A friend at work told me how he got his teenage daughter to stop lying years ago.
After she told a lie, he said, “OK, you’ve shown your mom and me that it’s ok to tell a lie in this family. So we’re going to start lying to you.”
“You can’t do that,” she protested. “You’re the parents.”
A few days later ….
“Dad, will you pick me up at the mall?”
“Yup.”
Never shows up. She can find her way home. Boy, was she pissed.
Later, “Dad, will you pay so I can go to the whatever-it-was?”
“Yes.”
Didn’t pay. She couldn’t go.
Now they joke about it. “Cured me from lying forever,” she says.
What do you do when you really need to alter your child’s behavior?
Good luck from a fellow Dad,
Other posts from Joe Hage: Dad’s Life Lessons: Rule #1