Short answer
Yes. A lie to a child is written as a lie, like any other. The Prophet ﷺ told a mother who called her son with a promise that if she had not meant to give him something, it would have been written against her as a lie. Stories everyone knows are made up, and gentle half-answers that are still true, are not lies.
Lying is haram except in the narrow cases the sunnah allows, and lying to a child is included. Fiction known to be fiction, and tawriyah (true words that leave a different impression) when the plain truth would harm, are permitted.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Abdullah ibn Amir said his mother once called him: "Come here, I will give you something." The Prophet ﷺ, who was in their home, asked what she meant to give him. She said a date. He told her that if she had not given him anything, it would have been written against her as a lie. The four schools agree that lying to children is lying.
Everyday lies to avoid:
- Empty promises: "If you stop crying I will buy you a toy" when you will not.
- Scary threats: "The police will take you" or "a monster lives in the dark".
- "The shop is closed" or "the tablet is broken" to end an argument.
- Pretending a jab will not hurt.
Santa, the tooth fairy and similar: telling a child these are real is a lie, and it also teaches them another faith's or culture's beliefs as fact. A clear story, told as a story, is fine.
What you can do instead:
- Say "no" plainly, and explain when you can: "We are not buying sweets today."
- Keep promises small so you can keep them.
- For hard topics, like where babies come from or why someone died, give a true answer that suits their age. You do not have to say everything, but what you say must be true.
- Use tawriyah only when the truth would hurt, as the scholars allow.
Children learn honesty from what they see. A parent who never lies to them raises a child who does not lie. See white lies and hadith about lying.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Ahzaab 33:70
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَقُولُوا۟ قَوْلًۭا سَدِيدًۭا ﴿٧٠﴾
O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice.
Believers are told to speak truthfully and justly.
Sunan Abi Dawud 4991
Grading to be checked... أما إنك لو لم تعطيه شيئا كتبت عليك كذبة ...
"If you had not given him anything, it would have been written against you as a lie."
A false promise to a child is recorded as a lie.
Sahih al-Bukhari 6094
Sahih... إن الصدق يهدي إلى البر ...
"Truthfulness leads to righteousness."
Honesty is the foundation of good character, taught first at home.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Hazr wal-Ibaha, section on buying and selling, discussion of lying. When lying is allowed and when tawriyah is preferred.
- al-Adhkar (al-Nawawi), Chapter on the prohibition of lying. Lying to a child is included in the general prohibition.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.