DS Stole from School -- Twice!

[dr.girlfriend]

The other day DS had a little orange jet plane and a little plastic magnifying glass in his cubby at school. He had previously gotten a little pink jet plane as a prize for cleaning up. He asked me, "Can I take this home?" showing me the magnifying glass. I thought it was odd that he asked about that and not both toys, but I said, "Sure!" and picked them both up to take home. The teacher saw the magnifying glass and let me know that it wasn't a prize, it was one of the school toys. We said sorry, and she made a joke about having to pat him down before he left, but I think she and I both thought he was just a little confused.

So, fast forward to today. We're at home, and he brings me this little beat-up wooden cow and says, "See what I found AT HOME." At first I was like, "Oh, okay," but then I realized how odd that phrasing was, and I looked closely and realized that I had never seen it before. I asked him if it was really from home or from school and he made the biggest guilty face I've ever seen. I grilled him a little more and he admitted that he put it in his pants pocket from school and brought it home "because [he] didn't have one at home." He cried and cried, and kept saying, "I didn't mean to." I told him it was wrong and he knows it was wrong because he lied about it, etc., but told him I was proud of him for telling me the truth (ultimately).

So, poor little klepto. Tomorrow I'm going to make him give the cow back to the teacher and say sorry, and I'm sure there will be another hysterical breakdown, but on the bright side maybe it'll keep him from doing it in the future. He's such an anxious guy, I'm honestly surprised he had the guts to be so sneaky!

[Deleted]

Oh man, I know this is bad but I can't stop laughing at "poor little klepto." Plus, he has such an angelic face I can't imagine him doing this. My kid is always guilty until proven innocent, lol.

[Ashley&Scott]

You're doing the right thing.

When I was about 3 I was at the gas station with my dad, I asked for m&ms but he said no. I was used to getting a treat so I took them. When I got out to the truck I took them out of my pocket to eat them. My dad saw & marched me back inside, he made me explain to the cashier & apologize. I never stole anything ever again.

[dr.girlfriend]

And, I also got him a set of three real magnifying glasses for Christmas. Now I'm worried I am rewarding him for his first attempted larceny!

[dr.girlfriend]

Dec 18, 2012 21:06:04 GMT -5 @choco said:

Oh man, I know this is bad but I can't stop laughing at "poor little klepto." Plus, he has such an angelic face I can't imagine him doing this. My kid is always guilty until proven innocent, lol.

Oh my goodness, it was so hard. Big, gulping sobs and tears streaming down his face. I kept wanting to say, "It's okay!" but it really isn't. I will admit I hugged and kissed him a little, and went along the lines of "I understand wanting something that doesn't belong to you, but you can't just take it...."

[Deleted]

The sad tears always melts my heart, I can't even imagine how much harder it is to resist when he can actually reason with me too. Poor you!

Btw, I promise I totally agree with your approach. You did the right thing!

[Deleted]

Dec 18, 2012 21:11:34 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

Oh my goodness, it was so hard. Big, gulping sobs and tears streaming down his face. I kept wanting to say, "It's okay!" but it really isn't. I will admit I hugged and kissed him a little, and went along the lines of "I understand wanting something that doesn't belong to you, but you can't just take it...."

This sounds like the perfect thing to say, good job! And I agree with having him return it to the teacher. It's an important lesson to learn.

[Deleted]

Dec 18, 2012 21:09:41 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

And, I also got him a set of three real magnifying glasses for Christmas. Now I'm worried I am rewarding him for his first attempted larceny!

I don't think that's the case, you could turn it into another learning lesson. When you give them to him, you could say something like "I know you really liked the magnifying glass from school, so I bought you one. In the future, if you want someone someone/someplace else has, let's talk about it instead of taking it okay? We might be able to figure out how to get you one of your own for _______ [good behavior/star chart/whatever you use]."

[Deleted]

Dec 18, 2012 21:09:41 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

And, I also got him a set of three real magnifying glasses for Christmas. Now I'm worried I am rewarding him for his first attempted larceny!

To be fair, I wouldn't consider the magnifying glass stealing because he did ask you if he could take it home. Maybe a little sneaky, but not stealing.

I know I shouldn't, but I couldn't help but laugh at your story. I love the "Look what I found AT HOME" bit. He sounds so sweet and the tears would have melted me. Good for you for staying strong and also supporting him at the same time!