Parenting 101 – Top Five Reasons Why Children Lie
Parenting, it is tough is what many parents say? Why is it so? Is parenting really hard? One of the major parenting problems is children lying to parents. Why do children lie? Children lie to their parents for various reasons like fear, scolding, lack of self confidence, etc. Know more reasons on why children lie here…
Children’s lying to parents is one of the major parenting problems. Every parent starts doubting about their parenting when their child start saying lies. Does children’s lying has a relation with your parenting skills or is it something else? When as a parent you confront of your child when they lie, you invariably make the situation even more worse. Why do children lie? Is children lying to parents a common behavior? Let us find out…
Why do children lie? There are various reasons for a child to lie to their parents; what are the reasons behind children saying lies. Let us look at the top 5 reasons why children lie.
1. Fear:
Image via theparentszone
The first and foremost reason is fear. Many children tend to lie because they fear that their parents may scold them. Take for example your child has spilt milk on the floor; your child may say it was his/her brother who did it for the fear of getting scolding from the parents. This especially happens when the parents are too strict.
2. Peer pressure:
Peer pressure is another reason why children lie. When the child’s peer says that they have visited a particular place or watched a particular movie, a child may lie that he/she has also visited the place or watched the movie as he/she doesn’t want to be left out of the crowd.
3. Lack of self-confidence or self-esteem:
Image via agenesiscorpuscallosum
Children lie when they lack self-esteem or self-confidence. These children in an attempt to impress others start to lie. Follow these simple steps to boost your child’s self-confidence.
4. Seeking attention:
Image via examiner
Some children liked to be the center of attraction; when they don’t get the required attention children start to lie. These days in many families both parents work; this is one reason they don’t find much time to spend with their little ones. Take a situation where your child is eagerly waiting for your return so that he/she can play with you and you don’t even give a smile, what do you think the child will do? The child would immediately say he/she has done something good in the class and the teacher appreciated him/her for the behavior. You would immediately go, hug the child and ask if you both can play for some time. This is exactly what the child wants and invariably starts to lie whenever your child wants your attention.
5. Avoid doing things they hate:
There are few children who hate brushing in the night or use the toilet before going the bed. These children simply say they have brushed their teeth so that they need not do what they hate. It is not intentional, but just to avoid doing things they hate, children lie.
Once the reason why children lie is identified, it is easier to correct this behavior. Wait for the next part of how to correct the behavior of children lying to parents…
Did you find this article informative? More such informative articles can be found at http://ukhamba.web.officelive.com.
Do you wish to earn by writing or sharing knowledge? Sign up with Triond and start making a passive income for lifetime.
Liked it
Published in: Family
learnandearn | Jan 7, 2011 | Reply
i got it book marked … i’ll come back to it once am a parent
martie | Jan 7, 2011 | Reply
Many children also lie when pressed for an answer they don’t have. It is not intentional they are just trying to please.
Jimmy Shilaho | Jan 7, 2011 | Reply
I trust you to have the answers. Some lie because it is genetic. Has it ever occurred to you that the children of a liar tend to lie more than those of non liars?
SharifaMcFarlane | Jan 7, 2011 | Reply
I thought you had all the categories Linda, but Jimmy has made a valuable addition. Sometimes I wonder if lying runs in families.
SharifaMcFarlane | Jan 7, 2011 | Reply
Sorry Anu, I had Linda’s article open as well, waiting for both to load.
Priyanka Bhowmick | Jan 7, 2011 | Reply
very helpful article for parents esp.
Larry Fish | Jan 7, 2011 | Reply
Good well written article, thanks for sharing.
Diverseblogger | Jan 7, 2011 | Reply
Very well written and true! Nice job
Christine Ramsay | Jan 7, 2011 | Reply
I recognise these situations from when my children were small. An interesting post.
Christine
PSingh1990 | Jan 7, 2011 | Reply
Nice Share.
CHAN LEE PENG | Jan 7, 2011 | Reply
What you said is so right! Here are some concrete reasons parents should out for the reasons their children lie to them.
gvgatchalian | Jan 7, 2011 | Reply
Most people really lie — I guess that is part of human nature. That’s why we need to control this lying nature in our children as early as possible. You’re right..we have to identify the problem so we can troubleshoot it the soonest. Looking forward to the sequel to this
Starpisces | Jan 7, 2011 | Reply
excellent parental tips, parents after knowing the children lie must be patient and explain to them that lying is wrong.
pocketsofchange | Jan 7, 2011 | Reply
Good article. It is helpful for parents to remember that there are reasons that children lie and then to talk to your child about the reason behind their choice to lie as understanding why they lied might help them not to make this choice as easily in the future.
albert1jemi | Jan 7, 2011 | Reply
Nice Share.
LCM Linda | Jan 8, 2011 | Reply
Great parental tips. Parents have to be careful and help their children to correct this behavior quickly because lying is addictive.
SowmyaT | Jan 8, 2011 | Reply
Thanks for sharing.
Anj M | Jan 8, 2011 | Reply
Apart from all the reasons citied above, it is also possible that some kids do it for fun.
papaleng | Jan 8, 2011 | Reply
In a parent point of view, I would say all are correct except fear. My children grew up in an atmosphere of Respect and not Fear.
strategy03 | Jan 8, 2011 | Reply
Wonderful article written
lillyrose | Jan 8, 2011 | Reply
Great article, parenting at times can make you feel like it is the end of the world and it doesn’t get any better as they reach teenage years. This was very informative.
Ruby Hawk | Jan 9, 2011 | Reply
All children will lie at one time or another. It’s up to the parent to not let it get out of hand.
lonelyplanet | Jan 10, 2011 | Reply
Nice post you shared about children mind.
researchanalyst | Jan 10, 2011 | Reply
Well I guess the little white lie that society says does not hurt anyone is not true, I think children follow in the footsteps of their friends, and family.
Ann Yo | Jan 11, 2011 | Reply
This is a helpful article worthy to be recommended. Thanks for sharing this piece of information. 5 star rating
anndavey650 | Jan 11, 2011 | Reply
So very true, a great read and one that will come in handy!
SimplyShash | Jan 12, 2011 | Reply
A sensible subject well pressented. Thanks.
ashabari | Jan 12, 2011 | Reply
You have nicely thrown light on an important sociological issue. Thanks.
LivingFood | Jan 12, 2011 | Reply
Yeah fear will do it! these are so true.
shelpeare | Jan 16, 2011 | Reply
Informative article on the truth about lying
S A JOHNSON | Jan 20, 2011 | Reply
Another great and well thought out article. Love it.
Judy Sheldon | Jan 25, 2011 | Reply
Great insight about children and you are absolutely right.