Most modern parents try to establish friendly relations with their children. Unfortunately, children do not always strive to be honest in conversation with their parents, so it is reasonable that the reaction of parents to children's lies can be overly emotional.
The fact is that adults are afraid of the consequences of children's lies. They believe that any lie is a consequence of a loss of trust, and in most cases it is. Naturally, dad and mom are afraid that their child will grow up to be a deceitful and not very decent person, so they try to wean the child from lying in all possible ways. What methods can be considered effective and which should never be used?
- You should always start with yourself. The child should see that you never deceive him and try to be honest with him in any situation. Believe me, many children feel a lie, even if they do not say that they caught you in a lie. Children often look up to their parents, so personal example is always one of the most effective parenting methods.
- In no case try to ask your child questions that are aimed at revealing him in a lie. This statement applies to both very young children and adolescents. You cannot provoke a person to lie in order to convict him of it, and then punish him.
- To disaccustom a child, teenager or even an adult to lie, try to relinquish total control in communication with him. Any person should be given such a freedom of action that would correspond to his age. Even the smallest child is already a person, which means he has the right to his own secrets. If you see that the child does not want to discuss something with you, you should not put pressure on him.
- Children often do not tell their parents the truth just because they are afraid of the punishment that might follow. To be honest with you, try to support them in any situation - even if you understand that the fault lies entirely with the children. Both toddlers and teens should be encouraged to tell you the truth. No matter how unpleasant the information is, the child should not be afraid to convey it to you.
- In no case should you hang labels on people - if a person, be it an adult or a child, lied once - this does not mean that he can be called a liar and dishonest person. This kind of stigma cannot be hung even on an adult with a fully formed psyche; for a child, such an attitude will be a serious stress at all.
