My child was (kind of) an SC!

[KabeRinnaul]

Forensic has a good point - most of the time it's not that kids don't understand stealing is wrong, it's that they don't even know they're stealing because they don't understand how money works. Granted, by about age 5 that should be cleared up, but prior to that...

And I still recall not understanding money when I was a kid. I, too, grabbed candy off the shelf without saying anything (in my case, a pack of M&Ms) and started opening it in the car. And yeah, we turned around and I was marched back in and made to apologize and return it. I even still remember why I did it.

1. Grabbed it cause... I didn't know the cashier had to know about it and charge us. I figured it was all up to mom. Most kids see their parents as all-powerful.
2. Hid it cause... I decided mom was just being mean by not getting it for me.
3. Opened it in the car cause... The idea that it wasn't mine once I got it out of the store never occurred to me.

I also recall another moment at the same store, where I managed to display my lack of understanding more harmlessly. After watching the cashier give my mom her change, I looked up at her and said, "Don't you like it when they're nice and just give your money back?"

[Ree]

I had a similar thing happen with my daughter when she was little, and I handled it exactly as you did.

[powerboy]

please be nice

We are always nice. Just have to watch out for Raps and his hairy man-boobs Raps, I just had too

[Ree]

We are always nice.

Yeah, if you spend any amount of time here, you will see that this place is not like other forums out there.

We do not allow the nastiness and heckling that other forums do. Our members treat each other with respect. I think it's because we get enough crap from our customers, so we know what it's like.

to the site.

[walking with scissors]

You did fine. And your son is only two. Even if you do tell him what to do or not do, he's going to act like a two year old, and sometimes they just take what they want! But what's important is that you paid attention to him, told him that stealing was wrong and took him back to the store and did the right thing.

[LezbianPeon]

Well Done!! You handled that perfectly & I can tell you from experience because my mother did the same exact thing to me when I was about your son's age. It was a pack of gum & my mother didn't yell at me, the whole lesson was learned from having to apologize & return the pack of gum to the manager. The greatest thing is your son will probably teach his children the same way. :-)

[corporateslave]

Is there anything else I could have done to make it better or do you think I handled it the best I could?

No, you handled that really well.
I'd hardly call your son an SC, though. Just a child who now knows about taking things from stores.

[AlmightyALT]

Bravo! ::claps:: Well played ma'am! Well played!

[PizzaDrone]

Kids pick up things...its what they do. They like to explore/have treats/etc. You handled it brilliantly as everyone else has said.

Off-topic slightly, my friend's 2 year old son has a habit of picking up whatever he fancies the look of. She's had trouble in supermarkets and also in other people's homes where he'll see something and put it in his mother's bag. Obviously, because everything he wants/needs when they're out and about comes from there. He's learning very slowly, with much of his mother's embarrassment of taking all these things back.

[Jacen]

thanked me for bringing it back (would parents really NOT bring it back?

Ask yourself this, then go out and look at all the CS stories on these forums.

I think you did a fab job and the store reacted perfectly to your honesty... Hopefully your kids will learn from this

[Gabrielle Proctor]

Perfecto!

[Barefootgirl]

There was nothing sucky about what your son did. He's a child, he doesn't know how to behave unless he's told. As you now know, you behaved like a decent and responsible parent by taking the candy away from him and taking it back to the shop.

No suckiness here !

[casey13]

Two girls stole the WebKinz tags out of the WebKinz. The mother brought the kids back and asked the manager to scare them. He yelled at them and made them cry.

[Shironu-Akaineko]

Yea...like that girl learned a damn thing.

Yeah she did!
She learned to be sneakier!

If I don't get caught I don't get hit!

If the mother had acted like the OP (which handled the situation marvelously, I might add) the girl would have understood as to why she shouldn't steal. Now she just knows she needs to be sneakier.

[mariamousie1]

Happy to know there are still some good parents around.