Parents always teach their kids to be honest and to never lie. In fact, some say, kids don't lie. Unfortunately, sometimes they do and when they do, it disappoints and hurts the adults. Have you wondered why kids lie? What cross their minds to tell lies?
According to Empowering Parents, "When your child lies, it doesn't mean she's inherently dishonest or unethical-it just means she's solving her problems in a faulty way in order to get out of punishment or consequences."
This makes a lot of sense. Does science agree with it? Let's see.
To mark April Fool's Day, ABC News' Health Lab took the time to investigate the science behind lies and deceptions with a live-stream even titled "Lie-Day Friday." The show featured different experts including neuroscientists, private investigators, physician and a magician.
Michael Lewis, a distinguished professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, believes that lying is not always bad and there are reasons why everyone learns to lie.
Lewis has been studying how and why children lie and he learned that there are four major types of lies: lying to protect others' feeling, lying to protect oneself, lying to oneself and lying to hurt others. He notes that only the last one is a bad lie.
Lewis' study revealed that children lie as young as 2. They pick up the cues from their parents and do so when they feel that they are in trouble.
In some instances, parents teach students to lie to protect others' feelings. For instance, if the child receives a gift that he doesn't want, parents usually urge the child to say good things about the present. In short, they teach kids to lie to protect the giver's feelings.
"Children quickly learn that to avoid telling the truth," Lewis explained. "The children who are more emotionally stable, these are the ones who are likely to lie than to tell the truth."
Lewis notes that lying has some benefits. Children who have emotional knowledge and lie during the experiment scored a 10-point higher in their IQ test compared to children who tell the truth.
Lewis advises that parents should not expect their children to tell the truth always because it is unrealistic. Lying is part of interaction.
