When asked if they peeked at a toy, 40% of children falsely confessed to peeking, even though they did not do so, in a recent study of lying in toddlers. When so many children made up falsehoods with no benefit, there is more to it than cheeky fibs.
The researchers, from Poland and Canada, tested children’s self-control at the age of 18 months by asking them not to peek at a toy. The same 252 children were tested again at age two and then again six months later. Only 35% of the young participants disobeyed the request not to look, but 27% of the peekers falsely claimed they had done as they were told.
