Let’s start with the good news. If your child is lying, this means he or she is smarter than other kids. According to developmental psychologists, kids who deceive have higher verbal I.Q.s and better “executive functioning skills.” Fantastic, right? Well, here’s the not-so-good part. They’re probably so good at lying that they’re fooling even you.
A 2017 study, published in the journal Law and Human Behavior, found that adults are able to identify when a kid is lying to them just 47 percent of the time. That means you’re falling for their tall tales more than half of the time!
Let’s see if we can change that. Here are some lies kids keep telling us—meaning, anyone between the ages of one and eighteen, not yet legally an adult—that parents can’t help falling for.
