This past weekend, Chicago Police arrested five teenage girls from shoplifting at Walgreens drug store. They reportedly stole make-up and iced tea. Police officers happened to be on the scene immediately because they were parked around the block responding to a separate theft that occurred at another store. This bad luck for the teenagers involved will teach them a life lesson.
According to shopliftingprevention.org, out of the 27 million shoplifters in the nation, 25% are kids. That implies that 6.75 million children in the country today are stealing from stores. And, these numbers only reflect the cases in which offenders are getting caught! The question is why are so many adolescents involved in criminal activity?
Studies show that the most common reason among young teenagers for stealing is peer pressure. In evidence of this, shopliftingprevention.com states that 89% of kids know other kids who shoplift and 66% of the kids hang out with those kids. In this particular Chicago case, it is most likely that not all 5 of the teenagers were excited about the prospect of stealing, but they went along with it to fit in with their friends.
Another common reason for stealing in teens is a lack of self-control. The child may be well aware that stealing is wrong but he just cannot control himself. Furthermore, stealing is a huge attention getter. In many cases, children whose basic needs are not being met or who lack emotional support from their parents resort to stealing to fill the void.
If you find out that your child is stealing, the very first thing a parent should do is to remain calm and collected. Next, the parent should discuss the implications of what the child has done. How has this affected the shop-owner? Discuss empathy with your child and how their actions have affected those around them. Aside from the legal repercussions, insist that your child directly apologize to the owners and explain to them how they understand what they did is wrong. Have your child write it down as well in a follow-up letter of apology to everyone negatively affected by the situation.
As parents, what can we do to avoid or stop this poor judgment? Open communication is extremely important. The child must be able to talk about his actions with his parents in a calm, serious environment. Most likely the court will mandate that some type of behavioral modification class be taken. To help guide your discussions at home, taking an online theft class is extremely beneficial. These classes can be taken together as a family in your own living room, in front of the computer. They will help improve the child’s thinking and behavior by discussing the impact of their behavior on society, reviewing why individuals steal, talk about empathy and how to deal with and stop these tendencies. One of the most important personality traits that needs to be instilled is the confidence to overcome peer pressure and walk away from the type of situation that the 5 teens in Chicago found themselves in. Give your teenager the tools she needs to be able to avert this type of peer pressure. An online class with a length of 4 to 16 hours, depending on your needs, can easily be purchased today.
