I’m getting a bit concerned about DDs lying and want to know if it is normal. She is 6 years old and has always been a well behaved child and never naughty. Same at school, teachers have never said a bad word about her.
So this week we have found a series of pencil scribbles on furniture around the house. This in itself is a concern as she never did this even as a toddler! However it is the way she lied about it that concerned me more. With the first one it began with her saying she definitely didn’t do it, then became that she did it when she was younger (we would have noticed it before now). Then excuses about using paper and accidentally going off the page (on a banister?!). We found another today on the tiled flooring, and she will not admit to it and even allowed us to suggest it must have been her friend who was here yesterday (impossible as I was watching them both). It’s the fact she was fine knowing her friend might get in trouble for it..
I won’t go into detail on all the examples but I have seen her do this several times now. One example does stick in my mind though from a few months ago where she brought home from school a detailed item that a child had made that I know would have taken hours. It had the child’s name on it. She told me they had made it together on break and the friend had let her keep it. Then she said someone put it in her bag. Then she said it had been dropped so she picked it up and put it in her bag so she could return it to the friend later. The list went on. I obviously made her return it and told the teacher she must have taken it. Now if she comes home with anything I assume she must have stolen it, even though some things might be genuinely given to her by friends.
I hate not knowing if/when she is telling the truth. I’ve tried explaining to her the consequence of lying (the girl who cried wolf concept) but I’m afraid it isn’t sinking in. I’ve also told her that the lie is often worse than the actual event. Is there anything else I can do or is this just normal child behaviour?!