Cash, presents and bribery used by parents urging children to lie

One in ten UK parents regularly ask their children to keep a secret, with some spending £27 each week on treats as bribery.

The research from Sheilas’ Wheels found that the top secret children are being asked to keep – according to 54 per cent of parents – is about a gift that is to be given.

A 26 per cent of parents lie about their child’s real age to get concessions, and staggeringly, 5 per cent get their children to lie about breaking the law.

The average amount of time a child managed to keep a secret was 14 days, though 28 per cent blabbed in less than two hours.