Methods of treating the problem of theft in children

Develop the child's concept of ownership

Young children do not understand the concept of ownership until they reach the age of two, and between two and four years the child is able to identify the concept of ownership in a simple way, so that he can realize that a certain game belongs to another person, but he does not realize that that game is not his either, and he can Reinforcing the concept of possessiveness by including it in everyday sentences and phrases; For example, it can be said, “This toy belongs to Muhammad, but this bear belongs to you” and the question “Whose shoes are these for?” It is indicated that simply giving the parents the disputed thing to its real owner does not fully develop the child’s concept of ownership until the age of four, and it must be reinforced By the aforementioned sentences, and they can also be reinforced by using wishful thinking; When the father finds a toy in his child's bag that is not his, he can tell him, "You wanted this toy to be yours... but now you have to tell me who is this toy really for?"

Tell the child that the behavior is wrong

Children can be told that theft is wrong behavior by telling them that taking something without asking for it or paying its value causes harm to another person, then returning the stolen thing to its original place by the child himself and apologizing to whoever took that thing from him, whether his colleague or the store; If the child is of school age, and despite that, he does not feel that he has committed wrong behavior, the help of specialists can be requested, and on the other hand, the use of some means of punishment contributes to teaching the child that theft is wrong behavior, and for example: if the child steals the money of one of the parents, he can be paid To pay back the money he took, or to do extra housework.

Other ways to treat theft

Other methods may be used to treat stealing, such as:

• Use of rejection: so that the parents show that they are disturbed by the behavior and do not agree with it.
• Talk to the child: This is to find out the motive for the theft, and the conversation should be far from scolding, ridiculing or intimidating.
• Monitoring: Tell the child that his behavior is now being monitored, and that he has lost a little bit of confidence, and he must work to regain it.