Do children tell lies because...

[Yvonne N.]

they know exactly how to push the buttons of the parents and avoid getting in trouble for their mis-deeds?

A child went home and told her Mom [a lie] that she had been slapped in her face by her teacher
simply because the child knew she had been rude to the teacher,
did not do her assignment and
did not want her Mom to go to the school
and embarrass her
for being rude to the teacher.

<span style="font-style: italic">The parent proceeded to focus on the slapping [a lie]
and got distracted from the real issues
[ the rudeness to the teacher and the incomplete assignment].</span>

Do parents indirectly teach their children to lie?

[CeaBee]

Re: Do children tell lies because...

the parent focused on that at first because that's all the parent was knew about the situation.

But any reasonable parent would try to get the teacher's side of the story the next school day (assuming that this teacher wasn't known for slapping random students).

My child would have the sense to realize that eventually I would speak with the teacher and/or principal and find out the real story. (and then eeh heeh now...Spanish town, dem in it deep)

[kia027]

Re: Do children tell lies because...

Children tell lies to see what they can get away with and to avoid being in trouble

in the example given, my kids know i will know by the time the get home from school so dem would neva try dat

[Wendy]

Re: Do children tell lies because...

As mi a read dis mi hafi reflect ..when mi a go primary school a JA where dere was capital punishment ..mi couden dare goh home goh tell my parents teacha lick mi. Cause all dem waan know is WEY ME DO fi get lick.

Den when dem fine out di reason is aneda buss assin pan tap a wey teacha gi mi.

**sigh*** How <span style="text-decoration: line-through">times </span> parents have changed

[evanovitch]

Re: Do children tell lies because...

children learn di art of lying wen parents tell dem fi tell whoeva on di phone dat dem , di parents not at home...


so any lie children tell going fawud is not surprising

[Peasie]

Re: Do children tell lies because...

I saw &quot;Do children tell lies?&quot; and immediately thought, &quot;Is the Pope catholic?&quot;

All what was said before is true. But children will always think that they can get away with it. Even when it is soooo obvious to their parents that they won't. Children believe their own lies and then (hopefully) they grow out of it.

I don't think lying is necessarily learned behavior. Sometimes I think it is a number of psychological reasons: we don't want to or cannot face the truth, we are afraid of consequences, we are fooling ourselves, etc. It gets pathological when adults begin to believe our own lies. Sen. John Edwards, Tiger Woods come to mind, but also people at work, in our social circles, even (God forbid) the person you share a bed with. These are adults who never grew out of believing their own lies.