FHE - Lying vs. Telling the Truth

My toddler has been struggling with lying lately, and it's been difficult because we can tell he can't quite grasp what a lie is or why it is important. We did this little Family Home Evening with him, and it seems to have helped a bit. He's been more curious about understanding and has actively been using the vocabulary we taught him. Since I could not find a lesson already created and shared for this purpose, I thought I would do it. Hopefully somebody out there gets some use out of this.

Learning About Lying vs. Telling the Truth

Song: I Believe in Being Honest, Children's Songbook, Pg. 149

Scripture: Isaiah 63:8 - "For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour."

Lesson:

• After sharing the scripture, share with children that Heavenly Father has asked us to be honest, to tell the truth. 
• It is important to tell the truth so that others know they can trust us.
• What is trust? Trust is being able to believe in someone. 
• Invite the children to jump off of something, or fall backwards, into your arms. Let them know they did this because they trusted you; they believed that you would catch them.
• Share this story from the January 2012 edition of The Friend
• Explain how important it is that we are able to trust them, and that we will do so if they will always tell the truth.
• Sometimes it's hard to understand what a lie is, let's practice with the below activity.

Activity: Print out the happy and sad faces and attach them to popsicle sticks (or back to back on a single popsicle stick). (Note: If your children are old enough to read you could write the words 'Truth' and 'Lie' down instead of printing out the faces.) Tell your children things that are true or false and have them hold up the faces accordingly - frowny face for lies since they make us and Heavenly Father sad, happy face for truths since they make us and Heavenly Father happy. Allow everybody in the family to take turns with the faces and have chances to make statements. Start with obvious ones so children can begin to understand the concept of lying vs. telling the truth. (Ex: I have two noses - lie. I have blue eyes - truth.)

Closing: Explain that it can take practice to understand, but that your relationships are stronger and full of trust when you tell the truth, and that Heavenly Father approves.

CLICK HERE TO PRINT THE TRUTH VS LIE PRINTABLE

Things I Learned:
1) Teaching what a lie is can be very complicated.
2) Anything that allows for jumping during FHE is an instant hit.
3) The frowny/smiley face activity is a great reinforcer throughout the week.