People lie all the time. We all lie about why we are late to the office or forgot an anniversary. While some lies are harmless, lying constantly can be bad. Often, teenagers lie to their parents, and some parents find it hard to identify when they are being lied to by their teenagers. If you also suspect that your teen is lying to you, read on. Here we have mentioned some tips regarding how to tell if your teen is lying to you.
Takes Time to Respond
One of the most obvious signs that say your teenager is lying to you is that your teen takes a lot of time to respond. For instance, if you had asked your teen when they finished homework and tried to come up with the right answer and took more than the average time of a few seconds to respond, it can be a sign that your teen is lying to you.
Changes the Topic
This is a trick even adults use. When people, including teens, don’t want to answer a question, they try to change the topic or offer irrelevant information. When your teen does that, you might want to know why they are avoiding an issue and what they are hiding.
Changes in Vocal Pitch
When people lie, their voice pitch becomes higher than usual, especially at the end of a sentence. It also happens when a person feels insecure, anxious, or afraid. You need to figure out what it is your teen might be feeling.
Has an Unusual Talking Style
Another sign that your teen is lying is their usual talking style changes. Sometimes, teens who are lying talk fast and don’t take the usual speech breaks, and sometimes, they might start taking things that don’t even make sense just to keep talking.
Is Stuttering
Teens who lie often start to stutter. This is a clear sign, especially when your teen normally doesn’t stutter. In addition to lies, stuttering might also be due to self-consciousness, nervousness, or defensiveness.
The Eyes Speak
You can also watch the teens’ eye contact pattern and eye movement to know if they are lying to you. In many countries, people who lie hesitate to make eye contact. They will not look you in the eye. Similarly, when a person is looking straight down, they might feel negative emotions like guilt, discouragement, or sadness.
Presence of Physical Distance
Sometimes, when people lie, they maintain physical distance from you. Teenagers do that too. In communication, physical distance is often referred to as emotional distance. Suppose your teen is crossing their legs or arms or holding their body sideways from you or holding an object in front of their chest or stepping behind furniture to maintain physical distance from you. In that case, it’s a sign they might be lying and want to maintain emotional distance.
Be Cautious
The points mentioned above are generic and not 100% accurate. If your teen is exhibiting some of these signs, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are lying. So, use these signs to judge the communication authenticity of your teen but don’t forget to use your own mind and heart. Who knows your teen better than you?
Get Professional Help
If you think that your teen is constantly lying to you and you want to improve the situation, you might need the help of an expert. You can trust me, Michelle Mehta, a certified professional co-active coach, an Associate Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation, and a Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) practitioner.
I am passionate about helping teenagers feel authentic, empowered, worthy, loved and helping them create a sense of belonging and believe that the world needs their talents. So, if you feel you’re called to have your teenager work with me, let’s set up a time to talk and connect. I look forward to Empowering Your Teenager to Shine with Confidence. To know more about me, click here
