How to detect a child’s lie in just Seconds
How to detect a child’s lie in just seconds?
Picture this scenario: Your son comes home hours after soccer practice and you want to know where he’s been.
“Oh my bike broke down and I had to bring it over to Mike’s house to get it fixed.”
You look at your son and you’re thinking – hours? Did it really take hours to get it fixed? What was he really doing? Is he getting into something bad that he doesn’t want to tell me about?
But on the other hand maybe he really did go over to Mike’s house to get his bike fixed and then he just got carried away talking…
And you don’t want to falsely accuse him either.
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How to detect a lie – in just seconds?
1. Look at his eyes
Is he looking you in the eye? Or diverting your stare? Is his eye contact different than it usually is? What about his facial expression? Most kids will give clues when they’re telling a lie because at the subconscious level they’re feeling guilty and uncomfortable for not telling you the truth.
2. Watch his body language
Is he a little squirmy or is he fidgeting with his hands? Maybe he’s shrugging his shoulders or just trying to get out of the room as soon as possible. According to Gregory Jantz, in his article 6 Ways to Detect a Liar ‘liars often pull their body inward when lying to make themselves feel smaller and less noticeable.’ Watch your child’s body language – cuz you know best what is normal for him.
3. Listen to the tone of his voice
When a kid lies, they often change their voice’s pitch, making it often higher than usual. You might find them speaking either faster cuz they’re nervous or slower cuz they’re trying to figure out what to say. They may also seem overly happy – trying to overcompensate so you don’t get suspicious. Or overly angry – so you won’t ask too many questions.
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4. Is He trying to change the subject?
When a kid is lying – the first thing he wants to do is change the subject – so he won’t get caught. He’ll bring up something that happened that day, or mention that he’s got lots of homework, or his friend’s calling. Anything to get out of the conversation and move on….
How to detect a child’s lie? At the end of the day it’s up to you to know your child. And you DO know your child better than anyone else.
Get in the habit of noticing your child’s body language, his voice, eye contact, and then you can see when it deviates from the norm.
Then the question you are left with is….. what to do when you catch your child in a lie?
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