Tips from @theurbanmama – Handling Lying Kids

We're thinking about lying. As in the act of lying kids do. Do you find your kids lie to you for no apparent reason? Urban mama, if you do find your toddler to lie, no need to be worried. According to child psychiatrist, there's nothing wrong with it. Very young kids don't know the difference between truth & fiction. In fact, lying can be a sign of good things. Suprised? :) according to a psychologist from John Jay College in NY, preschoolers with higher IQ scores are more likely to lie. Early lying proficiency may also be linked with good social skills in adolescence. Of course, we want to raise a child who values honesty. today will help you know type of untruths kids tell & what's appropriate. Kids as young as 3years (sometimes 2) will tell very simple lies, like denying they've done something or in order to gain something. It doesn't make sense to punish toddlers for truth bending, since they don't get what they're doing is wrong. Don't get into a wrangle to get a child to admit she/he was lying. A better strategy is to avoid the showdown in the first place. For example, rather than asking "who broke mommy's vase?" why don't say, "aww look, mommy's vase is broken!" If you make an angry accusation, you'll get a lie. For preschoolers, telling tales can be pure play, or wishful thinking. between age 3-5 years old it's the age of imaginary friends & monsters. Prescholers sometimes insist on their tale. If a particular one troubles you, please keep things in perspective. 'Coz what seems outlandish for adults may be a child's way of processing new ideas. So correct them but let them in their 'world'. For older kids are 6-8years old, they've got reasons for lying. They know how to tell white lie & do so for all sorts of reasons. Before you send your child to his room or take away his privileges for the day, try to find out what drove him to lie. Take his reasons into consideration as older kids lie for reasons that may be part of his social awareness & sensitivity. As they grow older (tweens age), the lies may grow as part of stretching the truth. The best response is simply to express ur dislike. So what's best way to steer ur kids toward honesty? Set a good example urself & always tell the truth 2 ur kids!