DS was asked "Why is it important to tell the truth?" - school entrance exam

[mathnerd]

My DS (6 y o) was asked "Why is it important to tell the truth?" in a private school entrance exam this morning. This was amongst a battery of other questions to judge "verbal skills". My son just said that "Telling lies gets the good guys into trouble and lets the bullies and bad guys get away! And that is not being nice to the good guys. And nobody will give you respect if you lie".

Though I like his interpretation of why he needs to tell the truth always, I would have liked him to have given a more deep and meaningful answer (not for the test, he already passed the test and got accepted to that school, but for his own betterment as a person).

What would be a good way to help him understand and express (verbalize) why it is important to tell the truth? I would like to use this as a teachable moment to talk more about this topic to him. We are very strict on the "no lying" policy at home and DS is very honest - there are consequences to lying and we also try to show him "Honesty is the best policy" by example in day to day life. I am at a loss on how to concisely define why honesty is the best policy to a 6 year old.I cannot just say that lying will get you into trouble or that it is not OK to lie or that truth always wins in the end or that dishonesty is a weakness - they sound too cliched to me. I even googled it and cannot come up with something that is easy for a 6 year old to understand. Any help is appreciated. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

His answer seems quite insightful for a 6 year old.  I would just continue to teach your values through life and wouldn't try to force this into a teachable moment.  

[MistyMountain]

I actually think his answer is very insightful for a 6 year old. I wouldn't worry at all! I love how he says it lets the bad guys get away and no one will respect you. I would keep up what you are doing. For his age he has a really good understanding.

[Lilaclady]

I think he did pretty well for a 6 yr old. Some of these things, you can't accelerate. The fact that he is able to formulate a response and verbalized it is quite good. What you can do is to talk about such things more in normal conversations. You can ask prodding questions- some call it Socratic but at a much lower level to get him to think about different ways of viewing issues. i still have to say though that for a 6 yr old, he is doing quite well.

[regentrude]

I think for a 6 year old, his is a very good answer.

He has addressed the immediate consequences of lying (getting good guys in trouble) as well as the aspect of personal integrity (nobody will respect you if you lie). Espeically the latter is an understanding that is lacking in many adults.

I actually think those two aspects pretty much sum it up. Sometimes there is no better reason for telling the truth than maintaining personal integrity.

[musicianmom]

I agree that it's a good answer, especially for 6.

This is a fantastic answer from a six year old.  Perhaps if you want to follow up, you could find a picture-book copy of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf", and read it with him.

[Catwoman]

I think your expectations are far too great for a 6yo. I thought his answer was excellent, and quite detailed.

 

I'm not sure what you were hoping to hear, but if you expect your 6yo to be deep and insightful, I think you are setting yourself up for tremendous disappointment.

 

It sounds like you have a very bright little boy -- please don't expect him to be too mature, too quickly. It's not fair to him. (And FWIW, I thought his answer to the question was very deep and insightful for a 6yo.)

[maize]

I agree with those who say his answer was quite insightful for his age and I wouldn't expect him to grasp a more abstract conception of integrity at this point. You have obviously taught him well, just keep teaching and let him grow into a more mature way of thinking.

[zoobie]

I agree with the others. The answer he provided is advanced for a 6 year old. You're not going to be able to teach philosophically abstract concepts before the child is developmentally able to understand them. For his age and concrete level of thinking, his articulation of the concept is excellent.

[kroe1]

Love his answer! 

[Guest submarines]

Without looking at other replies, I think he gave an awesome answer, and quite insightful too.

 

What did you want him to tell???

[mathnerd]

Thanks for all the replies. I am beginning to think that I am expecting too much out of him and should adjust my expectations according to his age.

My expectation was that he would talk more about the merits of truth and honesty rather than the demerits of lying and dishonesty. But, since most here think that it is a good response for a 6 y o, I will quit complaining! Thanks for putting things into perspective for me. I appreciate the chance to get valuable feedback from you.