It started simply enough. As I stood in the kitchen finishing dinner I asked my preschooler to pick up his blocks and put them back in their bucket. As we sat down to eat I asked if he had done as I asked.
"Yeah mom, I did."
After dinner I walked into the living room and found all of the blocks still scattered across the floor, exactly as they had been before.
"Honey, did you pick up your blocks like I asked before eating?"
"I did mom!"
There it was, his second lie of the hour from my preschooler.
Preschoolers are sometimes
known for their tall tales. The line between reality and fiction is
still slightly fuzzy, making it hard for them to distinguish between
what really happened and what happened in their minds. For
preschoolers lying isn't necessarily about trying to be dishonest.
There are often other reasons for them to fib about little things.
Sometimes preschoolers say things that are not accurate without meaning to. Their memory is not fully developed and often they honestly do not remember what they did or did not do. Mixed with that is their blurry mixing of reality and imagination and the events they recall as truth might not be what you see as the truth. It is important to stay calm and remember that to them this is the absolute truth. Punishing or disciplining them for lying when they are honestly trying to tell the truth is counter-productive.
Preschoolers will also lie at times to meet an emotional need. They may want attention or want to feel that they have control over a situation. Knowing that saying certain things will get a predictable response from you gives them both at once. They are getting attention from you and controlling when they will get that reaction. Telling stories also can give them a confidence boost. Telling you about the great and amazing things they claim to have done they are building themselves up. They need to feel special and important, and telling their stories can help accomplish that.
If you catch your preschooler lying stay calm and reassuring. Before focusing on the lie itself try to determine why they told it. Explain why lying is wrong and what rules you want your preschooler to follow when it comes to lying. Try to put more emphasis on telling the truth and being honest than on their lying. Above all don't worry. A few little lies isn't setting your preschooler up for a life of crime. It is just one more phase in growing up.
Something that seems to help both with the 'lying' and the cleaning up, is to give them a couple options instead of point blank commands. "Hey, would you like to pick up your blocks before you eat lunch or after?" Then the question after lunch about the blocks might not put the kid in a situation to lie. Next problem of course is enforcing the part where the kid agreed to clean up the blocks AFTER lunch!
I have on my hands a MASTER LIAR. He's a lying demi-god. My favorite thing to do when I've caught him in it, instead of calling him out on it specifically, is just to continue whatever tale he has woven and make it really elaborate and crazy. We end up making a whole big story together, and he knows that I know he lied, but he doesn't feel shamed for it.
When we're all done, then I remind him of what the truth was, and make him go pick up his blocks or whatever the offense was.
Stages 
Preschoolers are sometimes
known for their tall tales. The line between reality and fiction is
still slightly fuzzy, making it hard for them to distinguish between
what really happened and what happened in their minds. For
preschoolers lying isn't necessarily about trying to be dishonest.
There are often other reasons for them to fib about little things.
