Good parenting

[groceryslave]

This woman comes into the store with her 3 year old in tears. She has an empty candy wrapper and the woman brought her to the manager.

MOM Tell them what you did

GIrl is crying

MOM: You have to tell them what you did

Girl I"M SOrry. cry sniffle cry. I STOLED THE CANDY. cry sniffle snifflr

Manager. OK, but you will never do it again.

Girl: I am sorry. Mommy said never steal but I wanted it and she said no so I ate it. I'm soorry. (hangs head low and sniffles.

Manager: OK. We forgive you. Just don't eat stuff your mommy tells you not to.

Her: I won't

Then mommy made her tell me she stole. I wanted to cry. It was so sad, but I was VERY proud of the mom. I told the little girl we weren't mad this time, as long as she never did it again.

So this lady gives me faith that there are a few more good parents instilling values in their kids.

[Broomjockey]

wow, how jaded am I that I thought the title was sarcastic!

Nice mom, definately one of the good ones. Don't let your kid get away with anything, or they'll think they can get away with everything.

[Becks]

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay for the mom!!!!!! I'm happy to know she did that!!!!

And like Broomjockey, I, too, thought the title was sarcastic at first. Glad to know it wasn't.

[KayEm]

The thing is though, if it had been anybody else they would have been arrested. But the kid got away with it because it was a chyyyyld.

I think teaching the kid consequences would have been more important then sparing a few tears.

[XCashier]

The thing is though, if it had been anybody else they would have been arrested. But the kid got away with it because it was a chyyyyld.

I think teaching the kid consequences would have been more important then sparing a few tears.

The child was three years old, and genuinely repentant. No need to traumatize her. Now if she did it again, or if she were an older kid, then yes, show her the consequences of her actions.

[LostMyMind]

The thing is though, if it had been anybody else they would have been arrested. But the kid got away with it because it was a chyyyyld.

3 year olds don't really understand "right" and "wrong" yet. They're still learning. 6 year olds are a different stories, those little (not calling your child a , just my nieces and nephews)

[Kyree]

...That gives me a flashback. My mother did the same thing to me when I was the same age...I tried to steal one of those bags of the "Tiny-bitz" gum. Apprantly I was crying my eyes out for about 10 minutes before I apologized. >.>; That was 18 years ago and I haven't stolen anything since.

[Bakerygirl]

The thing is though, if it had been anybody else they would have been arrested. But the kid got away with it because it was a chyyyyld.

I think teaching the kid consequences would have been more important then sparing a few tears.

So are you suggesting that a 3 year old be arrested?

[Ree]

When my daughter was little, we had just left a store, and we were a couple of blocks away from the store, when I looked down and saw her taking a necklace out of her pocket.

I asked her where she got it, but I knew. I explained that you don't take things from a store wihtout paying, and I marched her back to the store and made her give the necklace back to the clerk.

The clerk was very stern-faced as she took it back, and she said, "You won't do something like that again, will you?"

I was glad she didn't do that, "Oh, it's fine..." and get all gooey at how cute it was that the little kid didn't realize stuff had to be paid for, and was bringing the thing back.
I wanted my daughter to learn a lesson and she did.

I don't think that little girl got off lightly because she was "a chyyyyld."
The age of reason is considered to be seven years old and under.
There would have been no point in arresting that 3 year old child, as it would not have held up in court anyway.

Our courts are clogged enough with supposedly responsible adults who haven't even learned not to take things that don't belong to them and feel entitled to help themselves to a free lunch because the world has given them no handouts.

As far as I am concerned, that child received an age appropriate consequence for her actions.

She learned an important lesson, I think.

[Kiwi]

I have never shoplifted (strange every single other person I know did it as some stage as a child, I was too terrified of my mother to make her angry so I just didnt) My brother did.... whoa nelly was he sorry

We have had little kids dragged back into the craft store before, they mostly stole the glitter pompoms we had on display. We had one kid who had to take the money out of his piggy bank (instore) and gave us an "Im sorry I stole" letter, his mum even wrote the words below his to give him a guide.

I think for a three your old, facing up to strange adults is the perfect consqeuence for stealing. 5 years plus would have been a different story. Even then, 5 minutes mopping or sweeping at the store to work off the dept would be enough, with maybe no tv or video games that night. At 3 your just getting a handle on 'this is mine, this is not mine' concept.

WELL DONE to the parent !!!

[COMINATCHA]

When I was a baby, my mum had me in a pram as she went into a pharmacy. I grabbed a small round container that you can use to put pills in, and my mum didn't notice I had taken it until we got home.

She only told me about this the other day, cause she found the container at the back of her cupboard, and is now using it to put mints in

I was only a baby, I don't remember doing it, so I didn't intentionally do anything wrong I don't think...

[kibbles]

...the kid got away with it

Huh? She was a three year old girl and she never got away with it at all. I think the mother did a very good thing and it's something that some parent's don't even bother doing or teaching to their kids.

Kibbles

[RecoveringKinkoid]

The thing is though, if it had been anybody else they would have been arrested. But the kid got away with it because it was a chyyyyld.

I think teaching the kid consequences would have been more important then sparing a few tears.

Well, when you are three, having to face up to all these big, sternfaced, strange adults is pretty traumatic in and of itself. She was ashamed and crying. I'm a little confused about what more needed to be done. At that age, I would have rather have the skin flayed from my body than have a strange adult even looke disapprovingly at me. I found it completely mortifying.

I actually do remember being three. I have this weird, crystaline long term memory that allow me to retain foggy, vague memories from 2 years old, fairly sharp specific incidents at 3, and clear, detailed memories from 4 and up. Just don't ask me what I had for supper last night. I am pretty certain I was three when I first stole something. I remember exactly what it was...a plastic stump, presumably from a GI Joe set. I found it in a friend's backyard and pocketed it. My mother made me return it. And I remember what was in my mind. I remember sneaking it into my pocket on the sly...I don't know why I was sneaky, because up to that point, I don't recall being taught stealing was wrong. But my mother told me then that stealing was wrong and made me return it. I was like, "Okay, stealing=wrong. Got it."

I suffered absolutely no consequences other than the inconvenience of having to walk back to my friend's house and return the item. (note: my friend lived two doors down in a kid filled neighborhood. I walked all over the place, even at an incredibly young age. I guess those were different times) Even so, I never stole anything ever again. Looking back, my mom probably should have been harder on me...but she, and I, got lucky, and simply learning it was wrong was enough to keep me from doing it again.

[ArenaBoy]

First I have to go --->
I read somewhere that when Alfred Hitchcock was a child, his dad wrote something on a piece of paper, told him to give it to the police man there and sent him down there. When he presented the note to the policeman, he put him in a jail cell for 30 minutes, let him out and said this is what we do to bad boys. I think that is a good way to teach consequences. Anyway arresting a three year old doesn't make sense, if say 9 or 10 then it would.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

So are you suggesting that a 3 year old be arrested?

No. The child had to admit what she did to big, strange, unhappy adults, and they told her not to do it again. That's appropriate for a 3-year-old.

If she tries to steal again when she's older, those big, strange, unhappy adults aren't going to be so nice about it. Then it will be appropriate to have her arrested.