Children Stealing: Root Cause And How To Correct It

Adults and older people believe that a child's act is always genuine because they are innocent and they don't have the full understanding yet of all things around them. A child may play with their own toys or with someone else's toys because they get attracted and interested on things that they don't own. What will usually happen is the child will secretly take the toy and keep it.

Why They Steal

We find it normal for children to do that kind of thing but rationally saying, it's already an act of stealing. Stealing is when you take something without any legal right or a consent from the owner. This act is very common amongst children even in our own home but we oversee and fail to notice it because our minds are already set that children are innocent.

Kidshealth explained that very young children who take things without permission are truly innocent. They take things for the reason that they like it. For grade school kids, they steal things even though they know it isn't right because they lack self-control. The reason is the same for teenagers but there is just an additional factor which is peer influence.

Another reason is behavioral. In the same post, they pointed out that some kids steal because they lack attention. Jealousy with siblings can be a culprit why kids steal. When they see things owned by their siblings that they do not have, they think that they're not well provided.

What Should Be Done

In times when you caught your child stealing, AskDrSears said that a proper explanation and restitution should be done. Before you provide an explanation to the child, you must know first the reason why they've done the act.

Understand the root cause by proper interrogation and don't reprimand the child right away. Once you identify the triggers of the behavior, correct it by helping the child understand and return what was stolen. Teach them the right concept of ownership.

If they want to get something that they do not own, tell them to always ask permission to take it. Once the child corrected the wrongdoing, praise the child and provide positive reinforcement.