It’s frustrating when your child is telling lies. They can range from huge fibs to little white lies. Every child lies, but some do it more than others.
Sometimes, we even encourage them to lie to avoid offending someone, like, “Tell Nanny how much you love the jumper she knitted for you!”
Very young children rarely intend to lie and may not realise they’re doing so. They have powerful imaginations and enjoy telling you stories. This storytelling lying is very normal.
Join in and have fun with it. You can let them know you’re being imaginative too, rather than telling them off for doing something wrong. This imaginative storytelling can lead to great role-playing games you can play together.
Slightly older children might tell you far-fetched lies such as, “At nursery today, I fell over and broke my arm, and they had to get an ambulance to take me to hospital!”
For these unimportant lies, try ignoring them and move the conversation on. Don’t give the lie any attention and avoid calling them out for it. If you know it’s unlikely to be true, don’t ask any follow-up questions. Instead, re-focus them onto something different.
As children grow older, they realise they can cover up the truth or make themselves sound better with lies. It’s something we do as adults, too.
Reasons behind your child telling lies include:
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