Teens and lying have a very strong connection. Even good teens lie, albeit sometimes. Here the question arises, why do teens lie? Its answer is simple; they lie because they feel shy or ashamed sharing the truth with you, or because they want their freedom and privacy. Lying is not really that big of an issue if it is done once a while, but if your teen has made it a habit to shy away from the truth, then perhaps it’s time for you to hone your skills to see through the lies. Teens are smart, but you can always be smarter if you pay close attention to them and use your lie-detecting knowledge to your advantage. If your kid is showing any of the following signs, then chances are he is lying.

Body language Tells it All

It is difficult to catch a liar on first look, but close observation will tell you the whole story. When teens lie, their body doesn’t exactly support their words. This is why the first thing you should notice is the body language of your teen. Look directly into his eyes. Teens usually avoid eye contact when they are lying. If teen blinks his eyes more rapidly than usual or keeps looking in other directions, then it means he is making up the story. Also check his facial expressions. Teens try to change their facial expressions while lying. They are not professional actors so you can catch them easily by noticing the forced expressions. The way teens move their hands and other body parts also tells a lot about the truthiness of their statements. They exhibit various signs of nervousness such as moving their body away from the listener or touching their face and throat with their hands.

There will be long Pause

Teens normally take a long pause before saying something that is not true as their brain needs time to make up the story. So, whenever you have doubts about your kid’s honesty, test him out by firing a question at him. If he takes a while to respond, then chances are he’s trying to deceive you.

Defensive Reaction

You can easily know your teen is lying if he freaks out even on your simple questions or over-reacts, thus creating extra drama. This is a defensive strategy deployed by them in a bid to push you on the back foot or giving you guilt for even doubting their integrity.

Inconsistency in Teen’s Story

Teens intentionally miss important details from the story while lying, and they also tell different versions of the story in second attempt. In other words, their statements contradict. Of course, smarter teens stick to a version in order to minimize the risk of raising suspicion or getting caught.