Q I have sole charge of two girls, aged three and five. Their parents frequently work abroad. The girls are used to this and seem to take it in their stride. However, recently they were away for two weeks, and I found the five-year-old was taking money from the car parking tin in the car and hiding it in her shoe. She stopped when her parents returned, but now she is stealing things like sweets and biscuits. She sobs bitterly when she is discovered but continues to steal. How can I stop her?
A Most children steal on one or more occasion, but continual or persistent stealing needs to be taken seriously. Children have very limited ways of letting adults know when they are worried, and when they haven't got the necessary language they use behaviour as a way of talking to adults.
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