How do you teach a 3 year old not to lie!?

hahahha!! thats a sill talent for the younger ones. i have a three year old son too. and he has that kind of talent too. and if i got pissed off with him i'll really scolded him and spanked him if its too much. and i always see to it that he understand it why i did it to him. because if we will not teach them a lesson they'll think of it that their doing the right thing which is not. so very bad. we have to discipline our children while their still young. its more easier than were going to discipline them if their big already. grrr

Is it really your responsibility as the babysitter to teach her not to lie? I think it would be better to explain to the parents that you're having difficulty getting their child to eat and ask them how they want you to handle it. If they want you to sit with her and get her to eat for the two hours that it takes then you need to explain to them that you can't do that and that they need to fix the problem of her refusing to eat or you'll either allow her not to eat or you'll have to stop babysitting her. You're babysitting, so you need to care for the children you watch, but if they're giving you too much trouble then you need to talk to the parents.

Don't make her eat. Tell her it's time to eat and when she starts to make excuses, ask her why she doesn't want to eat. Forcing mealtimes on kids is one of the things that makes them obese later on. Maybe she's not hungry. Let her know how long it will be till the next meal. She won't understand hours probably, but tie it to something she knows like playtime or naptime. Then let her skip the meal and don't let her eat until it's time again.

She is being manipulative as only a 3 year old can try to be. Lying really isn't a concept she has yet so she's learning it now and you can help her. It is a stage as Highflyingxangel said, she doesn't really know the difference clearly between truth and falsehoods. BUT this is the time for her to learn that there are consequences for lying! To improve things for both of you, you need to set some guidelines that are clear and consistant. And think of it this way, you are helping to mold a person and that's a very special opportuntiy for you!One way to get her to eat her meals when served is to envolve her in the preparation of whatever mean she's having. Give her a small choice to make, like at breakfast, maybe which cereal she eats out of 2 or 3 choices. Have her get the bowl and spoon ready. That will give her some power over her life. Think about it from her point of view abit and she is told what to do most of the time and doesn't really get to have much control. And remove distractions, no coloring books at the dining table...lol Also you can add learning to tell time to the mix, show her a clock with hours and minutes, not a digital clock. Children don't have a concept of time like we do so I doubt she was choosing to take 2 hours away from her play time.. Show her what time it is when she begins to eat, then give her say 15 minutes to finish her meal depending on what it is of course. Show her what time it will be when the 15 minutes are up. Also make sure the portion is right for her size. There is no reason a meal should take 2 hours, that's not acceptable. Tell her that IF she finishes her mean within the 15 minutes timeframe, she will get a reward of some kind. And she needs to bring her bowl and spoon to the sink for you. Maybe play a favorite game right after the meal or even give her a small sticker. Kids love encouragement and positive reinforcement is what she needs. Likewise, if she lies or sits and won't chew, swallow etc then she will lose a privlidge of some sort. She is old enough to begin to start to understand that what choices one makes have an outcome either positive or negative. You have made some great decisions, like potty before meal. You are the adult and she can't lie or maninpulate you too much unless you let her. I have met some very picky eaters who were that way because their parents allowed and even encouraged it. I had a Mom tell me that her son (just over 3 years old) wouldn't eat hotdogs unless they were peeled first and they were his favorite lunch food. She'd left Mac and Cheese and a Hot Dog for his lunch. So lunchtime came and I heated up his food, cut the hot dog up but did NOT peel it. He ate all of it with no issues. WHY? Simply because when I put it in front of him, I told him that Big Boys didn't peel their hotdogs and that we'd play on the swing set outside after lunch. I didn't tell him that we'd ONLY play on the swing set if he ate the hotdog unpeeled. I just reinforced that he was a big boy now, and gave his something to look forward to and in a way a small reward. Children evolve over time just like we do and I wish you the best of luck with this clever little girl!

I will teach the child not to lie in so many ways. First we know that the very first teacher to our kids are we as parents.As parents we are responsible to educate them what is right and what is wrong.By being the role model to our child we also try to be their educator.When they are very young they don't realized what is right and what is wrong. If that is a lie. I will emphasize to her that its nice to tell the truth because the truth will set you free.And being honest to oneself is very rewarding.

If she is only 3 years old, does she really have to sit there for 2 hours to eat? You could save her plate for when she is hungry. At that age they won't stave themselves. As long as she is getting healthy choices and not holding out for junk food, I would let her eat smaller portions when she is hungry. Make sure she is getting plenty of water between meals and not filling up on juice or milk. What about snacking, if there are a lot of between meal snacks that might be a factor also.

My sister's 3 year old was like that for a bit. We used to tell him if he was really too tired to eat, then to go to bed but he isn't getting anything later if he's hungry. Sounds kind of cruel but it usually worked. He would eat. I know you'er not supposed to spoil children but sometimes you need to reward them. Tell her that if she eats her dinner or lunch, she will get a little something for desert. Depending on what she gets for snacks it could be a pudding she likes, a yogurt or jello. Y'know? We used to give my nephew a little bit of chocolate milk after his meal. Not a lot to make him have a sick tummy, but enough that he felt rewarded for doing something good because he loves chocolate milk. Try little things she really likes. If she really likes a certain toy, or movie. Tell her she can watch the movie after she finishes her food. Don't do it all the time, but once in a while. Especially if it's a meal she doesn't enjoy very much.

Lying is actually an age/stage related thing. Children will move out of the phase around the age of 5 or so. It just takes time. It's important to really work with them to get them to understand that lying isn't OK but they truly won't understand the whole idea of not lying until they are older. Children don't really understand that they are lying as they kind of create their own reality. What they see and what happens can vary depending on situations so don't count on her not lying right away!

Its been a long time since I had to deal with something like that but it truly would try my patience! I don't think I could have someone sit at the table for two hours to finish a meal! I really don't have any suggestions!

Hmm, I think you should say something like "you shouldn't say that - you don't look very (tired,thirsty,like you need to potty)... and then look at her directly and ask "are you? (tired,thirsty,needing to potty)... I don't know if that will work. We don't have kids yet ourself, but my sister has, so I've been around them.

Just tell her if she is not hungry when you fix a meal that she can not have any sweet until she eat what in her plate. If she still does not want to eat then tell her when she is hungry she will still have to eat what is in the plate later. Also talk to her parents and tell them that she does not want to eat when you fix a meal and ask them what they do to get her to eat.

I can imagine the scene you followed her from time to time just for the purpose of getting her have meals.O(n_n)O~ Don't worry,little children are alaways like this.When I was yong,I used to refuse eating as well.You'd better not look afer her tightly,for this way she'll feel that you're her enemy.If you regard her as a little friend and give her more freedom,maybe things'll turn out to be a different way.She won't lie to her friends,eh?After she grows up,she will understand lying is not right if educated suitably.During this period of her growth,it's just an excuse to avoid from eating.Take it easy,hey.

Both my two-year-old son and my two-year-old niece that I babysit are this way when it comes to eating. They seem to think that everything in their lives has to do with play. I always tell them that they should tell the truth, and if I catch them in a lie then they get a time out. After time out they have to go back to the task that they were taking part in when the lie occurred. It really is a stage in their lives though. I don't think at this age that they conciously know that they are lieing, it is just their way of testing the limits. So my best suggestion is to be firm with them.

If you want to make sure a 3year old does not lie you have to do this. When they tell a lie take away something that they really like. Once you do that they will realize that it is not right and want back what was taken. Keep taking until they realize what they did.