Why do teenagers lie and what should parents do? https://www.qriyo.com/blog/why-do-teenagers-lie/
• Lying is an integral part of human development and it cannot be done away with. Somewhere someone right now is lying to his/her boss, teacher, parents, friends, etc. But does it mean lying is ok and we should just move on with life? Definitely no. There should be a line drawn somewhere so that we as human beings chose to do what’s right and not what right for just us. That being said, we must know why do teenagers lie and how should parents handle their lying teenagers. Teenage is that period of one’s life where the person learns various lessons and starts to develop maturity. So, it is imperative that our teenagers get all the important lesson the right way.
So why do teenagers lie • To get out of trouble (obviously), • They think parents impose unreasonable restrictions and that the only way through is lying. • To protect other people’s feelings. • They just want some part of their life to remain private. • The list goes on…Teens lie a lot, even though they will always believe in honesty.
So how should parents proceed • First, let me tell you an anecdote. When I was in class 11, one of my friends wanted a smartphone badly. His parents had already refused to buy him a smartphone. He somehow managed to collect enough money to buy a second-hand smartphone, Nokia 5233 to be precise. I was bewildered after knowing that he bought a smartphone without his parents’ knowledge. The first thought that came to my mind was, “Where do you keep it at home and how do charge and use it?” To which he replied, “I charge it from the USB port of my CPU because that is at the back of my desk where hardly anyone suspect
The simple answer would be, TRUST • I share a pretty good amount of my personal life with my parents. Yes, I have lied a lot, but I never let the trust fade away. They know I haven’t touched alcohol yet, neither have I smoked a cigarette in my life. They also know that I sometimes drive my motorbike at more than 100 kmph. I not only tell them the good things that I have done, but I also slip in the bad things when they are in a good mood. Instead of getting scolded, I end up listening to a valuable lecture.
Moral of the story • If you worry about your relationship with your child taking a hit, then don’t scold them for every time they lie to you. Start building the trust, so that they can live up to that trust and start telling the truth. If you always doubt your children, keep interrogating them, they will get irritated and afraid. • If you don’t want to buy them a smartphone at a young age, there are hundreds of polite/friendly ways to make them see your point. But, scolding them will only force them to think that you are against their happiness, that you’ll never understand their needs, and they should just buy a smartphone and keep it a secret.
Befriend your children and build trust • If a teenager can’t trust his/her parents, there are high chances of them getting into some trouble and not letting you know until it’s too late. For instance, if a child sneaks out of the house at night, goes on a drive with his friends. God forbid, if they met with an accident, or their vehicle breaks down in the middle of nowhere, then the child will try every number on his cellphone but yours. But at that time, he will be needing his parents’ help more than ever. Yes, they snuck out, it’s their fault in the first place. But if parents have maintained an environment where even dropping a spoon would attract a lecture, then the child will never call for help