Why do kids cheat?

Is it normal, or should I be worried?

- PENNY VAN BERGEN

Everyone knows a kid who cheats at Monopoly or backyard cricket. Perhaps they have even cheated on a test at school.

If your notice your own child is doing this, you may worry they are headed for a life of crime.

But in developmental terms, cheating is not usually a cause for concern.

What is cheating?

Cheating occurs when a child behaves dishonestly to gain an unfair advantage. They might pretend to roll a six, peek at others' cards, score a sports game incorrectly, or use video game modifications to skip levels.

Despite parents' and teachers' best efforts, cheating is remarkably common. In one experiment, five-year-olds were asked not to peek inside a box while the experimenter left the room. Almost all peeked and later most then denied having done so.

A sign of development

The capacity to deceive can signal the emergence of new skills, including an understanding of others peoples' minds.

Understand how AI is changing society

To cheat effectively, we have to think about what someone else is thinking. We then need to trick them into believing a different reality. These cognitive skills emerge in preschool, but it is not until the primary years that children can successfully maintain a false story over time.

Cheating at school

As children get older, they can get more cautious about cheating in general, but also start cheating at school. In a US study, more than three in four high school students reported cheating at school at least once over the past year.