The mother of two reveals where she and her husband show their children every year on their birthdays

When it comes to the little lies we tell our children, some are more unethical than others.

A mother has taken to TikTok, admitting that she and her husband tell their children the same untruth on their birthdays every year.

And no, it’s not “If you don’t behave well, you won’t get any presents.”

It’s about when their birthdays actually are.

“I don’t want their father to lose”

Yes, these parents, Abbie and Callum Guy, use a little creative license with their two children’s birth dates to ensure they can both be physically present to celebrate their big days.

“What would you do if, because of your partner’s schedule, he missed most of your children’s birthdays?” she asked her followers. “Due to my partner’s work, we cannot reserve the day off or plan in advance.”

So she says she and her husband, who is a professional soccer player, pretend it’s their children’s birthdays on their days off.

“That way, he’ll wake up with the kids and open their presents and go to parties,” she explains, “and just have a really good day with them.”

“I don’t want their father to lose either.

The mother of two says she’s “not really sure” how their plan will work when they grow up, but for now, her 3- and 4-year-olds are none the wiser.

“They don’t really know any difference,” she laughs.

“Only celebrate their birthday twice if necessary”

People shared their thoughts in the comments, with some saying they disagreed with the controversial strategy.

“I’m self-employed and I’ve missed a lot of birthdays and family holidays because of my work schedule,” said one person. “It comes with the job!!!”

“My husband is in the Air Force and often misses birthdays, Christmas and special occasions. We only celebrate when he is home. We can’t tell them white lies,” wrote a second.

And speaking to the Kidspot team, they weren’t so keen on the idea.

“Sounds pretty stupid to me,” Leah said. “Children will never know when their birthday is. At what point does she plan to tell them the truth? I think it would build better resilience in the long run if she is just honest from the start. Dad won’t be here for your birthday, so we’ll celebrate a week early. YAY to a whole week of celebration! They will like it just the same.”

And Liz had a similar thought: “I don’t think you should lie about their special day. It doesn’t mean dad can’t be involved, just celebrate their birthday twice if necessary! One on the day theirs and one with dad wouldn’t that make them feel very special instead of lying?

But Nama took a more balanced view, writing: “I’m the parent who tells the harshest truths inappropriately at any age so I would never do that – but I know kids can be sad about this kind of thing, so I get it, and you think it’s very sweet.”

And then Em echoed that, saying: “I’m in that camp where I’m completely non-judgmental when other people do it (encouraging, even!), but I could never do it myself.”