Teaching the lessons of honesty and responsibility to your kid can be a crucial task in parenting. You will need a lot of patience to convey these lessons effectively. Teaching a kid to be honest is not a one day task. It requires recursive attempts.
What to do?
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Communication is the key to all the problems: Communication is the most important aspect of parenting. Effective communication can help you to teach your toddler a lot many new lessons which will help him to grow up into a responsible citizen. Encourage your child to talk to you about how he feels about a particular event. Ensure him that you will not be mad at him if he gives you his true insight. Practicing this regularly will make it a habit for him to tell you how exactly he feels!
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Avoid direct confrontation: The other way is to avoid direct confrontation to your child. Do not ask your child the questions whose answers you are already familiar with. For example: “Who broke the glass?” When you already know that he broke it. Instead tell him that “You know you are not supposed to touch glasses on the table.” Not only a kid but even an adult can lie in certain situations where he/she feels guilty about his action. Direct confrontation will invoke the guilt in the kid which will compel him to speak a lie. Thus, direct confrontation should be avoided as much as possible.
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Parents should also be honest: Setting examples for your child is the most important lesson you can teach your child. Try to speak the truth as much as possible. This will encourage your kid to do the same.
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Assigning simple tasks: You can also teach your child to be honest by giving him simple tasks. When your kid is old enough to follow simple commands, you can start by asking him to do certain simple jobs. This will teach him to be responsible. It is possible that he may not perform the given task effectively but this should not hinder you to assign him new tasks. Always remember that practice makes a man perfect. So maybe he was not able to do the task effectively for the first time but he certainly will improve the next time.
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Encourage by praising him for good actions: Never forget to praise your child for good deeds. This will encourage him to do the same next time. Praising and encouraging at such a tender age causes a deep impact on his mind. He wants to get praised the next time too. This makes him do the same thing next time.
Conclusion:
Lying and cheating are some simple issues that each parent faces at some stage of parenting. It is a big challenge for the parents to deal with such issues and to teach their kid the importance of being honest and responsible. Parents must be patient enough to tackle the problem. It may require a lot of effort but it is worth the pain as it will help your child to grow up into a responsible and honest human being!