Why Children Lie

"And surely they personalize when they feel violated by a peer who misrepresents reality, who dupes them and leads them to believe something that is not true. In some cases, a child may even lead a classmate or peer to do something they would not otherwise have done or thought without the deception. Children who are misled may feel resentful or manipulated. Being misled can feel like a personal breach, one in which reality has been distorted and trust undermined."

"Researchers have found that children start lying as early as 2 years old. These early lies are typically unsophisticated and easy to detect. Research suggests that approximately 30 percent of 2- to 3-year-olds lie, about 50 percent of 4- to 6-year-olds have lied, and among children ages 7 to 12, roughly 80 percent report having lied. By adolescence, around age 13 and beyond, lying is nearly universal."

"This makes lying something of a double-edged sword. Although it is a behavior rooted in deception, it also signals, particularly in children, a growing level of cognitive sophistication. To lie successfully, a child must imagine what another person is thinking, anticipate how that person will respond, and inhibit the impulse to tell the truth. A 3-year-old insisting they did not eat the cookie while chocolate is still on their face is not demonstrating moral failure so much as emerging perspective-taking and impulse control."

Lying emerges very early in childhood, with researchers observing deceptive statements as young as two years old. Early lies tend to be unsophisticated and detectable, while prevalence rises from roughly 30% of 2- to 3-year-olds to about 80% among 7- to 12-year-olds, becoming nearly universal by adolescence. Children personalize deception, feeling resentful or manipulated when peers misrepresent reality or lead them into actions through deceit. Lying also reflects cognitive development: successful deception requires perspective-taking, anticipation of others' responses, and impulse inhibition, linking lying to executive function and growing cognitive sophistication.

Read at Psychology Today