Father Loses 2 Young Children In Tornado
Why It's Hard To Get Along With Your In-Laws
Lying May Be Good for Kids, Study Suggests
Filed under: In The News, Development: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Behavior: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Research Reveals: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Development: Big Kids, Research Reveals: Big Kids, Development: Tweens, Behavior: Tweens, Research Reveals: Tweens
Will your lying kid be a successful adult? Credit: Corbis
A moldy proverb tells us only children and fools tell the truth.
Whoever said that, of course, was a fool who never had children. The little so-and-sos rank with politicians as the world's most industrious, conscientious and creative liars.
Good for them, say researchers in Toronto.
Their studies show children who are manufacturing and selling their own version of reality by age 2 have fast-developing brains and are more likely to have successful lives.
Lying particularly speaks well of children's abilities to think on their feet, Dr. Kang Lee, director of the Institute of Child Study at Toronto University, tells the Daily Telegraph in London.
Lee led the team of researchers who tested every single child on the planet and ... OK, that's a lie. They really tested 1,200 children ranging in age from 2 to 16.
Researchers placed young children in a room with hidden cameras and placed a soft toy behind them. While researchers left the room, the children were told not to look at it. In nine out of 10 cases, the cameras caught them peeking.
Older kids were given a test, and were told not to look at the answers printed on the back of the paper.
One of the questions was, "Who discovered Tunisia?" Researchers gave the fake answer "Presidius Akeman." Kids peeked and gave the made-up answer. Asked where they got it, they said they learned it in history class.
"Parents should not be alarmed if their child tells a fib," Lee tells the Telegraph. "Almost all children lie. Those who have better cognitive development lie better because they can cover up their tracks. They may make bankers in later life."
Lee tells the newspaper lying involves multiple brain processes. You have to mentally collect sources of information and manipulate the data to your advantage, which requires a great deal of thinking and reasoning.
Thus, Lee says, lying is linked to the development of brain regions that allow "executive functioning."
The Daily Telegraph reports the majority of children tested told lies, but the smartest kids told the best lies.
At the age of 2, the study concludes, 20 percent of children will lie. This shoots up to 50 percent by the time kids hit 3. By the time they reach 4, according to researchers, at least 90 percent of them lie.
When puberty rolls around, almost all of them are lying. They don't start to fall out of practice, according to the study, until they hit 16. At that point, about 70 percent of kids are still lying.
By the time they reach adulthood, Lee tells the Telegraph, most people are confining themselves to little white lies to spare other people's feelings.
Lee tells the newspaper parents shouldn't worry too much if their small child tells lies. Researchers conclude there is no link between telling childhood fibs and cheating on exams or becoming a professional liar later in life.
And strict parenting can't keep kids from lying, Lee tells the Telegraph: If a kid's going to lie, he's going to lie. Lee suggests catching children in their lies and using it as a "teachable moment."
"You shouldn't smack or scream at your child, but you should talk about the importance of honesty and the negativity of lying," he tells The Times of London. "After the age of 8, the opportunities are going to be very rare."
Related: C'mon, Tell the Truth - You Lie to Your Kids, Right?
Your<span>Voice</span>
Ask Us Anything About Parenting
Recently Asked
- Here in dc since dec, 6 2006 retired FED BOARD GOV,inventor ,writter, FORMER GOVERNOR (founder of the republic of )DERIAN DOUGLAS HICKMAN
- Copyright court case litigation? the words spoken by attorney at trial ? in defense of a product or person(or as plaintiff or defendant))
- There are more than 67,000 households on the list ...?????????????
TheTalkies:RelatedVideos
-
School Rewards Student For Telling Realistic White Lies
A school in England is rewarding students for telling efficient white lies. A school in Cambridge, England is rewarding students for smart and quick explanations for their behavior. Those who have the best white lies are then free from any punishment. The concept is simple, the independent Perse school allows kids to explain themselves in 10 seconds flat, without using brazen and obvious lies, but utilizing the truth mixed with small, believable untruths.
-
Research Explains Child Lies as Part of Development
It is an experience that dismays parents, and one that nearly all have - catching your kid in a lie. As Sue Shellenbarger explains on The News Hub, lying is actually a milestone of normal development. Photo: Getty Images.
-
Majority of Parents Lie to Their Kids, Study Finds
A study done by the University of California concluded what you've probably suspected: your parents lied to you. Researchers say lies are tools parents use to correct children and get their behavior in line with what's considered normal. Although they did say parents should be careful about that. Patrick Jones has the rest.
-
Parenting: Kids and Lying
Family coach and motivational speaker Susan Stone Belton gives you tips on how to explain your children the difference between lying and the truth.
SitesWeLove
- Site Map
- |
- Staff
- |
- Terms of Service
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Trademarks
- |
- Advertise With Us
- |
- About Our Ads
- |
- AOL Downloads
- |
- Contact Us
- |
© Copyright 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Aol Family
ReaderComments (Page 1 of 3)
5-18-2010 @ 8:45PM
IdiotMom said...They are right. What this means is the good moms monitor what their children are watching regardless of who is promoting it.
Reply
5-18-2010 @ 8:20PM
John said...no, no, NO, NO, NEVER !
Reply
5-18-2010 @ 8:23PM
aclark1983 said...So...
"Parents should not be alarmed if their child tells a fib," Lee tells the Telegraph. "Almost all children lie. Those who have better cognitive development lie better because they can cover up their tracks. They may make bankers in later life."
Don't you think this might explain why our politicians and BANKERS are corrupt! Do we want our children to grow up to be highly "successful", dishonest, deceitful, and corrupt professionals? Don't forget, professionals that exercise deceitful practices often run afoul of the LAW and end up in the FEDERAL PEN!
