1 in 3 Dating Dads Lie About Having Kids

Advice
  • Tuesday, July 30 2013 @ 07:09 am
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Honesty may be the best policy, but it isn't always the policy adopted by online daters. Far from it, in some cases.

According to WhatsYourPrice.com founder and CEO Brandon Wade, lying about age or income are the most well-known fibs told on online dating profiles. But a new survey from his site reveals a less-common online lie: one in three dads lie on their online dating profiles about having kids.

A Father's Day survey of 2,500 male members of WhatsYourPrice.com found that approximately 32% have previously lied about having kids. The data looks like this:

  • Total Average (2,500 surveyed): 32% lied
  • Men Under 30 (1,250 surveyed): 51% lied
  • Men Over 30: (1,250 surveyed): 12% lied

The most common types of lies were:

  • Men claiming they didn't have kids: 96%
  • Men claiming they do have kids: 3%
  • Men claiming they have more/less kids: less than 1%

The survey also found that younger men are more likely to like about being dads than men who are over the age of 30. Wade posits that older men are not only more mature, but also more comfortable with the idea of being a parent. Older men no longer fear that their children will prevent them from being accepted by women.

The data all comes down to rejection, Wade suggests. The more afraid a man is that he will be turned down by a potential date, the more willing he will be to lie about himself. Of course, Wade also warns that lying "is actually a sure way of losing a partner" and notes that "Honesty is the most sexy thing when it comes to dating."

Fortunately, Wade believes a better world is on its way for dating dads. Single parents are more common than ever before, and parenthood is celebrated in today's society. Many women believe that a man who has a child is more mature and more capable of maintaining a long-term relationship than a man who has never had that kind of responsibility.

"With those who are honest, you're going to attract women who don't mind the fact that you are a parent or a father," Wade adds. "It's sort of a strange oxymoron thing: these guys think that by lying they actually get better results, when in fact the opposite is true."

That's nice and all, but...is it just me, or was that survey a really crummy way to celebrate Father's Day?