Overview
- Researchers gathered parent reports for more than 750 children up to 47 months old from the UK, US, Australia and Canada.
- About 25% of children were reported to understand deception by 10 months, rising to roughly 50% by 17 months.
- By age three, children’s deceptive behavior was described as more frequent, creative and sophisticated.
- Parents detailed 16 tactics, including pretending not to hear, hiding items, denial, excuses, partial truths and distraction.
- The earliest case was an eight-month-old based on a single parent’s account, and authors Elena Hoicka and Jennifer Saul stress that such behavior is developmentally typical and informative for caregivers.