Taking things

[Lucy88]

Hi

Just wanted a bit of advice about my friends son. She is not sure how to handle the problem she has, so I said I would post on here for her.

Over the last 6 months her DS (he is 4.5) has started taking things without asking. He will put things in his pocket from school and bring them home (bricks, keys, stickers etc), he does this at other peoples houses too on a regular basis. If he see's something he fancies, he will just take it. She has asked him why and he just responds with 'Because I wanted it'.

She has explained to him that it is wrong and it is stealing and he shouldn't do it, but he continues to do it.

Any advice?

Cheers

Does she impose any punishment? I would say he needs some consequences more than just explaining it ain't great. Explaining is step one but persistently doing it once he knows she doesn't want him to needs more... has she done anything else?

i had this with my dd1, we did all the explaining that it is stealing and how he would feel if someone took his things to no avail, the best and only way i found to stop this from happening is every time he took something i made him take it back and apologise to whom he took it from hth x

Thanks for your responses - sorry its taken me so long to get back on this thread.

No, my friend does not have any consequences in place, she just tells him it is naughty.

I frisk him before he leaves my house lol.

I have suggested that a consequnce of stealing is that he has to take the item back and apologise and then he has a favourite toy taken away for a week each time he does it.

What do others think?