Question
I have read up and listened to your previous videos on lying. My son rarely lies and when he does I use your response and he gets it. Lately he has been telling me tall tales about things that have happened at school. For example, “my teacher had a nerf gun that shot out real bullets that she heated up in a tiny oven and then she shot them up in the air. It was amazing mom”. The entire story is clearly just a story but he really wants me to believe him. Sometimes I’ll text his teacher just to be sure but every time it’s just something he’s made up. Do I pretend to believe him? What is his goal?
Answer
When he shares a tall tale, smile and maybe give him a gentle touch and say, "Buddy, you are using your imagination in a wonderful way. I love the story you are telling me. It is very creative."
Then say back to him 2 or more things he said that make the story creative.
This way, he learns to discern between his imagination and the truth. He is storytelling and it's a wonderful thing. Label it as imagination and congratulate him about it and you may just inspire a future writer.
This is less about lying and more about separating the fact from his imagination. What's neat about it, is that most kids keep those imaginary stories in their head. Your son is sharing them.