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42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Interview With Author

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Lifestyle expert and former scientist Cathy Pedrayes is best known as TikTok’s ‘Mom Friend.’ She gained her fan following after first sharing a video with random items she stores in her first aid kit to prepare her for everything, whether it’s a diabetic emergency or eye puncture.

Today, Cathy has a whopping 1.6M TikTok followers and 74.9M likes in total, making her platform a popular online destination for smart and useful lifestyle, safety, and daily tips and tricks.

Recently, Cathy has initiated a new series of TikToks that feature real-life situations when it’s best to lie for your safety. From being approached by a stranger in a foreign city to avoiding unwanted attention during a day at college, there’s always a way you can respond without revealing too much or getting stuck in a conversation you never asked for.

More info: TikTok | Instagram | MomFriendGuide.com

Lifestyle expert Cathy has been sharing useful safety tips on when you should lie and her videos are going viral on TikTok

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

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Image credits: cathypedrayes

Bored Panda talked to Cathy Pedrayes, the creator of the “Mom Friend Guide,” who’s widely popular on TikTok, where her practical videos gained well over 100 million views in the course of 2 months. Today, she has a whopping 1.7M followers loving her content.

“I was taught about safety from an early age, probably not much different from what most parents teach their kids but I always had an interest in being prepared,” Cathy told us in an interview. “For example, I took a 4-month-long first aid course when I realized I didn’t know how to react in most emergency scenarios.”

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

The content creator said that she didn’t think of herself as unique in terms of following her safety habits. “I thought I was being a good citizen, learning good habits, but my awareness changed when I started working as a host on national television. Suddenly I was exposed to risks, threats, and some extreme stalking cases, which opened my eyes to a new world of safety and security.”

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42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

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42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

At that moment, Cathy realized everything we do is public and there was little education on protecting ourselves. “When I started my TikTok, I was posting random videos not knowing my approach to safety and security was unique. But when TikTok saw how overly prepared I was, they dubbed me the Mom Friend of the Group, and that helped me realize I had a lot to share,” Cathy explained.

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

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Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

Thanks to her background in TV, city living and passion for traveling, and her Latin American roots, Cathy was able to combine tips from a variety of real scenarios and security experts, “which is what I’ve been sharing on my TikTok. That and most recently, a lot of cybersecurity tips because I started working with a cybersecurity company creating training content.”

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

When asked how the idea for her series “Situations When It’s Best to Lie” came about, Cathy said it happened because of a few things. “My mentor at QVC (where I was host) taught me to lie when people asked where I lived. A little lie like ’15 min. down the road.’ This question came up so often, but her little tip helped me feel prepared every time.”

“With quarantine I had forgotten about that tip, but when I was at the grocery store, someone was making restaurant recommendations and asked me where I lived in order to recommend some places nearby—immediately a red flag went up and that event sparked the Situations When It’s Best To Lie series.” Since then, the creator has shared over 60 situations which, on the surface, may seem innocent, but can actually be risky.

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42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

Street harassment is not just a mere nuisance, it’s a complex societal problem that’s been overlooked for way too long. A 2014 survey commissioned by Stop Street Harassment, a nonprofit that works to document and end street harassment, showed that 65 percent of all women in the US said they had experienced street harassment.

Moreover, in the 2,000-person nationally representative poll, 23 percent of US women said they’d been touched and 20 percent had been followed. Among men, about a quarter surveyed said they had been harassed on the street.

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42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

Another survey of 612 women from 2000 found that women in all areas experience street harassment: 90 percent in rural areas, 88 percent in suburban areas, and 87 percent in urban areas. So it’s not just a big city problem.

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

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Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

Approaching women on streets reinforces their sense of powerlessness and damages their sense of self. “Without doubt, at the heart of harassment is a deep disrespect or disregard for women as equals, as something more than an object, a body, a sexual being,” says Susanne Legena, Plan Australia’s chief executive officer.

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

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42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

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Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

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Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

42 Situations When You Should Lie, Posted By This TikToker Who Gives Women Safety Tips

Image credits: cathypedrayes

Ilona Baliūnaitė

I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

Liucija Adomaite

Liucija Adomaite is a creative mind with years of experience in copywriting. She has a dynamic set of experiences from advertising, academia, and journalism. This time, she has set out on a journey to investigate the ways in which we communicate ideas on a large scale. Her current mission is to find a magic formula for how to make ideas, news, and other such things spread like a virus.

Liucija Adomaite is a creative mind with years of experience in copywriting. She has a dynamic set of experiences from advertising, academia, and journalism. This time, she has set out on a journey to investigate the ways in which we communicate ideas on a large scale. Her current mission is to find a magic formula for how to make ideas, news, and other such things spread like a virus.

What do you think ?

If I could I would live under water 3 years ago

This makes me mad. You shouldn't Have to make up lies, you should be able to just say "not interested, leave me alone please" to all of those.

152points

LittleMissLotus 3 years ago

I agree, it's unfortunate that in this day and age, people still won't respect a person's (especially a woman's) privacy without you making up a lie of some sort.

