145. BTS: Will encouraging my child's big imagination lead to lying in the future?

Beyond the Sessions is answering YOUR parenting questions! In this episode, Dr. Rebecca Hershberg, Dr. Emily Upshur, and I talk about...

3:18 - Having a big imagination is a form of cognitive play for child and a very healthy way for them to make sense of their world.

6:32 - How can parents respond and engage with your child when their fantasies are aggressive.

9:47 - After the "toddler fantasy" stage parents often see a "preschool denial of behavior" phase come next.

12:50 - How to give your kids the emotional space to own their actions and start to understand the impact of how their behaviors impacts others.

18:16 - If we have a big reaction to our child's lying when they are using it as a defense mechanism, we're actually likely to see more lying in the future.

21:43 - Shifting our perception of our kid's lying as a manipulative behavior with the intention of deceiving us to instead be that they are using it to protect themselves from the overwhelming feelings of fear, shame, or guilt.

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