There is nothing I loathe more than being lied to. Nothing. I am an honest person. Lying isn't a part of my life. That doesn't mean I walk around saying every thought that comes to my head or that I don't have secrets. I do manage to keep some things to myself. But, should you ask, I will tell you the truth. I will not hold back in order to protect your feelings. I will trust you to decide for yourself whether it is worth being upset over.
I expect the same.
Why do people lie? How has it become a part of our nature?
My 7 year old daughter is struggling with telling the truth. She lies all the time. If I ask if she's practiced violin or piano, she always says, "yes" even when I know she hasn't. She makes up stories about other people who've hurt her feelings. She's even broken things and blamed her brothers.
I understand this is typical kid behavior, but I have no patience for it. I absolutely will not tolerate lying. She loses television time when she's caught in a lie. I wonder what more I can do to prevent the behavior. I'm thinking about adding chores, but she hasn't really started doing them yet.
What chores do your 7 year old children do? What punishments do you implement for lying? Keep in mind, I intend to punish my child. I do not want to hear about your ridiculous, misguided, raising-an-asshole, redirection principles. I'm specifically inquiring about punishment.
Shit, I just called kids "assholes" again. I'll drop another 17 Facebook friends after this post, I'm sure. That's ok. I'll shake it off.
