Pretty Little Liars

At first you are shocked beyond belief. How could this beautiful baby who was one minute bouncing on your knee and fast forward to the toddler years, be relating a highly fabricated story of a missing cookie, despite the tell tale crumbs around their face. “I didn’t eat it, Mum”, is just a downright lie. Children start lying around three years old when they have figured out that they can get out of trouble if they don’t tell the truth. They lie the most between the ages of 4 to 6, when they find that the easiest way to get out of trouble is to not tell the truth and nobody is wiser. The lies get more sophisticated as they reach 8 and 10 for they are now able to gauge how people think, but hopefully as Parents we should try and put a stop to this beforehand.

Q WHY DO CHILDREN LIE? Children lie for various reasons

1. The most common being to avoid punishment or responsibility. It is nice to take the easy way out they find.

2. Children sometimes lie to see how their Parents will respond, which basically means that they are seeking attention. For example rather that say I broke my water bottle maybe if I blame someone else and make a fantastical story then mum and dad will probably pay more attention.

3. They like to exaggerate a story or impress others with their feats and accomplishments. 4. Children lie because adults lie. It has been found that on average an adult lies in 1 to 5 social interactions. Obviously these are small white lies but to children they are still lies and if they see you do it then they believe that it is accepted behaviour.

Honesty Tips

Since they are still children we have time to mould these bad habits out of them. Here are some tips to prevent lying: