Children are very prone to the habit of lying. Young kids lie to get advantages while the older kids lie to defend their position. Guilt and shame is another major cause for lying. Children are very vulnerable to other people’s behavior. Therefore, they learn to lie even from the friend circle they keep and the adults of the family. Another reason can be the fear of being punished by parents. However, some kids lie habitually.
Traumatized kids also lie to hide their trauma from themselves. Some kids lie harmlessly to live the life of fantasy. Whether it is harmful or harmless, lying is habit that needs severe parental control. Lying kids can turn into a social menace. Therefore, if you are parents of kids, then you should know to let them understand the benefits of honesty. Here are few tips to teach your kid’s about honesty.
1. Encouragement
Do not be a fear factor for your kid. You need to be friendly with them. They should not feel guilt admitting any crime in front of you otherwise; they will not open up even if it is any major concern. You can start with telling some truth to encourage your kid. Kids are not very good judges of seriousness, so a little push from your side can make them honest with you.
2. Solve the problem
Kids often lie to get out of problems. They steal something from any store or lie about their activity, and then you should try solving that problem. You need to understand the reason before you start scolding them. You should involve them while you are solving the problem. Just for an example, if your kid lie about his role in some stealing. You should ask them politely making them understand the seriousness of the problem and then you should return the item or pay its price to owner. Encourage his participation in solving to let him understand that stealing is bad and you are not mad at them. You should focus on the problem rather than your kid lying about it.
3. Make them understand the realities
Sometimes, kids feel embarrassed to let you know the truth. You need to reinforce the thought that being parents, you are responsible for their safety. You should let them feel the security rather than fear from you. You should make them understand about wrong touches, sexual advances, cause of trauma and other realities. You should make them understand the difference from reality and fantasies, so that they can value the honest.
4. Never neglect the facts
Sometimes, parents have a neglecting attitude towards the lying habits of their kids. You should not be encouraging the fantasies just because they look sweet. You should not ignore even if the problem is small, as that might encourage them to repeat the fault taking you for granted. You should never laugh it off. You should not let them feel that you are actually enjoying their lies. You should take every matter seriously. You should not impose any punishment but you should make them realize that you have been offended by his role that leads to lying.You should let them know how much happy you are with their little honesty.
