When children lie.

My girl in one month will be 9 years old. Luckily she doesn’t lie very much though she lies. When I found out she lied, she felt bad and tried to correct it. She knows I am very strict with her, when she lies she tries to make sure I won’t find out. However, she is still a child. No matter how she lies, I will find out at the end. Because I am her mother, I know her better. LOL

My 9 year old lies a lot and we can never tell when he's actually telling the truth. My husband thinks he should be grounded every time we think he's lying, whether we have proof or not, but I think its more fair to give him the benefit of the doubt. I tend to believe him, unless I have clear proof that he's lied, in which case he gets grounded. The amount of time he is grounded for depends on what he lied about.

My girls are 8,6 and 3 and when they lie to me for any reason I will explain why it is wrong to lie and put them on time out. If the lie is a big one I will take a privelege away for a day or 2.

My children are 1 and 5. When I catch my five year old telling a lie I will tell him not to lie because if he lies I cannot trust him. He wants me to trust me so he does not lie and when he does he will feel guilty and tell me that he did not tell the truth and for me to forgive him. I really do not have a problem with him telling lies because he knows that I can see right through him.

We are just entering this stage with my almost 3 year old. He is beginning to tell lies, and does it intentionally now. For me, it does depend on the situation, if he lies, about doing something he wasn't supposed to do.. I.e. He hit his brother, then lied about it, the punishment is usually a bit more severe, (ie a time out in his room, opposed to in the corner, and he is not allowed to play with brother for awhile) If he just plain lies, the consequences are pretty consistent, a timeout. As he gets older the consequences will surely change as his needs do. we will most likely revoke privelages, as he earns them.. when he lies.