How would y’all momma’s go about disciplining a 6 year old for stealing money from your wallet? He already had a few dollars of his own in his wallet that I give him so he can get an snack or something at lunch but he stole over 40 dollars from my wallet, I already went to the school and had him bring me his wallet and got the money back before he spent it, so I’m just wondering what an appropriate punishment is? Part of me feels bad cause he said he wanted to buy a toy with it but I told him that it’s not okay to steal and that’s not how he gets toys… he knows that he needs to work hard at school and focus to get rewards. He also has ADHD the hyperactive impulsive kind and is on medication for it and I know that with his ADHD he does things he isn’t supposed to do without regard to the consequences. He is my oldest child so I haven’t gone through this before TIA!
Make him do chores to earn money , don’t just give it to him. Then when he earns some take it from him ( I’d give it back after the point ) and explain that’s how stealing feels when it’s taken from you and you worked for it
Make him work off the time it took you to go up there and the gas to drive.
Pick weeds. Scrub grout. Something he can do but if it’s not perfect it’s ok.
honestly behavioral therapy- not only is it good for the kid but also great for parents. my child has adhd and the therapist has given us alot of tools to work with consequences for an adhd child as literally their brain works differently. So punishments need to work differently-
How much is the toy? Tell him the better way is to earn it and set a goal with him. Give him jobs like sweeping the garage, emptying the dishwasher, that are quick but earn money. After each earning, let him decide to stop or keep earning so he feels the value of money earned for the toy.
Make a list of things he can do with a dollar value next to it. Maybe instead of just punishing him give him the opportunity to earn the money. I know others are saying something similar. Also like you can only earn this money if your normal chores are also done such as your room being clean. Explain how your money is literally hours of your life because you get paid by the hour to do a job make sure he understands that you don’t just have money you have to earn it too. Also, ask why he stole it’s important for you to understand why his little brain worked that way.
Take his stuff. Also ground him I’d say minimum 3 days. Also if he can write he should write “I will not steal” at least 100 times
Explain how you had to work to get the money that the family needs to buy groceries, things that he needs, a place to live, clothes…etc… and that taking anything from someone else is wrong, how would he feel if someone took his toys? Relate the incident in words he understands: cookies, toys, food he likes. He will get it! Having a bit of guilt actually is healthy for them so they learn not to do it again. (Momma is sad or disappointed that he would do that) Taking away a fun activity, or snack or toy for a few hours will be like a time-out with from his favs. Explain why in terms he can understand.
This is a behavior that I would nip in the butt now when they are younger. I would definitely make a big deal out of it because him having adhd is only a excuse for so long.
My daughter with adhd was 7 when she stole money from my mom, we had her give it back, she got a talking to, also less unsupervised time. But sadly she has continued similar behaviors. I wish I had done more then.
Under the circumstances…Would be wise …no longer keep your wallet credit cards etc…accessible…Lock them up safely. Not worth taking a chance for him to repeat…PLEASE as one person comment…His condition is no excuse…DONT fall.into that one.Good Luck.
Just let him know what he does is wrong and he does not steal , and if he steals from the wrong person , someday he can go to jail . And it’s never ok to take without asking
I stole from my mother and she beat my ass. Never did it again.
Honestly punishment isn’t always the way to go. Disipline him by telling him stealing is wrong. I take a picture or screenshot of the toy they want & put it in their “wishlist album” on my phone. Validating their desire seems to help with the impulsivity to get it, no matter what it takes. I also talk about how expensive things, that food, house payment, clothes, school costs etc need to come before toys. I’ll also say “you have so many toys there’s no room for that. Let’s find toys you don’t play with to sell to get the money for this toy”. I feel it’s a combination of disciplines, teaching that helps them learn to think more about what they’re doing than just punishing that will prevent situations. Punishing basically teaches not to get caught. I had 1 (who isn’t ADHD) who was very sneaky. He stole money for a few months & “found” it on walks. At first I thought he was really lucky. Then I started suspecting but couldn’t prove it. So I put little marks on all my bills. I’d circle the number or a letter or color in an eye. When he “found” money I knew it was mine. Then there were punishments. He wasn’t being impulsive, he had complete control of his actions, enough to think them through & plan a perfect way to explain how he had money. The punishments made it worse though.
ADHD isn’t an excuse to steal. No matter how old you are
If you want to really scare him,you need to go to local police station and have them talk to him.
I’d have him work for four hours and earn $40
My son has similar diagnosis, I have dealt with this already, and I personally did time out, (it didn’t happen on a school day) but once he’s home definitely sit down and talk with him part of the problem that comes with disciplining those kind of diagnosis is they don’t always understand why they’re being punished, if the punishment is hours after it happened,
Id sit down and let him know with your Wallet and the money on the table so hes reminded of the wrong that stealing is wrong and moms purse is something off limits to everyone but Mom. Ask him to put that money back in your wallet again reminding him hands off and maybe an early bedtime tonight. Tomm is a new day and that is that hopefully it doesn’t happen again
I think you did a great job already with him . What kinda punishment did you have in mind .
1st of all coming from a momma that raised a child with ADHD,. You don’t make excuses because of ADHD, he knows right from wrong, ADHD kids are very bright2
You spank his ass and take his things away