79points

Load More Replies...

KatHat 3 years ago

Yes, but between the idea and reality falls the shadow (TS Eliot). We can both aspire to a better world AND live in the imperfect one we have.

4points

pinkk-sugar 3 years ago

Sorry it makes you sad that we have to lie, we're just trying to make it home alive and preferably not raped on the way

3points

Leah Pheonix 3 years ago

Yea but just like how "sorry" doesnt fix everything these people are relentless unless they know someone is gonna find out

1point

Island Life 3 years ago

For people without much self-confidence, these advices are certainly useful, but they intensify the problem and strengthen the victim mechanisms. It should be taught in school that a consistent "No!" or "I'm not interested!" can prevent a lot of annoying situations.

1point

Nudge 3 years ago

sometimes it's a little fun to lie to get out of a bad situation--like a secret agent

-2points

Sean Harrison 3 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Tam illo 3 years ago

Once a drunk guy approched me on my way home, asked if i life alone and i just lied and said i have a very protective rottweiler named bonny at home. He was like: ok cool, bye!

55points

Sara G 3 years ago

I do have a very protective dog named Bonnie! She's the best!

37points

Load More Replies...

Arran Walker 3 years ago

I often make point of commenting how protective my dog can be... even though he’s never attacked anyone... ever.

1point

Leah Pheonix 3 years ago

I am going to use this is this ever happens you're a genius

1point

VeninTheNonBinaryRogue 3 years ago

When I grow I’m gonna get a BIG dog, like a Newfoundland, and train it to growl on command. Obviously not a mane dog, but if someone bothering me I can ask it to growl and scare people away

1point

Rissie 3 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Laura Soon 3 years ago

Not sure if just me, but I don't see anything wrong with placing a delivery for food and giving them my first name. They ask it for a reason, after all, and I am calling a restaurant, too.

50points

Sakuhana 3 years ago

When the food delivery arrives and it's not the right name the order probably won't be handed out to me(F) if I said it's for "Mario". I don't understand asking a male to register a message on your phone for you either, especially if you have a smartphone...

20points

Load More Replies...

Douglas Campbell 3 years ago

I always give my initials because it's much more difficult to mispell or mishear. For some reason, this seems to upset some people.

2points

Arran Walker 3 years ago

Some places won’t be okay with you giving a name that doesn’t match the card information.

0points

Load More Comments

If I could I would live under water 3 years ago

This makes me mad. You shouldn't Have to make up lies, you should be able to just say "not interested, leave me alone please" to all of those.

152points

LittleMissLotus 3 years ago

I agree, it's unfortunate that in this day and age, people still won't respect a person's (especially a woman's) privacy without you making up a lie of some sort.

79points

Load More Replies...

KatHat 3 years ago

Yes, but between the idea and reality falls the shadow (TS Eliot). We can both aspire to a better world AND live in the imperfect one we have.

4points

pinkk-sugar 3 years ago

Sorry it makes you sad that we have to lie, we're just trying to make it home alive and preferably not raped on the way

3points

Leah Pheonix 3 years ago

Yea but just like how "sorry" doesnt fix everything these people are relentless unless they know someone is gonna find out

1point

Island Life 3 years ago

For people without much self-confidence, these advices are certainly useful, but they intensify the problem and strengthen the victim mechanisms. It should be taught in school that a consistent "No!" or "I'm not interested!" can prevent a lot of annoying situations.

1point

Nudge 3 years ago

sometimes it's a little fun to lie to get out of a bad situation--like a secret agent

-2points

Sean Harrison 3 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Tam illo 3 years ago

Once a drunk guy approched me on my way home, asked if i life alone and i just lied and said i have a very protective rottweiler named bonny at home. He was like: ok cool, bye!

55points

Sara G 3 years ago

I do have a very protective dog named Bonnie! She's the best!

37points

Load More Replies...

Arran Walker 3 years ago

I often make point of commenting how protective my dog can be... even though he’s never attacked anyone... ever.

1point

Leah Pheonix 3 years ago

I am going to use this is this ever happens you're a genius

1point

VeninTheNonBinaryRogue 3 years ago

When I grow I’m gonna get a BIG dog, like a Newfoundland, and train it to growl on command. Obviously not a mane dog, but if someone bothering me I can ask it to growl and scare people away

1point

Rissie 3 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Laura Soon 3 years ago

Not sure if just me, but I don't see anything wrong with placing a delivery for food and giving them my first name. They ask it for a reason, after all, and I am calling a restaurant, too.

50points

Sakuhana 3 years ago

When the food delivery arrives and it's not the right name the order probably won't be handed out to me(F) if I said it's for "Mario". I don't understand asking a male to register a message on your phone for you either, especially if you have a smartphone...

20points

Load More Replies...

Douglas Campbell 3 years ago

I always give my initials because it's much more difficult to mispell or mishear. For some reason, this seems to upset some people.

2points

Arran Walker 3 years ago

Some places won’t be okay with you giving a name that doesn’t match the card information.

0points

Load More Comments

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