Why has my child got the habit of stealing - reallu frustrating.
Me and my husband have tried our best to meet the needs of our kids. I have made sure that I get toys etc. etc. of various kinds. Only thing what I have restricted on is that I do not meet each and every demand of my kids as I think this will spoil the.
But to my surprise I have recently found that my 7 yrs old son has got into the habit of stealing things. One day I saw a pencil in his bag which was not his. On asking he said its was his friend's and I asked him to return it to him. He did so. But within a couple of days I saw an eraser and a scale both were looking good and he had hidden these in between his books. On confronting he simply says he likes it so he took it from some boy.
I have tried to explain that its not good to take away someone else things. If he wants something he should come and ask me for it. I am really clueless how to explain to him...
By 7 years of age I am sure your son is aware that taking others things is bad so definitely he is doing it knowingly. Now you just don't need to shout at him and get angry as this will not help.
What you need to do is let your child know that the object he has is not his. Let him tell you whom it belongs to. Then tell him that he should return the same to the person it belongs to and that he should say sorry for this behavior. Maybe you can go along with him to make sure he does things right way. Let your son know that its not a good habit.
Even after doing this you find no changes in your son's behavior so consult a psychologist.
Sometimes kids get into wrong things like stealing to get more attention from family or friends. Please find out by having a conversation with your child if he is feeling left out among friends. Are his friends being good to him or is he feeling lonely. You need to get to the root cause of this behavior of your child and then try to find the solution.
You should not humiliate your child but you should definitely take proper action. Make him return the things he has stolen to the right owner and make him apologize to the person in public. May be this way he feels a little ashamed.
Another thing you need to make sure that your child knows that everyone cannot have everything. If he likes something its not necessary that he will get that. That does not mean he would steal from others. He should learn to live happily with what he has. And for this you are the one who can set an example for him.
Its a real bad thing to do and you have to get him out of it before it gets worse.
Talk to your child and let him know that its not acceptable at all. Let him know that till now you have been meeting all his needs and later in life you will keep doing so only if he behaves well.
This time make him return the same to the owner and next time if he does something like that just don't give him something he really loves may be this helps.
All the Best.
timtam, this is not a thing to get frustrated with. You need to be patient and try to solve the issue. Such a habit should be checked immediately otherwise this could spoil the whole life of your child.
First of all as your son is old enough you definitely need to let him know whatever he has done is not good and not acceptable at all. Then take appropriate actions so that he realizes what he has done. Make him apologize, and in front of him you also apologize showing him how ashamed you are. This may make him think that he has brought you down.