If there is one thing that really annoys me—well, there are plenty of them, as I’m sure you know, but one thing in particular is when parents lie to their kids for “their own good.” I’m not saying it’s not important to tell a little white lie every now and then, especially if it’s a kindness that’s meant to spare someone’s feelings (such as a thank-you for a gift that wasn’t wanted, or to not tell an elderly family member that she smells like pee). But when you just gratuitously lie to your kids to make your life easier, it’s pretty despicable.

Case in point: we were watching television the other night (this already sounds bad) when a Fiber One cereal commercial came on. We actually like Fiber One in our home; my daughter enjoys the sweet crunchy stuff and we actually pack it in baggies for snacks. But instead of counting on this, the parents in the commercial just figured that their kid wasn’t mature enough to like a cereal that was good for him, so they lied and told him that it was “Number One” cereal instead of Fiber One to get him to eat it—and he did, though he didn’t seem to care one way or another.

Could they not just give him the cereal and see if he likes it? Why was the lie even necessary? What a stupid way to sell nutrition to families. “Don’t tell your kids!” Sadly, the odds are that he didn’t even know what fiber was in the first place. He could have thought it was a movie being advertised on his breakfast food; isn’t every other movie?

People like Jessica Seinfeld advocate “sneaking” in hidden vegetables to “trick” kids into eating them. That’s a load of bull. It’s fine to add them in simply to make something more nutritious for the whole family; what a great way to cook. But the point in cookbooks entitled Deceptively Delicious is to trick kids and not tell them something is healthy—not allowing them to make their own choices or learn about nutrition, but to just blankly eat what’s in front of them, like the kid in this commercial. And that is a very sad way to parent; no wonder grown-ups are having a hard time cooking and feeding themselves and their own families. Their own families spent too much time trying to trick them about the food they ate, they are now too confused to make such decisions for themselves!

Do your kids a favor and introduce them to every vegetable and fruit and food under the sun, when appropriate (obviously leave out the alcohol and super hot peppers that could hurt them, etc.). Make it a game and let them pick out something new to try each week. Let them help prepare the food! Teach them simple, cheap ways to cook them. Please, just don’t lie to them for the sake of their nutrition; it’s really not worth it in the long run.