How to Handle Your Child's Stealing

Stealing. Stealing is something that all parents hope their children will never do. Unfortunately, we can't always predict if our child will take something that doesn't belong to them. If you have discovered that your child has stolen something, what should you do about? In this article you will find a few tips on how to handle your child stealing something.

Toddlers & Preschoolers - The age of your child can make all the difference in how you handle the situation of stealing. Toddlers and preschoolers--between the ages of two and four--are known assailants when it comes to stealing. At this age they are experimenting with what is theirs and what belongs to other people. Therefore, it is very common to hear about children of this age group stealing things from siblings, classmates, preschool classrooms and others, or to even find little "treasures" in your child's pockets at the end of the day.

Appropriate Consequences for This Age Group - If you are dealing with a thieving toddler or preschooler one of the best ways to deal with the situation is to have a face-to-face, firm conversation and make your child return the item(s) and apologize for their actions. Making sure that your child understands that it is highly inappropriate for them to be taking another person's item will help the situation. By making them return the item and apologize they are learning that their actions have consequences--that they probably won't enjoy.