Let’s be honest. We’ve all told little white lies to our kids. Most are super harmless. Their bedtime is 8pm? You tell them it’s 8 when it’s only 7:30 - that’s OK - they can’t tell time. They’re 4.
I do recall one time when the kids were young and really wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese and I looked at their mom and could tell she really didn’t want to go to Chuck E Cheese (nor did I) and so I said, “Oh, man - Chuck E Cheese burned down. Yeah, really tragic. It burned down to the ground and so we can’t go to Chuck E Cheese today.” They were disappointed, but understanding.
Two weeks later, we were driving and my youngest Gideon said, “Hey, look! They rebuilt Chuck E Cheese! Yaaaayyyyy!”
Another great thing about young kids - they have no concept of construction and building.