6 year old ds is stealing from me

[flashingnose]

If there's a plate of biscuits or sweets out, my ds has always taken far more than his share - he's greedy. However this has now progressed into stealing - I can't leave any sweets out in the house. I confronted him this morning about the latest (he's very bad at hiding the evidence)and he's completely unconconcerned.

What on earth do I do? I'm very worried that whilst he's taking sweets now, it could easily be money or worse in the future.

bump

I cant really see this as stealing as you are putting temptation in his way by having sweets on display then telling him he musnt touch. My 5 year old is much the same. He loves his grub and the only food I have within his reach is a bowl of fruit. It would be complete folly to have a bowl of sweets on display then expect him not to take one. If you dont want him to take them then remove them out of temptations way.

agree trifle

Sorry, didn't explain properly. When I said "out" I meant not hidden away in a cupboard. It was half a pack of fruit pastilles on the spice rack in the kitchen. There is no way on earth that I could ever have a bowl of sweets on display (and wouldn't either, for the reasons you say).

whereabouts in the house do you leave these sweets, flashingnose? are they easy for your ds to reach? We keep sweets in the house, but I know if they were in easy reach my sons would dig in.

We keep a treats collection on high shelf in a kitchen cupboard. My sons like to have a peep sometimes, and might snaffle a small sweet but soon learned they would be told off if they took more.

They are more likely to 'steal' biscuits and crips or raid the fridge for yoghurt. As these are all less sweetlike, the distinction is blurred. I try and hide them away and also limit how much we have in the house. My sons know I have counted what we do have, so any huge losses will be missed and they will be told off. Still, it's a fine line. My sons know I don't usually mind if they help themselves to the odd piece of bread or lump of cheese, so nothing is set in stone.

So far, I haven't seen my sons steal any money etc even though the oldest has been helping himself to grub for 5 years or more.

Thanks TM, it sounds like I'm expecting him to have a lot more self-control than perhaps is appropriate for his age. The sneakiness and low-level pilfering is a fairly new development (but he's always been greedy). Do you think I shouldn't punish him for it?

Hlaf a pack of fruit pastilles on the spice rack sounds fair game to me!!

The trouble is miranda, it's the latest in a long line of petty little thefts, which is why I'm concerned.

I'd tell off my sons for taking half a packet of sweets that weren't theirs. So yes, say something( bet you have already, though )

If you really want to ram the message home, you could ban him from having dessert tonight or make him buy a packet of sweets for you from his pocket money.

I think you should tell him that you will be keeping sweets even more out of his way from now on, but if he *ever" sees sweets lying around, he is not to take them unless he asks you first, otherwise next time he faces a big punishment.

Thank you TM, that sounds sensible. I might have said something already.... - poor child has gone to school with quite a few fleas in his ears!

If my two take sweets without asking, then the rest of the sweets go in the bin!!!No chances - so then they both lose out if one of them is thieving... It works - bit wasteful I know, but it doesn't happen often....