Tall Tales

I know kids will lie to get out of trouble. Heaven knows I did plenty of that as a child. Some will make things up for attention. Lately Riley has been making up stories and trying to pass them off as fact, for no apparent reason.

Scot took her on a date recently. They got ice cream at McDonalds, and then headed to Target to spend her Christmas money from her great-grandparents. The next day she told me in great detail exactly how she got a splinter while playing at McDonalds. I asked if she needed me to take it out, and she said "Daddy already got it out."

"With what?"

"His fingers."

"Wow! That must have been a big splinter if he was able to get it out with his fingers. Does it still hurt?"

"No, not anymore."

And that was the end of it. She didn't want any comforting from me, or even to show the injury to me.

That night I mentioned the splinter to Scot, and he looked completely baffled. Turns out Riley didn't even play in the play area. They sat down, ate their ice cream, and left. She made up the entire thing. And we can't figure out why. Maybe she's just practicing her fiction-writing skills. Maybe she just wants to see how I'll react to these fables. Or maybe she just likes hearing herself talk. If that's the case, it's not a recent development, but a long-time trait that has taken a new form.