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What To Do When Kids Lie
All children live in a world where they see some things as reality and others in a more shady light, we call “fantasy”. Children have to exaggerate about things, not because they are born liars, but more so that people will take notice. For example, my son and his father were wading in about 3 feet of water at the beach as the tide came in; my son was knocked over by a small wave where he said he had seen some tiny fish. My son came running up to me telling me he had drowned and seen a great big whale. It’s a bit like, there’s a monster in my room and it only comes out when the light goes out. These harmless stories come from big imaginations in our little people, and they are often so convinced that it becomes real to the child. The older the child gets the harder it will be to stop the fantasies becoming a lie. REINFORCE THE TRUTH: When our children tell the truth we must let them know how very pleased we are of them for being honest, also at the same praise them for understanding the difference between truth and fiction. This also helps our children know the importance of telling the truth without stretching or remodeling it. LEARNING TO PICK THE STORIES: Stories come in all sizes, Long, Short, Tall and usually involves our child trying to get out of trouble. The Short one may involve something like telling you he has already been to the toilet before bed. Then comes the Long one, saying things like “it must have been the dog, I didn’t eat the last cupcake.” Then there’s the Whopper, usually of the boasting variety, yeah well I have five motorbikes, and I ride them all every day. BE COMPASSIONATE: We need to be able to tell the different types of stories our children tell and respond accordingly. For Example: When our child tells us he didn’t spill the red cordial on the new rug, and we know differently, we need to explain we are more disappointed in the fact that he lied, to save getting into trouble. This is where we help him understand it is better to tell the truth from the start because that way we have a better chance of fixing the problem together. Our
children are more at ease telling the truth, knowing we are considerate to their feelings. About the author Article contributed by Theresea Hughes,creator of http://free-toddlers-activity-and-discipline-guide.com a site dedicated to providing parenting resource articles for toddlers activity & child discipline with positive parenting tips, free kids games, recipes, arts & crafts, including articles about potty training, temper tantrums, kids sleep problems, parent tips for fussy eaters, including free child development toddlers activity and toddlers discipline parenting resources.
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