Behaviours such as ‘fake crying’ and hiding disliked food do not necessarily indicate an intention to deceive, says Anthony Marcel
Kathryn Hughes begins her review (28 July) of The Truth About Lies by Aja Raden thus: “At about the age of 18 months babies start to get sneaky. They hide food they don’t like and go in for bouts of fake crying.” In what follows, she does not question the author’s apparent suggestion that these behaviours amount to lies or their basis.
But if lying is defined as intention to deceive, these behaviours, if not better described, are very poor evidence for it. Regarding putting disliked food where it cannot be seen: seen by whom? It might simply be for the children themselves to avoid seeing something disliked: out of sight, out of mind (like out of the pram).