my mum did this to me when I was 5, I stole a Oxo cube of all things! I was caught because the real dastardly part of the crime was I crumpled it up in my little Brothers bed so when he got in, it all stuck to him, my major mistake was my Mum didn't buy oxo cubes, Oh! and crumpling it up in my brothers bed.
My Mum knew it was me, I couldn't work out how, was she Miss Marple? no! why would my brother crumple a oxo cube in his own bed! I worked that mystery out when I was about 27!
I remember walking up and down the parade of shops until the butchers was finally free of other customers, My Mum told me it was because she didn't want the whole world to know she had a thief for a daughter.
she made me tell the butcher what I had down and that I would pay for it out of my pocket money, he charged me 2p which was my weeks pocket money, my Mum was not happy with this as a packet cost 24 p but he argued he sold them separately hence the one sitting lonely on the shelf shouting to me.
I was so ashamed that when I hit secondary and petty thieving was all the rage, I steered clear, and I never told anybody about it until I was in my mid 30's, the feelings I had as a child of disappointing my Mum and the nice butcher make me realise the implications of my actions, the first time I told anybody I suddenly realised how actually it was wrong but not shameful and how it had helped me realise the consequences at an age I would not end up in a cell.
I think you did exactly the right thing as I never thought about it unless I was in a situation where I needed to draw on the lesson, like at 19 when a boyfriend stole a book from a shop, he was about 24 and I was mortified and not impressed at all, I think he though, I would think he was daring, I was not impressed and made him put it back and stormed off...reader I would like to say that learned him, but he stole it anyway after I left.
but I could not shake the thought he was a tosser after that as not only did I learn stealing was wrong but it is not victimless as I had to tell the person I affected.
interestingly a couple of months ago I along with my Dt's 8 witness 3 young children from about 7 to 10 being told off in a WHSmiths, my dt's wanted to know what was happening, so a good teaching point for them, but I couldn't help thinking the children should not have had to stand in front of gorping people like us, I wasn't iyfwim, but it was impossible not to look as the manager made such a production of it to the point, we looked at books in the children's section, paid and came back past him still telling them the evils of their crime.