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how can stop my 7yr old granddaugther form stealing form school and home?

how can i stop my 7yr old granddaugther from stealing?she have stealing and now she is stealing form home she steals form her-self. what i do?

Question applies to ages: 7

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avatarElizabeth.Johns
# of Thumbs Up Received (76)		 I think you might need to work with a therapist who specializes in children's issues to find out why your granddaughter is stealing. I don't think stealing is a common behavior among 7 year olds, at least not on the level you are describing.

I don't know your family situation, but I'm taking a guess that since you are asking about your grandchild, she is living with you and not with her mother or father. That kind of upheaval in her life may have left her with a lot of insecurity and feeling that things in her life are not permanent, or that things don't really belong to her. Maybe she is stealing out of a sense that the object might go away, so she'd better take it to be sure that she has it.

Of course, at 7, she may not have the ability to realize that is what she is doing, or be able to articulate the "why" of her behavior. That's where a child therapist can help. They are specially trained to help kids figure out what is happening in kids' heads.

You can ask your granddaughter's pediatrician for a referral to a behavioral health provider, or call your community mental health services organization for a referral.

In the meantime, you should explain to the child why stealing is wrong, take her to return the items she has swiped, but I wouldn't be overly punitive, because she probably has no idea of the severity of what she has done. Make sure, too, that she has what she needs to feel safe and secure and that she has some things that are hers to keep, so that she doesn't need to steal.

References:
mom of four
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avatarBryan.EduGuide
# of Thumbs Up Received (20)		 Natural consequences may help your granddaughter understand how stealing will end up hurting her in the long run.

For instance, when our kids do anything dishonest, I tell them that they've lost our trust and with less trust they get less freedom. That means consequences like losing time with friends or not being able to play outside our supervision.

The trick is to getting them focused on earning trust, so that they won't want to lose it again. So I try to have a one or two things they can do right away to start earning trust: like showing responsability by completing a chore. And I praise them when they succeed and let them know that every time they do things like that they're earning more trust that will mean more freedom in the future.
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