[emjay]

My 5yo DD loves lions, and has told several friends and their parents that we keep a pet lion in our backyard...with details on what we feed him, where he sleeps, what he plays with, and how she takes him out for exercise. It's wistful thinking on her part, and as long as it's an "obvious" fantasy I don't see any harm. She knows truth from lies. One thing we've done to reinforce the difference with her is to say, "I know you really want a lion, but you know that's not real, right?" and "Is that something you wish for, or is it real?" It's seemed to help keep her non-truths only in the fantasy category and not day-to-day stuff.

But if it was more than that, I would want to put a stop to it, too. I wish I had some book suggestions, but I suspect when you find one, your bright little girl will respond - as she already knows that she's "teasing".