How to Handle Little Liars

Sue Shellenbarger:

When Cindy Ballagh’s 10-year-old son Kaden lost his portable videogame recently, she asked him where he last put it. His answer: on his dresser.
After they spent several minutes searching on, under and all around the dresser, she happened to spot the game–buried in his bed. He had been playing with it there the night before and broke a rule by falling asleep with it, says Ms. Ballagh, of Clarksville, Tenn. Frustrated, she told Kaden he would get in less trouble if he would “just be honest and tell the truth.”
It’s a tense moment–one almost all parents experience: You look in your child’s eyes and realize: “He’s lying.”