Lying is a common problem found in children. Many kids are afflicted with this problem and parents find it difficult to accept or to deal with such issues. Lying and stealing are sensitive issues and parents should be very careful while handling these matters. Quite often, the case of lying is merely a work of child’s overactive imagination. This can not be considered as lying because most often than not, child is not able to differentiate between his imagination or a realistic dream and what has actually taken place. So what might seem like a lie can just be a case of perception and anxiety.
Parents should make sure not to brand their children as liars. It stunts their emotional development. If parents keep calling child a liar, soon he will lose his self-confidence and that will create lots of problems in his future growth. Child being a child will sometime exaggerate things but that does not mean that parents should misunderstand him. Parents should be careful in putting their child down in public or in asking kid’s friends or siblings to verify his statements. Such conditions should be totally avoided.
The fact is no child is a born liar. Child often turns liar because of high expectation or pressure from the parents. He tries to please his parents and once the first attempt goes successfully, lying becomes his second habit. Parents should not be strict or rigid in handling lying issues. That will further aggravate the problem. Talk it out with the kid, make him understand the implications of his actions and provide all the mental and emotional support. Right dosage of love, understanding and compassion will help parents in tackling the problem of lying.
