Lying

John's Most Recent Articles

Determinism Muddies Parental Judgement

Posted on 10/24/2018

As the current school year kicked off, I began hearing the same-old, same-old report from teachers and principals: children who have never lied. At least, that is what the parents of said children...

Choose One: High Achievement or Good Morals

Posted on 3/14/2018

Parents of children who habitually lie can breathe a huge sigh of relief – The New York Times says that budding Pinocchios are more intelligent than kids who tell the truth (“Is Your Child Lying...

8 year old Grandson is Lying

Posted on 6/17/2014

Q: We are very concerned about our 8-year-old grandson’s lying. He always pleads innocence and wonders plaintively why no one ever believes him. When someone confronts him with some misdeed...

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Recent Questions

8-yo girl lying and "sneaking"

Posted on 4/13/2023

We are struggling with disciplining our 8 year old daughter for lying and “sneaking”. Mostly because she continues to deny the lies & repeats “my parents never believe me”. We are worried that we...

Why doesn't he hand in the homework?

Posted on 2/17/2023

We have a 12 year old son who is in the 7th grade (junior high) this year. He is a good kid who has lots of friends and is very active in sports and does quite well. Our problem this past school...

mom worried 4 yo boy is lying

Posted on 12/30/2022

When do children know/understand what lies are? I have a 4 year old, who sometimes tells fantastical stories that I truly believe he thinks are real. But I know that he is malevolently lying about...

Mentally Drained Mom Seeking Advice

Posted on 9/2/2022

We have a 9 year old girl, 6 year old boy, and 4.5 year old girl. I've read Parenting by The Book twice and The Well Behaved Child twice in the past month. Our 9 year old is the biggest challenge,...

Time for a Reboot

Posted on 5/18/2022

Since the first email our son (8yrs) was operated on for septic arthritis 6 months ago. The pain returned 2weeks ago (now gone). His hip bone has a small weakness and he needs to ensure he has no...

Fifteen-Year-Old Screen Addict

Posted on 4/18/2022

Our 15-year-old recently threw a fit, including punching, cursing and breaking things during the following incidents: 1) Took away make up after sneak purchase of $200 worth of make up without...

It's Not About the Makeup: Time for a Garden Kick

Posted on 3/20/2022

15-year old daughter very obsessed with make-up. Used our Amazon account to buy makeup Products without our knowing till I looked up order history. Took away all her makeup products, went...

Who Are You? (And what have you done with our daughter?)

Posted on 10/26/2021

Since June 2020, my daughter (who is now 14) has become someone I no longer recognize. When school was closed due to COVID-19, I made the terrible choice and let her have her phone 24/7, which has...

Little Liar

Posted on 10/21/2021

My 3.5 year old daughter has begun to lie all the time. She was always more prone to lying than her older brother, but lately it has been taken to the extreme. I have read Dr. Rosemond’s books and...

Ask Them No Questions, and They Will Tell You No Lies

Posted on 9/28/2021

Hi! My seven year old was trained to fall asleep (8pm) on his own and he knows he’s to stay in bed until 7am. He has been waking up in the night around 2am and often stays up for the rest of the...

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