Parenting

If I ask my son too much about something he ends up telling a lie. He is so perfect in telling the lie that we end up believing it actually happened. How to overcome this?

Answered by Team ParentCircle

Dear Parent,

It is indeed hard to handle the lies that children tell us. Let’s understand a little more about why children tell lies. A very young child’s imagination is extremely active and often crosses the thin line between the real and unreal world. As the child grows he will be able to see the difference and his stories will become more real.

When you ask your child too many questions, he either makes up interesting stories to divert your attention. You can respond to the stories with humor to let him know that you don’t really believe them.

Or he could be afraid to tell the truth for fear of being punished or hearing strong words, threats that make him feel ashamed and humiliated. So, when your child tells a lie, the first thing to do is take a step back and calm yourself till the anger subsides. The calmness helps you show empathy to your child. You could say to him, “I think you are feeling afraid to tell me what happened.” When you recognize his fear it helps him calm down too, it makes him feel that you understand his feelings. Now he will be more willing to tell the truth. It's important that you listen to his side of the story and continue to talk with each other about what has happened. He will realize that telling the truth does not get him into trouble with you, instead, it helps him solve a problem.

Here’s a link to more information on why children tell lies:

Does your child lie? Here's how to handle lying in children the right way

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