to them about something extremely important. parents being honest with their children makes children realize as they get older that they can go to them with anything, at any time, and they will understand.

User Rohan Kumar
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