A Lesson in Honesty
Was at Walmart buying some craft supplies and cat food the other day. While in line at the checkout I notice that they had chap sticks and needing a new one I picked one out. My daughters were both with me and my oldest asked if she could get a new one too. Since she just got a new one not long ago I told her no as she didn't need it and then continued checking out and headed home.
At home my daughter left her little play purse in the kitchen and her little coin purse on the counter so I picked them up and went to put the little coin purse inside of her play purse as I called for her to come and put the items away where they belonged but I noticed something in the bottom of her play purse- A brand new stick of chap stick and not the same flavor as the one I had gotten for myself so I knew it was not mine.
She stole it!!!
I was LIVID! I showed it to my husband who was also very upset.
Our #1 rule in our house is to ALWAYS tell the truth and this was a big act of dishonesty. I went upstairs with the chap stick and did the pissed off parent thing and yelled at her asking her where she got it and after she admitted to taking it from the store I continued on my rant about how stealing is wrong, its a form of lying, how would she like it if someone took her stuff and how thieves go to jail, etc.... I also grounded her for a month, no play-dates, no video games, no Netflix, no Pokemon in any form (toys, games, books, cartoons, etc... as that is a big deal for her). She balled when I told her stealing was a form of lying....
I was ready to take her back to the store and apologize and pay for it with money out of her own piggy bank until my husband told me this horrible story he read about where a parent tried to do the right thing and make their child apologize and pay for the item and the store called the cops on the child and held him in custody for 6 hours.... I did not want to deal with something ignorant like that so I made her write a note instead apologizing and including money to pay for the chap stick. To top of the situation we used one of those "Forever" stamps- you know the ones with the US flag on it and says things like "Equality Forever", "Freedom Forever", etc... Well hers said "Justice Forever" -very fitting....
At home my daughter left her little play purse in the kitchen and her little coin purse on the counter so I picked them up and went to put the little coin purse inside of her play purse as I called for her to come and put the items away where they belonged but I noticed something in the bottom of her play purse- A brand new stick of chap stick and not the same flavor as the one I had gotten for myself so I knew it was not mine.
She stole it!!!
I was LIVID! I showed it to my husband who was also very upset.
Our #1 rule in our house is to ALWAYS tell the truth and this was a big act of dishonesty. I went upstairs with the chap stick and did the pissed off parent thing and yelled at her asking her where she got it and after she admitted to taking it from the store I continued on my rant about how stealing is wrong, its a form of lying, how would she like it if someone took her stuff and how thieves go to jail, etc.... I also grounded her for a month, no play-dates, no video games, no Netflix, no Pokemon in any form (toys, games, books, cartoons, etc... as that is a big deal for her). She balled when I told her stealing was a form of lying....
I was ready to take her back to the store and apologize and pay for it with money out of her own piggy bank until my husband told me this horrible story he read about where a parent tried to do the right thing and make their child apologize and pay for the item and the store called the cops on the child and held him in custody for 6 hours.... I did not want to deal with something ignorant like that so I made her write a note instead apologizing and including money to pay for the chap stick. To top of the situation we used one of those "Forever" stamps- you know the ones with the US flag on it and says things like "Equality Forever", "Freedom Forever", etc... Well hers said "Justice Forever" -very fitting....
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