Overview
- University of Bristol–led researchers analyzed parent reports for more than 750 children aged 0–47 months across the UK, US, Australia and Canada.
- Parents reported first deceptive acts as early as eight months, with about a quarter by 10 months and around half by 17 months.
- Once deception began, it was frequent, with roughly half of identified deceivers attempting it within the previous 24 hours.
- Patterns shifted with age: around two years behaviors were action-based or simple denials, and by three years children used more representational and verbal lies, including exaggeration and withholding details.
- The study, published March 5 in Cognitive Development, introduces the Early Deception Survey and frames early deception as a normal milestone; one outlet noted a reported association between parental use of social lies and children’s understanding of deception without claiming causation.