

Lying becomes a power play, with the teen in control about what the parent can know. They may lie to limit what the parent knows about their private life. Teens become more private and withdrawn during the teen years. Or the lie could be about a more serious issue, such as lying about substance abuse. These lies might pertain to something mundane, like lying about doing their homework. There are many times when an act could result in punishment, so teens may lie to detract from that act. However, most teen lying falls into 7 groups: 7 Groups of Teen Lying To conceal a truth

These types of lies seem to be more about lying for the sake of lying. Many times, the lie doesn’t appear to serve a larger purpose for the teen. Parents trying to grasp why a teen would want to lie a lot is not easy. Constant lying may become, like any bad habit, harmful to the teen or others. Noting the factors behind the lying can help them create a treatment plan for helping the teen to change this behavior.įurthermore, chronic teen compulsive lying carries more weight than the common white lie. Parents should enlist the guidance of a mental health worker to help see what might be the cause. So when a teen is lying on a regular basis parents have good cause for concern. Chronic liars are often not even aware that they are lying at all. Lying might signal the presence of a mental health problem, like a personality disorder, bipolar disorder, ADHD, or sociopathy. Teen lying can be a real problem if it recurs often. But at what point does lying become destructive? All kids and teens will tell little white lies to cover their guilt tool. When your teen lies often, then it can result in a broken trust bond between parent and child.Īn important distinction must be made between telling a fib versus a lie. It is disrespectful for a teen to lie to a parent. Adolescent compulsive lying is no different.īut when it’s our kids who tell lies, well now that hurts.

Lying is just one of many human flaws that we struggle with. Let’s face it: human beings are prone to fibs and little white lies.
