Life isn’t always exciting. Some of the things that adults and children do can be monotonous and feel a bit like ground-hog day. But when adults sit down with their friends and talk about what they have been up to, they tend to tell the truth. They share honestly and don’t embellish their adventures or make up stories about what they have been doing.
However, children don’t always. I find that there are children telling lies about their lives. Why do they do this? Why aren’t they being truthful about what they have been up to? Especially if it’s obvious to their friends that it didn’t really happen, and they can tell it’s a lie.
BUILD SELF-ESTEEM TO DISCOURAGE LIES
If your child does this, ask them if they do it so that others will be more impressed with their life. Perhaps they want to make others feel envious too? They may think that embellishing the truth will make them more popular, liked, and interesting to others.
If that’s the case, parents need to work on their child’s self-esteem so that they are happy and don’t need others to be in awe of their fantasy life. Teach them to stick to the facts and what really happened. If they have true friends, they will still be interested in what they got up to. No need to make it sound more interesting. Finally, we can discuss with them that telling the truth is important and that all lies get found out in the end.
Most people are wary about being friends with a known liar as they can’t believe what they say. And it’s not a great trait for building close friendships. The children telling lies will find that their friendships will be affected eventually. So, if your child tends to try and make their life sound more interesting to others, try to talk to them about it. Do all you can to build their self-esteem and discourage their ‘fantasy’ life.
Some children tell lies because they are envious of others. If your child feels like this read my advice to stop your child from being envious and take control of the green-eyed monster. Parents, if you have no luck with stopping the lie- telling, then please do get in touch to find out how life coaching for children and teens can help.
Resources to Help Parents Boost Children’s Self-Esteem and Self-Respect
The Wow Board – A unique-self-esteem tool for kids
The Importance of Self-Respect for Children
[Published September 2021 | Updated November 2024]
