We tell our children not to lie or their noses will grow like Pinocchio. The puppet’s creator Italian author Carlo Collodi, who died in 1890, was a writer and social commentator. He was steeped in an 18th century Italian culture where marionette plays helped teach kids right from wrong.  There are some who believe his children’s story about a naughty puppet had a powerful social message. In the original story, Pinocchio’s carpenter father lies, and then so does his puppet son.

One of my kids is getting confirmed this year. The reverend told parents that we need to model the behavior we want to see in our kids. He said that if  we don’t want our kids to drink, take drugs or smoke, then parents shouldn’t do so either.  It’s the old motto:”Monkey see, monkey do.  I couldn’t agree more.  Which brings us to the case of a chain-smoking chimp who learned how to do it from his trainer.   The video is going viral.  You can watch it here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjitfZwFo6U

My advice to parents is to stop mucking around.  Children have a memory of what we do that is longer than Pinocchio’s nose.