Our beautiful little innocent children are masters of deceit. They tell their beautiful lies, like they are the first to have done it and we can't tell that it is an untruth. This is so cute, but in adulthood it is not. So, let's dig into why to help us, help our little tikes to become more honorable citizens of the world.
Our children may tell us tales because they want to be seen as wonderful, popular and great in our eyes. I believe that we can fulfill this need with lots of approval and uplifting. This may sound cliché or even just plain like coddling. These are our young ones. We must lift their self-esteem into the rafters. So, they may still hold it high when they are adults.
Our children may lie to siblings and friends to be seen as cool. This I believe is normal and is not a big problem. I would suggest a cool, calm talk about being honest. Nothing big or elaborate. Just a small, relaxed talk about honesty. You may even try making up a little story about liars and how it's bad. You can do this for any age range. Please be sure that the story fits. For teens, no story needed. A cool crisp warning that lying may blow up in their face will be just appropriate.
Kids just want to fit in with the TV, magazines, videos, other kids and tah dah….our expectations. We may not know it, but we often push our expectations on our kids by telling them things that we think about them they may not think about themselves.
Such as myself. I tell my son all the time how the girlies google over him. He is a cute little kid. I guess I was just blabbering off. Of course, I am older. I know what the googlie eyes look like. He doesn't. So, he makes up a story about having a girlfriend to fit my expectations. (I am sorry, sonny boy! I am sorry!) Because, he does not think about himself how I think of him.
So, first remember to cut the kid some slack. They have a lot to live up to in their little world. And then remember to encourage honesty. I know that we as parents don't always correct so nicely, but remember sometimes less is more.
I hope now that we have a little bit more understanding of the little tikes and their fibbing. We can handle the discipline with a cooler affect. Happy days!
