Tired of Lies? Why Kids With ADHD Lie So Much
We’ve all told a lie at some point when we were kids, but kids with ADHD tend to lie more frequently. Children with this learning disorder may hide information, lie, and manipulate their parents with emotional blackmail when they find themselves in a situation that didn’t turn out how they had thought. Luckily, there are ways to change this behavior. In order to know how to keep your kids from lying, you have to understand why kids with ADHD lie so much.
Why kids with ADHD can’t face reality
Children with ADHD are usually pretty rebellious, they lie to avoid the consequences of their actions because they have a low tolerance for frustration. These children aren’t always aware of their problem which makes it more difficult to correct the behavior and intervene in time. These are some of the reasons why kids with ADHD have trouble facing reality.
-Ignorance or difficulty analyzing situations: Kids with ADHD tend to act impulsively and take the easy route to get what they want. They don’t stop to analyze the situation and think about the consequences of their actions which is why they lie, believing that it’s the easiest way to get rid of the problem without thinking about the problems that it may cause. People that do this have a type of “future blindness”, which only allows them to see the consequences once they are suffering.
-Immaturity: ADHD comes with a certain level of social, psychological, and emotional immaturity in children and teens, which is why they may have childlike behaviors like insecurity, selfishness, and problems accepting responsibilities. This is why, when they are in a difficult situation, they blame others for what happened, rather than take responsibility.
-They don’t have problem solving skills: Because these children have trouble identifying problems and creating strategies for resolving them, they may not be able to make the right decision when faced with a problem, and instead make the easy choice that has an undesirable outcome.
-Fear: Children with ADHD don’t handle mistakes well, so they act impulsively to avoid any situations that would cause them to take the blame for an action.
-They’re used to it: If these negative behaviors aren’t caught and reversed in time, they’ll eventually become habits that are more difficult to correct.
How to teach children with ADHD to stop lying
Hiding behind a lie is childlike behavior, which is why parents and adults close to the kid with ADHD are the first ones who should correct this behavior. There are a few parts to an early intervention:
-Help the child develop high self-esteem: You don’t have to hound them about their bad behavior. You should also make sure the child knows that it’s important to be proud of their accomplishments and take responsibility for their mistakes.
-Don’t let the child’s manipulations affect you: It’s important that the child knows that their actions have consequences and that they won’t get out of the problem with lies and manipulation. Once you set a punishment, don’t give into their threats. Working through this hard part will ultimately benefit you both in the end.
-See the problems as an optimist: You have to motivate the child to take the initiative to solve difficult problems and use behavior modification techniques to solve problems that arise. You have to encourage them to be independent and make their own goals and objectives so that they can learn how to reach them and make their own decisions.
