2.5 yr old lying already :(

[Millionprammiles]

Dd has started telling little lies, is this normal?? I thought I had another 10 years before that would start...

It's little things like 'Daddy said we're going to the park' (he didn't) or saying she had to change her trousers at nursery because she spilt water on them while playing (she had a wee accident). She gets really upset if I try to explain the difference between lies and telling the truth and just emphatically keeps repeating the lie.

Anyone else know how to deal with this?

Im not entirely convinced it's a lie.
I have dd same age and she genuinely believes the lies she tells. Some make sense as imagination or that she wants it so badly (thinking the park thing) that she has imagined the chat with daddy about going.

Only way to tackle is attempting to explain. But I wouldn't be too tough.
I'm having similar with dd, but I am very literal with her anyway so I do just explain things

It's an important developmental stage, and a sign of intelligence and awareness of social structure etc. - really it's perfectly normal!

It's perfectly developmentally normal (and doesn't call for sad face...)
www.babycentre.co.uk/a556537/lying-in-toddlers

I'm not an expert (hopefully someone will come along soon with better info), but I do know that lying is completely normal at this age. Sometimes it's a lie, and sometimes it's a misunderstanding. Eg sometimes they may get mixed up with things that happened in the past (my daughter referred to everything as happening "yesterday" even if it was about 6 months ago).
It's not malicious.

Perfectly normal behaviour, 2.5 year olds don't need truth and lies explaining - let her have another year or two more of that lovely toddler innocence before they navigate the big bad world.

No different to pretending to have an imaginary friend, they sometimes have difficulty processing what has/will happen compared to what they would like to happen.

Don't worry, all my dcs went through this. Ds2 (2) is currently lying about most things!
Yesterday I caught him with the felt tip pens, huge pink circles and lines had been drawn all over the walls and his hands were covered in pen. He took one look at me, threw the pen towards ds1 and shouted "ds1 did it ! He's a naughty boy !"

My DS was older than this, 5/6, when he told me a very obvious lie. I asked him if he would mind if he found out that I'd told him a lie. I said that he knew he could trust me and that I would always be honest with him - wouldn't he like me to trust him too? That certainly worked, I could see a spark of understanding.

Your DD is much younger and sometimes they really want to believe what they're saying is happening - I don't think you need to worry about this, she's growing up and learning about life and how to communicate. Maybe try and ignore the lies and praise the honesty when it happens.

It is completely normal and sometimes the things that they play/imagine in their head become 'true' in their mind.

3 year old DS told me yesterday that the reason he helped himself to chocolate without asking me was because he asked the dog and the dog said he could because he had been such a good boy!

Thanks for the replies, sounds like its very normal and I shouldn't worry.
You're right, I think dd really believes what she is saying and that's why she becomes so frustrated when told something different. I forget sometimes she isn't even 3 yet.

Dd is nearly 3 and hasn't quite mastered subterfuge yet - so I get conversation like
Dd, don't climb on there.
OK. Mummy, go in the kitchen.
Why?
Just go in kitchen mummy.
Are you going to climb up there as soon as I leave the room?
Yes mummy. Now go in kitchen so I climb up there!

The Baby in the Mirror is a very good book about what children do and don't understand at various ages, especially how they latch onto certain words and look like they understand more than they do.

We get that too nocitrus, I think it's adorable!

"Mummy, can I have a biscuit?"
"No."
Thinks for a minute.
"Mummy, would you like a biscuit?"