According to clinical psychologist Victoria Samuel, who blogs for Supernanny.com, the first step in handling your kid’s lying is to understand their reasons for doing it. Usually, the reasons are about the same as they are for the rest of us. Kids, like other humans, want to avoid consequences, break rules and boost their self-esteem. Once you have a handle on why your kid is lying, take a good hard look at yourself and your parenting to see if maybe, just maybe, you have something to do with it. If, for example, your kid “repeatedly lies to avoid discipline,” says Samuel, “perhaps the consequences you’re using are so harsh that the child is afraid to tell the truth.” For kids to be truthful, there should be an environment where honesty, even unflattering or painful honesty, is actually acceptable.
