I have 3 yr old daycare child that has begun fabricating scenarios regarding aggression from peers, being picked on, and things I have said/done during daycare. I am present in the space when the supposed incidents happen, and it is blatant lying and turns into a tantrum as the child melts down after supposidly being hurt by another child, even though the other kids that get blamed are most often nowhere near this child. I have called out this child on the behaviour and reiterated that lying is unacceptable, especially when intentionally blaming another child for something that didn't happen. When I spoke to the parent, the parent told me stories about what the child had been saying at home about things at daycare.
All of it was fabricated, but the parent was believing the child, and making assumptions about other children here, and how I handled things here. I set the parent straight and said this behaviour will not be tolerated. This is an intelligent and articulate child, so this child is manipulating for his/her benefit intentionally.
I have a gut feeling this could be a slippery slope, and this child is already very high maintenance for other developmental reasons. Do I trust my gut and cut this child loose if this continues? I just get a bad feeling, this could lead to false accusations in the future, especially when the parent takes the child's word over mine. Any thoughts or suggestions???