What To Do & Not To Do If Your Teen Is Caught Shoplifting
Monday May 14, 2007
Ok, you've gotten a call that every parent would dread. Your teenager has been picked up for shoplifting. This is 'one of those things' that you have always prayed wouldn't happen, but it has. Now you have to deal with it. Here are a few tips to help you get through this trying time.
I unfortunatly lived thru this experience with my 14 year old daughter. I am surprised that we did the majority of the suggestions here. One additional suggestion is to make your child fully pay for their consequences. I found out that this was not my teens first time shoplifting and we made her make piles from all of the other stores and then the following day I made her go into each and every store with the stole merchandise. I arranged for meetings with the security area or managers before we came and I made her tell each one of them why we were there, what she did and that she was now there to pay for the merchandise. Furthermore, once the items were paid for we then donated them to Amvets as there are other people around that are more deserving of these items.
I must tell you that each of the three stores that we visited that day did not know how to handle what I was trying to do. And that was just to make them whole (not that I’m crying for the Target’s of the world) but I felt it very necessary to make a point to show her how everyone pays for shoplifting!