Sometimes, a child may steal as a show of bravery to friends, or to give presents to family or friends or to be more accepted by peers. Children may also steal because they might not want to depend on anyone, so they take what they feel they need.
Emotional problems, peer pressure, low self-esteem, bullying, or neglect could prompt a child to act out and steal. Research has shown that children who lie and steal may have underlying conditions such as conduct disorder, ODD, or an emerging personality disorder.
Children who frequently steal tend to exhibit the following characteristics: impulsivity, loneliness, detachment, insensitivity, boredom, anger and low self-esteem. They often have difficulty trusting others and forming close relationships.
Lying and stealing are common, but inappropriate, behaviors in school-aged children. While some severe forms of these behaviors can indicate a more serious psychological problem, most of the time it is simply a common behavior that will be outgrown.
Stealing may cause the release of dopamine — another neurotransmitter. Dopamine causes pleasurable feelings, and some people seek this rewarding feeling again and again. The brain's opioid system. Urges are regulated by the brain's opioid system.
Stealing may be born out of a place of fear. This fear can cause a child's brain to be triggered into survival mode. Their brain is telling them “you're not safe, get what you need to be safe.” Anxiety or Lack of Impulse Control: Sometimes stealing can be an external response to an internal issue.
Kleptomania is frequently thought of as being a part of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), since the irresistible and uncontrollable actions are similar to the frequently excessive, unnecessary, and unwanted rituals of OCD. Some individuals with kleptomania demonstrate hoarding symptoms that resemble those with OCD.
There are a number of reasons why a teen may be stealing including fitting in, attention or they feel they need an item that they know parents may not buy them. Teen who are lying could be because they do not want to get into trouble, to protect themselves or to avoid a conversation with their parents.
Many kids will resort to stealing as a response to this phenomenon. Sometimes kids even steal for the sense of excitement it gives them, or do it under peer pressure. A big part of the problem is that our society's message is completely absent of a strongly objective morality.
Psychoanalytic theories link compulsive stealing to childhood trauma and neglectful or abusive parents, and stealing may symbolize repossessing the losses of childhood.
After facing neglect or trauma, a child may steal to gain a sense of control over their surroundings. After having experienced a lack of control in their early years, children may seek control to feel safe. Stealing can also be a survival mechanism.
Learned Behavior
Children may have been taught to steal either directly or by the example of parents or other significant adults. They may continue this behavior because they think it pleases those for whom they are stealing or because they do not know any other way of meeting their own needs.
Frame the consequence, such as loss of screen time, as the result of the choice a child made, so that they connect their actions to this negative outcome, says Dr. Lavin. An older child may have to do extra chores to earn money to pay someone back for stolen goods.
An appropriate negative consequence for an infraction like stealing is closer monitoring and never being out of an adult's sight. She must ask permission to go into another room, and she must report her whereabouts frequently.
In Psychotherapy Networker, Terrence Daryl Shulman, the author and founder of the Shulman Center for Compulsive Theft, Spending and Hoarding, wrote: “Most people who resort to stealing are actually 'crying for help. ' There's something amiss, wrong, unresolved, absent.”
Based on the ethical dilemma, it is morally right to save life compared to letting the individual die. Stealing is universally immoral but a necessary evil when it comes to a situation of life and death. The choice of stealing a loaf of bread is less expensive than losing someone's life.
You should not punish or corner your child when they're caught in a lie. This can lead to more serious lies or resentment. Instead, remain calm and explain to them why lying is wrong. You can also provide them with facts.
Young children's sneakiness can be attributed to wanting something that is missing or forbidden, an urge they have that can't be satisfied. Their wishes are very strong at this young age; having those wishes denied results in angry feelings.
If you feel your teen is lying often and for no reason at all, they may be struggling with a mental health issue. Mental health disorders are usually the most common cause of pathological lying, otherwise known as mythomania. Pathological lying is often a symptom of: Borderline personality disorder.
A person with kleptomania typically begins showing symptoms in their late teens or early adult years. The average onset age of kleptomania is 17 years old, but about one-third of people diagnosed with kleptomania report that they started showing symptoms of the disorder as children, some as young as five years old.
Shoplifting and Depression
Shoplifting is oftentimes due to depression. Many scholarly studies have linked depression and other mental issues and shoplifting.
Many people with OCD experience extreme guilt. Certain symptoms can trigger this feeling, such as having sexual or violent thoughts or believing that you are responsible for causing harm to others.
If you are found guilty of a theft crime, the conviction could result in many consequences, including fines, incarceration, probation, and a criminal record. Furthermore, a criminal record could have serious repercussions that affect the rest of your life.