I have a son that "did not lie" as a child or so he thought. It was just that he did not preceive that what he was saying to be a lie. He thought that what he was saying to be the truth so therefore it was the truth.
I.E. He was playing with his friends and said some things that made the other kids made enough to hit him. When asked about the situation he said that the other kids started the fight. In his eyes the other child started it because they took the first swing not because he mouthed off to them and provoked them.
Lies or truth, it is in the eyes of the beholder or the eyes of the one telling it.
Liar------------One who KNOWINGLY and habitually utters falsehood.
Lie-------------A DELIBERATE misrepresentation of fact with intent to deceive.
Some children may deliberately lie, while others may just be ignorant or too immature to understand. A lot depends on age.
I wasn't afraid to tell my parents the truth because I trusted them. I remember being respected for telling the truth. Guess I didn't want to lose that respect. Nothing terrible ever happened to me when I told the truth, so lying isn't something I did.
I can say this, though. I cheated at a game when I was about 9 or 10 years old. Cheating is a form of lying, yes, and to this very day, I haven't forgotten it. I have a bad case of "conscience". When I said I didn't lie as a child, I should have clarified I was thinking about my immediate family. I never lied to family about anything, ever! I didn't lie to teachers, either. Because of my "conscience", I think I would remember if I deliberately lied to anyone else. Anyway, when I've asked God to bring to memory any sin unconfessed, lying hasn't been one of them.
Truth still means everything to me. I absolutely hate untruth. I guess I've even hated the one telling the untruth. It's difficult for me to separate the lie from the liar, sometimes (probably most of the time). I do try, though!
cris