Not my kids! They get in more trouble for lying than if they tell the truth! HONESTY IS STILL THE BEST POLICY! And INTEGRETY is necessary for a GREAT AMERICA to extist!
Reply
5-18-2010 @ 8:56PM
Carolyn said...Don't you think this might explain why our politicians and BANKERS are corrupt! Do we want our children to grow up to be highly "successful", dishonest, deceitful, and corrupt professionals? Don't forget, professionals that exercise deceitful practices often run afoul of the LAW and end up in the FEDERAL PEN!
COULDN'T HAVE PUT IT BETTER IF I TRIED. Thank you for bringing it to people's attention now for the jerk that had that to say about lies. My parents told me the same thing. IF I lied I got in trouble and sooner or later my mother would find out & boy did she ever. She never would tell me and then when I was in my 50s and asked her she's say "oh Carolyn to much time has gone by now I don't remember" so I never did find out how she found out!
5-18-2010 @ 8:59PM
nick fabulis said...THANK YOU aclark1983. I myself could have said it better ! !
But then I would be LYING !
5-18-2010 @ 10:33PM
flo said...YAHOO!! I totally agree with you! You tell them!!
5-25-2010 @ 2:02PM
caraanise116 said...I agree with you, Tom Henderson. The idiot who did the research probably never did have kids. I'm 15 myself and I know lying is wrong and I always get punished for it. I'm still learning.
Reply
5-18-2010 @ 8:39PM
rollin said...Obama must have excelled in this regard as a child, he is so accomplished now!
Reply
5-18-2010 @ 8:52PM
Peggy said...Now lying is good for children .. We do our best to teach our children not to lie.. And some quack comes along and says it's good for them .. Give me a break .
Reply
5-18-2010 @ 9:20PM
John Bennett said...When in doubt, tell the truth. - Mark Twain
Reply
5-18-2010 @ 9:29PM
Michelle said...Creative Children make good liars, humm I have to ponder that awhile. I think may well be what's worng in this world. If Creatve Children are liars, then Adults cannot be trusted.
Reply
5-18-2010 @ 9:34PM
SKL said...All this study says is a good liar is a good liar. Duh!
The true test of intelligence is whether you can be highly successful without lying or stealing. That is what I learned as a kid and I stuck to it pretty well. I never lied to "get ahead," only very rarely to save my ass. I have done well in life, but there are plenty of people who have taken advantage of my honesty, taken credit for my work, and just outright BS'd their way to the top. I don't really care because I am peaceful. I know that what's mine is mine. Money isn't everything.
And I think it's idiotic that they refer to toddlers as "lying." They are simply telling stories. They don't need to "tell the truth" at that age. They aren't seriously trying to mislead. Maybe around age 4 they need to learn that fibbing is misbehavior.
Reply
5-18-2010 @ 9:36PM
Dawn said...The truth shall set you free. Lying leads to stress, guilt and more lying. My children know that lying will get you twice the punishment than the truth and that lying is worse. It is not cute. It is not a sign of intelligence. It is bad behavior.
Reply
5-19-2010 @ 5:30AM
Bill Hayes said...You got it Dawn ! My brother NEVER told a lie in his life and is TWICE as smart as me AND THATS A LIE!!!!!
5-18-2010 @ 9:47PM
Ramona said...DITTO! Anybody else hear brain matter hitting the floor?
Reply
5-18-2010 @ 10:28PM
stumped said...Hogwash!!!!
Reply
5-18-2010 @ 10:18PM
LiarLiar said...Big deal folks. Everybody lies.
Just because you people are behind the times in scientific studies, doesn't mean you reflect the majority who see the logic in this article.
The main point is that lying is a definitive mental process that when honed, manipulates reality for the user. For you people out there who can't understand the previous sentence, it means that you need to think really, really, really hard to come up with a lie that is believable. Ergo, you need to be really smart in order to easily deceive someone.
If a child can come up with a complete lie that goes over the parent's head, it's a sign of your child using a complex sequence of information right on the spot. And before you whine about how it's a 'very bad' thing to do, you should at least be slightly amazed at how the process works before you start bashing heads with traditional values. Because that's completely missing the entire point of this article.
Is it a bad behavior? Sure. But that doesn't stop science from discovering a child's cognitive potential. Like I said previously, you people are definitely missing the point on this.
Reply
5-18-2010 @ 10:27PM
Ron said...Who wrote this the Obama administration? The line," Those who have better cognitive development lie better, because they can cover up their tracks. They may make bankers in later life." What liberal crap is this? Because they lie they might be bankers? How about they might be politicians? They might be Progressives! Those would be true!
Reply
5-18-2010 @ 10:34PM
SKL said...It's more than thinking up a good lie; it's being able to tell the lie with such confidence and charisma that the listeners are inclined to believe it without analyzing whether there might be some BS mixed in there.
My 3yo has my friend convinced she's psychic because she'll hear the garage door open and say "that's so-and-so coming home" and be right 50% of the time. She says it so confidently (with the facial cues and body language) that when she's right, my friend is all "wow, how did she know that" and forgets the other 50% of the time when she's wrong.
I am not thrilled about this. I value honesty and I don't want my kid to be learning that BS will get you ahead faster - even though it often will. (I'm also not crazy about my kid being recruited for psychic readings, but that's another story.) Instilling the value of honesty may be an uphill climb with this kid.
Reply
5-18-2010 @ 10:45PM
Cassi said...I can totally see the "point" of this article, but how far down the toilet have we gone as a society when experts are encouraging us to mentally pat ourselves on the back for having raised an accomplished liar? I, personally, want my children to be SMART enough to tell an effective lie. . . and WISE enough NOT to.
Reply