Treatment of stealing in children and adolescents:
Treatment of stealing in children:
It is possible for the child to stop stealing with age, after the parents take the appropriate measures recommended by the specialists. We summarize the steps for treating theft in children as follows:
- Telling the child that stealing is wrong.
- Push the child to return the stolen items or pay for them.
- Avoid casting prejudices on the child and calling him a thief or with bad qualities.
- Tell the child that stealing behavior is not socially acceptable.
Treatment of stealing in adolescents:
Some teens steal for many reasons, but teen theft can be treated by following these steps:
- Returning the stolen item or paying for it in front of the teenage child.
- Let the child pay the consequences of his theft and let him know the seriousness of the situation by doing some work such as working around the house for a few hours in exchange for a sum of money to make up the price of the stolen items.
- Not treating the teenager as a thief, but rather making him feel that he did something wrong and learned a lesson from him that he will not repeat.
- Do not cover up the teenage child in front of the police in case it intervenes to make him realize the seriousness of the theft, as the child's interaction with the police ensures that theft will not be repeated in the future.
- The teenager may steal in the presence of his friends as a group act to engage and adapt to the group. In this case, do not try to prevent the child from seeing his friends who encourage him to steal, because this may backfire by the teenager's excessive attachment to his friends.
- Help your teen learn to say "no" to friends if they steal by saying things like, "Do whatever you want, but I don't want to get in trouble" or "I'll wait outside."
- Be a good role model for your child by avoiding naming people who steal or making statements that encourage stealing such as "He's an idiot and he deserves to lose her" or "It's a big company and no one will notice."
