PARENTING: What would you do if your child stole something while you’re out at the shops?

By Louise Flanagan

Young children being light-fingered in shops seems to be quite common. Whether it’s sweets, small toys, or something random that catches their covetous little eye, the urge overwhelms some of them. Based on my own experience as a mother, the statistic is one in three!

A page member recently wrote into Letterkenny Babies with a tale that I could emphasize with; “My six-year-old stole sweets from the local newsagents.

I was absolutely mortified when I discovered the wrapper in his pocket later that evening.

“When confronted, he told me he’d taken them but he didn’t seem to realise he had done wrong. We went back to the shop the next day and paid for them. The whole incident didn’t seem to phase him in the slightest and I’m worried he’ll do it again. Any advice for me please?”

Page members replied, reassuring her that she had done the right thing, returning to the shop to pay for the sweets. Some shared their own similar experiences:

“My daughter did this when she was about the same age. I made her go into the shop and apologise to the owners. The lady in the shop thanked me for doing so and told my daughter that what she had done was really wrong. She never did it again.

“I also told my daughter that because I had to pay for the sweets that she took, I had no money left for the rest of the week, so she would have to eat whatever I put out for her meals and she would get no treats in her school lunch box. She is almost 18 now and still remembers the incident to this day.”

Another added, “We were in Tesco in Letterkenny a few years back. Our four-year-old was and still is a curious wee chap. I could write a book on him.

“When we got back to the car, I loaded everyone in. I tried to fold the buggy but it wouldn’t fold, only for me to discover a stash of DVDs under it. The sweat broke on me; I looked around to see if any security was coming for us.

“I confronted the child in question as it was a no brainer to which one of my four kids did it. He said, ‘I like them all and we can watch them tonight with popcorn.’

“I explained to him that’s wrong, that we didn’t pay for them. I had to get everyone out of the car again and I marched them in and him screaming. My blood pressure was through the roof as I thought I’d be stopped for what sounded like the child being kidnapped with the screaming of him.

“We went to the security lady and explained what happened and she was so lovely.

“She came down to his level and said that he was a good boy for bringing back the DVDs as they didn’t belong to him and he is not allowed to take anything that he has no pocket money to pay for. She said he would need to save his pocket money up and when he comes back another day he can pay for his own DVDs. I thanked her and she winked back. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough though!”

My own experience was similar; absolute mortification and a deep sense of guilt that I wasn’t effectively bestowing moral values upon my child. It really caught me off guard. Now, I get the odd quizzical look when someone overhears my pre-shop pep talk with my kids. “Stay close to me… and don’t steal anything!”

Louise Flanagan is an admin of Letterkenny Babies Facebook page and the author of the children’s book series, Dragonterra and Dream Beasts. www.dragonterra.ie

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