Reasonable punishment for 8 year old stealing ?

Question

what is a reasonable punishment for an 8 year old stealing change from my coin jar after I told him not to touch it.....

Answer 1

OK im not an expert n im like only 16, however i do reli want to work with children when im older n i watch alot of show on how to look after children such as suppernanny.. ok any way it isn't easy to discipline children, however i belive that if you come down to your childs level and speek in a clear tone to them and tell them that this was a bad thing n you dont do it n take them to an empty room/ or any room n tell them why they are in there n tell them that they can come out after 8 minutes ... to their age ... e.g a 2 year old sould stay there for 2 minutes... your child for 8 as he/she is 8 and if they come out befor the time is up u simply keep putting them back without speaking to them this could last up to an hour or more but be patient it does work! and when they come out you start the 8 minutes from the begining even if they stay in the room for 7 minutes then decide to comeout ... you still need to put them back into the room and leave them their for another 8 minutes. When the 8 minutes is up go to your child n ask them to say their sorry .. ask this at their level go down to their level n say this in a ferm but gentle tone if they refuse be more frem withthem in your tone of voice. when they do say sorry explain once again why they were in the room/step or corner.

also i belive that it is a good idea to do an award programm this will help your child have the responsability of when he/she can have their award for example if the award programm is a chart and when the child does something good or right they can have say a star on their chart and if they get say 10 stars they get a bigger treat and if they missbehave they lose a star .. this means that your child will no if they missbehave they will lose a star. The idea of this will encorage your children to behave.

i hope all this has made sence to you as im only 16 it is difficult to explain myself :) im sorry for the long paragraphs

however i do hope that they help. And sorry for any miss spellings.

xx abb xx  

Answer 2

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you follow it. If you tell your child that they are going to get a ceartin punishment at a ceartin time... it is vitally important that you follow through.... I  would suggest finding out what the child values  and making that unavalable to him.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure that the consequences are unpleasent enough to get your point across... clearly and finally... stealing is serious, best he learns this now.

Answer 3

That he can't have his allowance next week.

If he doesn't have one maybe you should begin, obviously he feels the need to have money, you don't want him stealing it.

Answer 4

Ground him for the weekend. No friends, no movies; but instead give him some simple chorse (fold the laundry, clean the kitchen, etc).

Then have him write a paragraph about why it is not good to steal.

Other than that, go easy. These are great opportunities for "life lessons", but don't go too crazy.

Answer 5

I think you could either 'steal' something of his for a few days (computer, ipod etc) or make him do some chores around the house to 'earn' what he has stolen.  Either way, he should realise that he needs to do as you ask and that nothing comes for free.  We have a change jar too and it took awhile for the kids to realise that, as they weren't contributing to it,  it wasn't their's to use.

Answer 6

I would say to maybe take away a privilege for a short time.  Did he say why he took it?  Once this has blown over, maybe start a jar of his own.  It'll make him think how he'd feel if someone took from his then.

Answer 7

Take him to the police station and the the cops explain to him what could happen to him when he steals things.  

Answer 8

a week grounding.  

Answer 9

I would probably say a week's grounding plus two week's loss of pocket money, depending of course on how much pocket money you give him and how much he goes out. If he doesn't go out much, replace this with a week's loss of PC or games console use.

Whatever punishment you set, you must stick to it. If you don't, he'll begin to see you as a push over and that you never carry through with your punishments. As a result, he will continue to misbehave.

Answer 10

Laurene and mrs culling answer If combined will help.Ask the police to lock him up for one hour and leave him there in the cell alone for that hour.

Answer 11

Why does  he have access to your things to begin with?  If it is YOUR change jar why isn't it in YOUR room?  If it is in your room why does he have access to your bedroom?

Answer 12

sit him in a room by himself. Unplug the TV and make him sit thinking about what he did. Then about an hour later come in and explain to him the bad choice he made. And he will apologize.

Answer 13

take down his pants ands give him a good old fashioned

spanking..  bet he won't steal again!

Answer 14

i dont think you should punish him just give him a real long lecture on how its wrong and give him a warning

Answer 15

doing chores to pay back the money stolen

if it continues then having things taken away

Answer 16

Take him to the police station and have them give him a tour of what happens when you come to jail, and have them explain to him that stealing (even from a change jar) is not right and is a crime.  Then I would make him either give the money back or make him do chores to repay it back.

Answer 17

TAKE SOMETHING AWAY FROM HIM UNTIL HE GETS UPSET THEN SAY HOW DO U THINK THE PERSON FELT WHEN YOU STOLE :(

Answer 18

what does he enjoy the most?  sweets? video games?  whatever is it, take them away for 3 days?  That should get the point across without being too harsh.

Answer 19

seriously, talking to an 8 year old who is already taking money out of a change jar is NOT going to change a thing.  He should repay you what he took. whether you set and monetary amount on chores or however you choose to handle that.  You can also work with your local police force by taking him to the station and they can walk him through an arrest, putting cuffs on him etc. so that he knows what to expect from society when he gets caught taking things that aren't his...if that doesn't work, Yes, I'm going to say it, SPANK HIS BOTTOM.  We all got spanked and look we're not crazy, the crazy ones are the ones whose parents let them do whatever and never punished them.

Answer 20

If they get allowance, take that away for one week. If not restrict them from doing something they enjoy like going to a friends house, playing a video game or watching tv.

Although this incident may not seem like that big of a deal.....stealing is ALWAYS a serious issue.  You need to nip it in the bud cuz if significant punishment is not given, you may find yourself getting called to the front of Walmart when your kid is 15 and attempts to steal something in there.

Answer 21

I hve twin 9 year olds. When my daughter took a toy from the store by accident(really was she was 5 and forgot she had it on her wrist) I took her back in the store and made her talk to the owner. Now if she stole change from me or if he did what I would do was make her pay it back. If she has a piggy bank deduct from there If she does not get money for chores or have any of her own. then take one of her favorite toys. I dont know how far you want to go go BUT if she has a Fave toy or something she LOVES and cant live without Such as a blankey or stuffed toy "steal it from her" Then when she asks about it explain to her that the way she was feeling about it is how you feel when she steals from you.Also make sure you let her know that stealing is wrong and she cana nd will go to jail .. Good luck  

Answer 22

No television for a week is a good punishment for this age.  Help the child realize the value of money by working for the money to pay you back.  Maybe pulling weeds.  Help the child realize that stealing hurts someone else.