5yo lying

[LillyBugg]

Ok so lying is a strong word. My 5yo DS has started saying things he knows aren't true, it's silly things. For example I will ask if he moved on the behaviour chart at school today and he will say 'no' with a massive grin on his face and giving me the side eye. Turns out he did, and it was a positive move. He keeps doing this and it's infuriating as I can't always tell when he is doing it.

I do think he might be trying to imitate my DH's crap sense of humour where he uses sarcasm A LOT. But I'm not 100% on this.

Any thoughts on why he is doing this and how I can manage it?

Pretty normal behaviour for that age, and apparently a sign of intelligence! Catch him out when you can, but gently. Try and avoid letting his fibs benefit him in any way.

It is normal. Think of it more as another testing of the boundaries.
This is where 'boy who cried wolf stories' come in. You have to teach him about when it's important to be truthful.

Definitely normal for this age. It's a developmental thing - he's realised he doesn't have to tell the truth, whereas before this didn't really occur to him.

Yes my DS who's only just over 4 has been doing this sort of thing a while! I think it's normal too, they're working out that they can say things that aren't true. My DS is a monster as sometimes they're just funny things that he knows we know he's joking, and then sometimes he'll say things like "but daddy said I could watch TV" when daddy didn't!

Yes, I think @IceColdCat is spot on, he's just realised he can do it so he's trying it on for size.

Quite normal at five.

There's a really interesting Philippa Perry radio documentary about why children lie, if you're interested in a psychologist's view.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07pgvjx

@lillybugg OMG honestly i was just about to come on here to post to ask for advice as my 5 year old son is exactly the same! Only difference is his isn't so much lying as he'll take something and deny he's got it. Then low and behold, it's mysteriously in his bedroom/book bag and he has no idea how It got there!
I have no advice but at the risk of hijacking I'll be following this thread closely x

Thanks for all the replies so far! Good to know it's normal. It's really hard to know what to say when faced with it though. I have explained the dangers of lying. But it would be good to know what to say in the heat of the moment? I've done lots of, are you telling the truth? Please talk nicely to me. I'm trying to talk to you about your day so please speak nicely to mummy. Etc. Etc.

I'd be low key about it and not turn it into a big deal. He's partly doing it to see your response, so he may stop if it doesn't get much of a response. Obviously if he starts fibbing about more serious things you'll have to change tack.