Originally Posted by Marnie
So DH and I are getting really frustrated with PG DS5 right now...not sure if I'm overblowing things or what. He has started lying/making excuses when he either doesn't to to something or thinks the truth will get him in trouble. We have had multiple conversations about it, but it doesn't seem to be sticking.

Quote
In conjunction, he has been saying that he is 'too tired' to do lots of things, including endure conversations where we try to figure out WHY he is lying etc...but then, when we say 'ok, well if you are tired, go to bed', he quickly turns it around to, 'well I'm not THAT tired.' because he wants to play. Infuriating.

I'm sure this is frustrating to deal with, but there are truly so many different types of "tired" - it's not a one-size fits all word. Sometimes tired means a person needs sleep, sometimes it means a person just needs a change of conversation or scenery. A five-year old, no matter how high there cognitive ability is, usually isn't going to tell you that "I'm tired of this conversation so let's drop it for now and move on"... which is what I'm guessing he really wanted to do. I think it's pretty typical behavior at 5 to both lie about why you did something your parents wouldn't have wanted you to do, and to lie to get out of having to face something you didn't want to. It's all developmental, and in a few years with a bit more maturity and a bit more real-world life experience, he'll most likely respond differently. For now, try to keep the conversations short - if he lies tell him that it's not acceptable and why, but if you can't get to the core of what's up with in-depth conversation, don't try to just keep digging digging digging while he's resisting.

[quote]On top of that, this is happening at the same time as what seems to be a period of disinterest in a lot of things he was very into recently. Example: he didn't participate in his mandarin class at his camp today (which he usually loves) because he was 'too tired' (so he played outside...logic?) which eventually turned into 'it's too long' and then 'it's boring' and then 'I wanted to do more writing, not speaking'...still don't really know the truth.

Couldn't all of those things be pieces of the truth? He wanted to be doing something different than what the group was doing (writing, not speaking). It was too hard. Maybe speaking Mandarin is a lot of work for him. The hard work made him tired. Playing outside is easy for your brain - you get to relax, have fun, and not have to think hard. Maybe he loves loves loves Mandarin lessons every other day of camp, but whatever they were doing on this day was tough or he just needed a day to not have to do it or whatever. Maybe they were doing the same thing they'd been doing for the past week and he was just bored. Whatever it was, I wouldn't worry about one day of not enjoying his camp. If he's having difficulty with things over a period of time I'd look into it, but in general, it sounds like he's a very typical 5 year old smile

Quote
Not sure if it's the heat, lack of sleep (not enough hours of sleep has always been an issue, but this reaction is not so normal), lack of a real routine in the summer, or some sort of sickness/growthspurt/kid-grumpy-stage. I'm just...frustrated. I don't want to sit down every day to have the lying conversation.

It's a frustrating age/stage, and it can be very tiring for parents - but try to not overthink it too much. There's going to be a day in the not-so-distance future when you'll miss 5! Reduce the length of the "lying conversation" and just correct him when he lies.

I also wouldn't be surprised if what your seeing isn't due to a kid who's about ready for a huge growth spurt (mentally or physically) or just due to being on the end-run of a long summer.

Best wishes,

polarbear