Hi all! My five year old son has a problem with impulsively lying. Earlier today I asked him where did he got a small toy that I found in his pocket, just nonchalantly and he said he got it at school. I then proceeded to ask if someone gave it to him and he said yes very quickly, but when I asked him who he got really flustered and admitted that no one gave it to him, he just took it. This kind of thing happens multiple times a day, where I ask him a question (that I usually know the answer to) and his first impulse is to lie to me. I want to find a solution to this problem before he gets older because I want us to have as honest and open of a relationship as we can. He is also a rather anxious kid, and I suspect that he may be lying because he’s afraid of getting into trouble, even though most of the questions are about stuff he wouldn’t get into trouble for…and when he does get into trouble, it’s usually a brief timeout and conversation with mom and dad. Nothing horribly scary. Has anyone been through this or have any suggestions about how to deal with this behavior?
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I actually notice this when my children were that age. I had to tell them before you respond stop, count and think. Because sometimes fear of getting trouble can cause them to respond quicker than they can think. I noticed that with consistency It started to work.