Positive Reinforcement…
If you come alongside your child and show her that you understand why she lied, you may find that she feels safe to acknowledge it. And your calm approach can scaffold her inability to handle all those big feelings that erupted.
Give your child an opportunity to be part of the solution to the problem she created. This empowers her to take responsibility for her actions. She may just shrug at first, but if offered enough chances, this can help to create a mindfulness regarding the cause and effect of her actions.
The lying is just another dysfunctional coping mechanism in your child’s ADHD box of unhelpful tools. While magical thinking does wane, remember that your child with ADHD is often three years behind in maturing, so magical thinking might last a bit longer. In fact, certain aspects of magical thinking may stay with us into adulthood, since at the end of the day, we all wish the world could be the way we want it. Some adults I know still cross their fingers, buy lottery tickets, and throw salt over their shoulder.
