😉 Greetings to regular and new readers! Child theft is quite common and can happen in absolutely any family. Wealth, upbringing, control – all this does not guarantee that a child’s hand will not reach for someone else’s thing. How to wean a child from stealing?
Why do children steal
To understand how to help children overcome this urge to appropriate other people’s belongings, one must first study what are the most common causes of child stealing.
1. Permissiveness or rigid boundaries
These are two extremes in upbringing, each of which can lead a kid to steal. If from childhood he gets used to the fact that he can do absolutely everything, then, without even thinking, he will reach for someone else’s property.
In the case of strict control, the child will rebel sooner or later and theft may become one of the ways out. Hard boundaries can bring him to the point where he can not resist the temptation and take what he is forbidden to buy by his parents.
2. Attitude towards material values in the family
If the family treats material values with disdain, then this is passed on to the children. For example, my son broke his third phone in a month – the next day he received a new one.
Broken toys, “throwing” money – all this leads the little person to the idea that material values do not mean anything. So why not take a classmate’s favorite thing for yourself?
3. Too boring
Some children confess to stealing because they wanted to experience the thrill. In a family where children have interests and hobbies, and there is no room for laziness and boredom, theft usually does not happen.
4. I am “cool”
Some teenagers commit theft to prove to their peers how “cool” they are. To prevent this from happening, a teenager must value himself, his own personality, and also understand that the level of toughness is not assessed by rash actions.
A teenager must have a certain core, a position that has been instilled by the family so that he cannot be taken “weakly”. Explain, talk to him a lot so that he understands that only a truly strong person knows how to answer “no” in time.
What to do if a child steals
Of course, there may be more reasons for theft, these are only the most common. The main thing is to understand how to do the right thing when the fact of theft is established. Should the little man be punished, and draw conclusions? Yes! But how? How to wean a child from stealing? There may be several options.
1. Work out
The money or the value of the thing that the child stole must be returned. If the child has already spent everything, he will be obliged to work out the stolen goods. Such a lesson will help the child to realize that every thing has its own price, and in order to earn money on it, you need to work hard.
Clearly write down on paper what and how long your son (daughter) will do to work off the debt. It is important that he does all the work to the end.
2. The cost of theft
Take the Criminal Code in hand and read the articles related to theft and theft to your child. Describe in colors how the misappropriation of other people’s things is punished in other countries – they cut off their hands, make them outcasts. Theft is not the case when you should feel sorry for the delicate child’s psyche.
Here it is important to clearly make it clear to what consequences his actions will lead in the future, if he continues to do this. Talk about people who have served in prisons, let the offspring draw conclusions.
3. Confiscation of children’s property
Take away from the child a thing that is especially valuable to him. Give him time to get nervous. Discuss with him how he felt when he realized that his favorite phone or tablet was not. And then, tell me that the person experienced the same feelings when he discovered the loss.
4. Prevention
Show your child news bulletins periodically, tell real stories about children who have stepped on the slippery slope of theft.
5. Show your feelings
Just relax and show your own feelings about the situation. Explain to your son (daughter) how upset you are now, ashamed of him, bitter. It is not always helpful to contain your own emotions.
Let him see his mother’s tears, understand how worried about him, how bad for his parents. It is unlikely that he will want to inflict this pain and insult on his parents another time.
6. Why did this happen?
Be sure to find out why this happened? It also happens that children are extorted money, blackmailed and they go to theft under pressure, being intimidated. In this case, you need to help get out of a dangerous situation, and not scold him.
What if the theft situation recurs? Do not wait for improvement and do not hope for “maybe”, but immediately go to the police room for minors, to the district police officer, to a child psychologist.
Connect all specialists, conduct preventive conversations. Do not close your eyes to such things. Find out the causes and root them out before it’s too late.
Child theft: advice from a psychologist
Here is additional and interesting information: How to wean a child from stealing
Friends, we are waiting for your advice from personal practice on how to wean a child from stealing. 🙂 Share this article on social networks. Perhaps you can help someone find the right solution to this problem.