Children are very savvy in using deceit to preserve and maintain relationships. They learn that this behavior helps avoid conflict. They also weigh the consequences of getting caught. In deciding to tell the truth or lie, children think through what the other person might think if they find out. They understand the trust issues that are involved.
Children know it's risky and can be very harmful to relationships.
MOST OF ALL Behavioral scientist Wendy Gamble, associate professor at the University of Arizona, studies children and lying. Children tell more pro-social lies to peers. There was no gender difference in the numbers and types of lies told. Children did tell the truth more often than they lied. Children learn lying from adults who, said Gamble, lie two to three times a day.