“If lying is an issue in your home, connect with your child outside of the moment to have a larger discussion about what he needs to be honest. This is especially effective with older kids who are more equipped to verbalize these thoughts. You might start like this: “Hey . . . I want to talk for a few minutes. You’re not in trouble. I’m just thinking about how sometimes it’s hard to tell me the truth. And I’m not blaming you, because I realize there must be things you need from me in order to tell me the truth. There must be things I’m doing that make truth-telling scary for you, or maybe you think you might get in some type of trouble. Anyway, I’m wondering what you need from me, or if there’s something I could do differently. Because I want this to be a house where you can tell me the truth about things even if you think they’re not so great.”