I don't own Golden Girls and I don't own Yes Dear
"Hello Jimmy," Rose said
Jim sighed
"Problems at him," she asked
"It's my son Dominic," Jim said sighing, "he's always telling lies lately. I don't know what to do… I've tried everything"
Rose nodded wisely.
"I had that same problem with my youngest two… the boys. Charlie Jr. was the worst. Finally I sat him down to have a talk with him"
"What did you tell him," Jimmy asked
"Well I explained that I loved him and that it hurts me when he lies. I also told him when he lies it makes it hard to trust him. Then I explained we were going to start over and that every time he tells a lie he will lose the trust of me, his father, his older sisters and his little brother for one day. Everything he says we will assume is a lie and therefore treat it as such. He never told a lie again"
That night Jim got home and Christine told Jim how Dominic told another lie.
"I got this one," he told her, "he'll never lie again"
Dominic was playing his game boy when Jim knocked softly on the door
"Come in," Dominic said right before Jim entered.
"Dominic we need to talk," he said
Jim knelt to his son's level and asked him to turn off the game boy.
"You know I love you right"
"Uh-huh and I love you"
"And when you lie it hurts me so much because I love you. I want to trust you but I can't when you lie"
"Oh"
"So here's what we're going to do. We are going to start over again. From now on every time you tell a lie you lose the trust of everyone in the family for one day. Everything you say will be assumed to be a lie"
"I don't want that"
"Neither do I," Jim said, "so what do you have to do to avoid it"
"Not lie?"
"That's my boy," Jim said, "now did you do your homework"
"Not yet," Dominic said
"Go ahead and do it. If you get it done within a ½ hour we can go to the go carts"
"Okay," Dominic said and finished his homework.
Rose's advice was solid. Dominic never lied again