Reading time: 4 minutes
Suitable for: Families with secondary-age children
Read the primary-age version of this QUICK READ
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!”
Why do children lie?
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:
- Get themselves out of trouble
- Cover up inappropriate behaviour
- Get approval from peers
- Improve their popularity
- Boost self esteem
- Test out a new behaviour to see what happens
Some children lie impulsively. They don’t even think about what they’re saying and just tell you what you want to hear. So when you ask your child if they’ve cleaned their room, they say “yes” immediately, even though you know they haven’t.
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