Children are told things all day long. A friend says someone cheated, or a video of a fight at school goes round the year group. Many children accept whatever they hear first, or treat a photo or video as the whole story.

A simple habit can help. When they hear a claim, they pause and ask three questions.

1. What do we know?

Begin with the facts. Ask your child what they saw or heard, what was said, what was shown, and whether anyone has checked it.

Say your child comes home and tells you, "Tom cheated at football today." You ask what happened, and they tell you he kicked the ball after the whistle. That is something we can check. Did Tom hear the whistle? Had play stopped? Did the other kids see it the same way?

Encourage your child to keep to what they know and to leave out anything they didn't see or hear themselves.

This is also a good way to teach the difference between fact and opinion. "Tom kicked the ball after the whistle" describes what happened. "Tom cheated" is a j...