Lying

I really don't think it's learned at first. Its more like , " hey if I say someone else did it, then I won't get I trouble" I don't think its intentional to get anyone else in trouble. I would t punish, but just try and explain how others can get in trouble for their actions. He may not realize that. How old?

Another possibility....since it was early n the morning and he said you did it, maybe he had a dream that you did it and was making the dream real

lying is a natural part of development, it is a natural defense mechanism. he knows that by admitting to drawing on himself with the pen that he would be in trouble, so he concludes that if he points blame to somebody else he won't get in trouble. logical ... to a toddler LOL

it's just a stage :) let him know that what he is doing is lying, and let him know that you KNOW that he is lying by telling him what exactly happened, and then discuss why lying is bad. be firm and consistent in punishing him for lying, even the littlest lies. this will teach this to them young!

I don't think it is a learned behavior.  I see it as more he doesn't want to get introuble, so he blames it on someone else.  Every kid lies.

 Well said. I agree with this. My 3 year old has just started lying.

Quoting sophiesmom07:

I think this is a phase all kids go through, regardless of whether you lie in front of him or not.  Just correct him when he does it, enforce that lying is not tolerated. He will stop eventually.

 

 Lying is a developmental stage, around the time that they are learning to negotiate to get what they want. My parents used to tell us "you won't get in trouble if you lie," but honestly, he's really young and it may pass.

Tell him it's wrong to make up stories.

I was just quoted in the Wall Street Journal about this. Check out the article. It's on kids lying.

It's normal child development. Just say: I know you did that. And leave it at that. The more attention you give him (including punishing) the longer and worse this stage will be.

This!  Lying is a natural part of development, but that doesnt mean that it will just naturally develop itself away too. 

If your child learns, during this very normal and healthy stage, that lying works and gets you out of trouble and gets you what you want your child is going to file that and hang on to it for a long time.

Its not terribly difficult to deal with a 4 year old who blames the fact that his name has appeared, in his handwriting, in green crayon on the wall on his infant sister.   It is a lot harder when you dont realize that lying is a problem until hes 13 and the stakes are alot higher. (not to say you have failed if your 13 year old tells a lie here and there, but it can be a huge problem)

In my house lying is not allowed.  When my child tells me something that is not true, such has "you drew on my leg mommy!" I would firmly (with my serious face) say "This is a serious question, and I need a truthful answer, not an imagination story. Who really drew on your leg?"  If he lies to me a second time I plop him in time out and say "We dont make up stories when mommy asks us for the truth. When you are ready to tell the truth you may get up." and then I walk away. At that point there is no bargaining, or yelling or talking.  I only use this method when I am one hundred percent SURE that I am being lied to. 

When they are are ready to tell the truth, they can get up. Once the truth is out, natural consequences and the time spent in time out are generally sufficient, but if something or someone has been hurt, they have to deal with that, even tho they told the truth.  If that were my child in the OPs story, I would not add any additional punishment because he would have sat in time out for a while until he told the truth, then have to take a bath and scrub the pen off of his leg. However, we also have a rule that if you use pens/markers/crayons places they don't belong, you loose them for a while, so he would have lost his art box for a day or two.  Not for telling a lie, but because he also broke another rule. 

Quoting TruthSeeker.:

 Lying is a natural part of development for a pre-schooler. It isn't learned, it's inherent.

 Don't get angry at him when he does it. Keep explaining the importance of telling the truth and remind him the difference between a lie and a fib or pretend. When he lies give him another chance to tell the truth reminding him that we don't lie ever. If he lies again, give him one last chance to tell the truth while telling him what the consequence will be for the lie.

 I rewarded my daughter when she lied by giving her the opportunity to tell the truth. If she told the truth she was not punished. We then would talk about why it's important to always tell the truth.

 The biggest lies where when she would hurt her brother(while playing) and he would cry. I knew she'd done something but she would lie. It took her awhile to realize that lying would get her into much more trouble then just telling the truth.

 She is now 7 and rarely every stretches the truth anymore.

 Good luck!!

All this info is awesome :). Ds and u sat down and talked about it, he apologized for making up a story. I think now he recognizes the difference between lie or made up story and the truth.
Thank you all for the advise.