To be concerned about nephew's lies?

[RoboticSealpup]

My nephew is eleven. Very status-obsessed. There's a lot of talk about money and whether other people are poor or rich. His parents are not like that at all so I don't know where it comes from. They live in a nice flat quite close to the city centre.

Now, apparently he has been telling everyone at school that his parents have bought a house for 500k and they're moving soon. (He told me too, but ignored it, knowing it wasn't true.) DBro found out when people started congratulating him on the house purchase...

I don't recall myself or anyone I knew lying like that when I was that age. He must've realised everyone would find out. Aibu to be a bit concerned? Or is this all totally normal?

Bill doubt it was the same person, father very much alive and kicking.

Agree that it's linked to self esteem. My friend was lovely, but her family were quite conservative (small c) and I think she was desperate to fit in. She was challenge day directly when we started stealing from friends in 6th form but flat out denied it.

I think police involvement may have helped.

She's married with a couple of kids and a decent job now though, so it doesn't need to end badly

My DSIS was like this, she would tell complete lies to her mates to make her life seem better, not that it was bad by any means.

God knows what bullshit she told people, but we only found out about the stuff she shared on Twitter, things like how she had Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus tickets when she didn't, saying she was helping my mum pick her new Range Rover at the showroom when mum was quite happy with her Fiesta, she once even put how she loved her and mum's weekly yoga classes even though neither of them have been to a yoga class in their lives

She was still telling some of these lies at 18, but now at 21 she cringes at herself and has definitely grown out of it so don't worry too much about your nephew.

I had a friend who was always telling lies. I only knew her as an adult, but we met through a mutual friend was was at school with her. She was always saying terrible things had happened to her eg that she had cancer, had been attacked etc, but we always caught her out on it.

We finally called her in on it when she said she'd had an ectopic and went into hospital 3 weeks later. I laughed and said that was bollocks, that if that had happened she'd likely be dead. She stormed off on us, and I've never seen her since 20 years later.

The mutual friend heard bits about her, including how she got pregnant but her mum went to the scans because even her own mum didn't believe her.

I think the point I'm making is.....some kids will carry this on till adulthood.

At college I was friends with a compulsive liar and her lies ranged from little to out and out deranged (She once lied that she had sex with her twin brother. She doesnt have a twin) She still does it at 33.

Thanks krusty, hope he gets his love back later in life!

Well, what people lie about face to face many take to the extreme and make up persona's online to do as well. We on MN are inundated with trolls after all and what they do isn't so far removed from what these kids are doing at school.

IMO it's always worth pointing out that if you lie about one thing then there's a chance no-one will ever believe you when you're telling the truth and need support.

Are you/his parents aware that he is telling any other lies (i.e. other than the house move)?

Someone I know couldn't stop telling implausible stories and his mum felt he was doing it because he got instant attention (without seeming to realise that he would get scorn when he was inevitably found out).
I would also try and find out where his obsession with rich and poor is coming from. He must be getting it from somewhere.

Yes, Leeds, he's pretty prone to telling lies in general.

I was poor as a child and was jealous that everyone else had lovely holidays whereas I ended up at Skegness every year so I started telling big lies starting with a huge holiday to America. I said we were going to New York and Florida and might even move there. It got out that I was lying as my plan to be off school for two weeks with a poorly belly didn't go to plan. Unfortunaly this made the bullying even worse with everyone saying I was too poor to go on holiday so had to make them up