Hey everyone,

This year we are going to start something new on our OH website and Facebook page. Every week we hope to be posting a tidbit of advice for you parents ranging from children’s social behaviors to academic abilities. We hope that these posts will be beneficial to you. If you have any suggestions for these posts, please let us know!

Who am I? My name is Emily Dykstra, and I have been a staff member here at OH since the Fall of 2014. I received my degree in Early Childhood in 2016.  This is my 4thyear being a lead teacher in our 4-year-old, Firefly classroom. This year I have also taken on the role of being the Curriculum and Assessment Coordinator, but on top of that, I most want to be a resource to you.

This week, I want to touch on the importance of building trust with your child.  Honesty is an important value that we need to instill in our children, both as parents and teachers. This week we can discuss building trust in the way of lying and sneaking, learn the common causes for dishonesty, and practices to develop relationships of trust. 

I found some articles that can shine some light on why children lie or fib. A lot of times children don’t know WHY they did something, so they make up a story they think you want to hear.  Many times this happens when you ask them “why” they did something.  The word “why” is hard for children to understand.  So instead, try changing your “why” to “what did you want to happen?” More often than not, you’ll get a different answer.  When you know what they wanted to happen versus what happened, you will be able to help them get the outcome they’re looking for.  We’ve attached some articles that we think fit this topic well. In them, you will find different ways to handle the situation in a caring way that promotes growth and trust.

I hope this helps in one way or another!

We’ll meet you here next Thursday!

Ms. Emily

https://www.ahaparenting.com/parenting-tools/communication/trust
https://childmind.org/article/why-kids-lie/