I have a story for you all. When My oldest was about 5 years old he was caught red handed for stealing a pack of gum. At times I feel bad about the way I punished him but I can say this he never stold again.
My wife Amy had went to the store to get some groceries at a local store and didn't notice that Jacob had slipped a pack of bubble gum into his pocket. When she returned home she noticed that jacob was running around the house with gum in his mouth. She thought maybe he picked it off the ground while they were at the store. She told him to spit it out so he did. about an hour later she noticed he was chewing on another piece of gum so sh decided ask him where he was geting the gum. She went into his bedroom and looked just about everywhere and could not find any sign of gum in his room. She watch him for the next hour and following him as ran around the house. Without knowing his mother was watching him Jacob went into his room climbed under his bed and stuck another piece of gum in his mouth. Amy looked and their it was a half a pack of Bubble Yum. Amy asked where he had gotten the gum and he said at the store. Amy scoldded him and told him to wait till his daddy got home from work.
Amy told me what had happen and I was very disappointed with him. I told him we where going back to the store to tell the clerk what he had done. When we arrived I explained to the clerk what had happened and asked to speak to the manager. The manager took us back into another room where we talked about what we where going to do. I told her to call the police so, she did. When the police arrived he had a long talk to with Jacob and said he could take him to jail for stealing. About this time Jacob was crying . I told the officer to take him away for stealing so the officer put him in handcuffs. Jacob began to scream and calling out "Daddy, please I won't do it again" . The officer explained to him what would happen if he caught him again and took the cuffs off. From that day on he has never stolen again. Was I wrong for doing this or should I have spanked him?
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Comments: 19
I think that having your child apologize to the store manager would have been sufficient to prevent the child from stealing in the future.
I should admit though, that I have popped a grape or two into my mouth at the market before......... ;-)
Thanks.
I beg all of you reading this who are parents to consider this.
I respect people who pick themselves up when they fall down. I respect people who make sacrifices for loved ones or the good of the community. I respect people who show love and understanding even in the face of disappointment, strength in adversity, and forgiveness. I respect people who treat me with respect.
I do not respect people who make me feel terrified for the sake of making a point - I fear them and dislike them.
A five year old child may not always listen, but he or she is always absorbing what is going on around them.
But, to the matter at hand, my two cents is as follows:
I think that the embarassment caused by having to return the stolen item to the store and admit to the clerk what he had done probably would have been enough to make an indelible impression. The sacrifice of having to pay for the stolen item would have made a nice follow up - an appropriate punishement for the crime.
Save a scare by the police for the teenage years...
Handcuffs? YIKES! How old is your boy now?
I just pray mine turn out alright!! I'm teaching my nine month old "no". He's really learned fast. It just takes a lot of reinforcement. He's so cute cuz he gets upset at the word (at least now). But, I get a lot of flack from other moms saying I'm too strict. But, their kids are heathens...so I'm not that concerned. :))) I know it isn't easy...