She was four.

And she had started lying.

I thought I had failed as a mother.

I gave lectures.

I said, 'We don’t lie in this house.'

But then I noticed something.

She started pulling away from me.

And in her eyes, I saw hesitation, a retreat—I’d lived that once too.

That day, I made a decision:

To parent differently.

To lead with connection, not control.

And slowly, the story began to change.