It seems like every day the numbers of robberies are increasing with no end in sight. There are several reasons that teens decide to start stealing. Most teenagers will give bland answers to why they stole, such as “I don’t know” or “ I was bored”. It can be kind of shocking for parents and guardians to hear this type on nonsensical logic. If you want to try and counter your teens theft and stealing addiction, it’s more than logic that’s needed, you need to know how to fight the rush that’s caused by stealing.
One of the largest factors when a teen steals from a store for the first time is peer pressure. Not just by friends urging him/her to steal, but also by the pressure of having all the best clothes, the top name brands and anything else to feel "cool".
Teens compete everyday with who has the best music player, cell phone, or the best and most expensive pair of shoes. When the competition gets to be too much for some teens, they can turn to stealing to compete with their peers. It has little to do with being bored, or not knowing why. Teens as a whole have to keep with a status quo that many people may never experience again in their life. Stealing can easily be the result.
Resolving this behavior before it is too late is essential for making sure your teens future can be bright and productive, and not dark and locked up. By not making excuses for their child’s actions it will show him or her that they have to be personally responsible for their own actions and they will be forced to face the consequences for what they do.
That’s not to say you can’t show sympathy for what they are going through and show the belief that they can overcome this mistake in their life. It may be cliché, but when a teen knows that their parents can still believe in them, it can inspire them to not repeat those same mistakes and perhaps even strive to be a better person on a daily basis. It may be shocking to know that California leads the pack for shoplifting crimes.
If this type of behavior is not faced and resolved in their teen years, it may carry over into their adult life and do more harm than just get their parents told on them. Facing your teens theft and stealing problems will keep you child from adding to the teen theft statistics that are on the rise daily.
If you think your teen has been involved in theft or stealing, there are certain things to look for. Does your teen have new clothing that you didn’t buy them? Or new mp3 players, video games or even music CD’s? If they do, they may be stealing from local stores. If your teen admits to stealing, getting furious and laying down a strict punishement isn’t going to deter their desire to steal. The best option is to get them enrolled in a theft and shoplifting education class online. That way he or she doesn’t have to leave the house to take it, and that way no one has to know unless he or she tells them.
