Parenting Tips for Lying, Stealing & Other Annoying Behaviors

Certain behaviors in our kids are harder to handle. On the top of the list are lying and stealing. What discipline works? When is it a sign of a much bigger problem? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Kim John Payne, author of The Soul of Discipline: The Simplicity Parenting Approach to Warm, Firm, and Calm Guidance – From Toddlers to Teens, a family counselor for 30 years, and father of two teenagers; and Rebecca Rozema, an adoption social worker with Bethany Christian Services and mom of 5 sons.

Hit the Highlights
  • I’m assuming most kids lie and steal and cheat at times. What ages are most common for lying?
  • Are very young children developmentally capable of intentionally lying?
  • At what age do kids develop a moral compass?
  • Is it important to understand the reason for a lie or reasons a child stole?
  • Effective tools for teaching children not to lie and not to steal.
  • Reward telling the truth.
  • Give time to slow down to decide whether to tell the truth or a lie.
  • Give do-overs.
  • How to use consequences for teaching children not to lie or steal or cheat.
  • Books about lying and telling the truth.
  • Effectiveness of story telling to help children develop the skills to tell the truth or not steal.
  • How does adoption play into this behavior?
  • When should parents become concerned?
  • Stealing? Feels more worrisome because others are involved and hurt.

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Image credit: Michelle Ress

Show originally aired in 2015.