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Kristen Bell on telling her kids white lies and being an 'oversharer'

"The Good Place" star Kristen Bell opened up about the little lies she and husband Dax Shepard tell to keep their family life running smoothly.
/ Source: TODAY

When it comes to discussing her career, health, marriage and especially motherhood, Kristen Bell has an honesty-is-the-best-policy approach.

She's open, frank and, by her own admission, even has a tendency to "overshare."

But when it comes to parenthood, the 38-year-old believes that little lies have their place.

On TODAY Wednesday, Bell revealed that the truth becomes particularly flexible for her and husband Dax Shepard around their daughters' birthdays.

Delta, 3, and Lincoln, 5, aren't too clear on the concepts of time and calendars yet, so when fellow moms Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb asked if Bell has ever lied to the kids about what time it is, the star of "The Good Place" confessed to that and more.

"I've also lied to them about when their birthday is," she said. "Well, like, if it's a Wednesday, and we can't celebrate and we're both working late, then guess what? Your birthday is Saturday."

"They don't know!" she added.

Bell sticks to the truth for the important stuff — like the way she ensures that her girls don't worry needlessly when she's away for work.

"Our preschool gave us language to say, 'You know, mommies always come back,'" she said. "And that's very helpful, because then they have that as a mantra."

But most of the time, the family sticks together.

"I'm rarely away. We always travel as a tribe," Bell said. "My husband and I only take work — when it's out of the city — when we can travel together."