Liar, Liar!

So the Caveman is in big trouble. He lied, we know he lied but we don't know what to do about it. The Caveman is three with an active imagination that I want him to keep but I am afraid that if I don't get this lying thing under control it will lead to other problems.

We caught the lie when we went into his room and saw that the amour in there was open. It is an antique, not expensive enough to worry about being in a three year old's room but nice enough that I don't want him messing with it. The amour has two doors, a smaller square one and a larger one, that need a key to open them. I keep the key on the top of the amour and the doors shut because they have things like kid Tylenol and other dangerous yet necessary items. So when I saw the tiny door open and the key missing I knew who had done it.

First the Caveman blamed the Alien, which could be potentially true, but I had my doubts. I actually had the Alien climb on the stepping stool and saw there was no way she could reach the key hole let alone open the thing. The Caveman was busted! But, he kept lying! And he continued.

Tears, screaming, and they didn't all belong to the Caveman, we sent him to bed where he cried himself to sleep.

I might be making a mountain out of a mole hill, I have a habit of doing that, but I feel like this moment in the Caveman's life is important. I believe that parenting really is like being on a beach where I draw a line in the sand. Sometimes the Caveman and Alien have to cross the line and it is up to me to bring them back to me or let them cross the line. The Caveman jumped over the line today and I am not sure I can get him back.

Do three year olds even understand the concept of lying? And how do I punish him, time out? Take away something? I just don't know because I don't think he understands what he has done. The other problem is I never want him to be so afraid of telling the truth, or standing up for it, and just follow what the crowd is saying. There is a sinking feeling in the back of my mind that I will be having this conversation a lot. Oh boy.