Do children tell prosocial lies – lies intended to protect another person from harm? Fascinating experiments indicate that many kids are capable of this by the age of 7, and some children show the capacity even earlier.
It’s not unusual for kids to tell lies, but their readiness to deceive depends on how adults treat them. What can we do to foster honesty?
Most kids begin telling lies between the ages of 2 and 4, as they develop better “mind-reading” skills and self-control. But understanding the morality of lying? That comes later.
What happens when adults lie to children? Kids tend to become more dishonest, and they might be at higher risk for aggressive and antisocial behavior problems.
© 2010 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved Do you remember when you stopped believing in the Easter Bunny? Santa Claus? If you grew up speaking English (or any of the Germanic languages), these fantasy characters probably played a role in your early childhood. A positive role? I’ll bet most of us would say yes. … Continue reading