Sent my 13 year old son to the shop last night to buy a loaf of bread and gave him a tenner. He came back with the bread and said I bought some Pringles, he didn’t ask just helped himself. I went a bit bonkers and asked him when he’d be stealing from me next but the wife says I’m being overly strict. Personally I believe taking money without asking is a shitty thing to do and I’m sticking to my guns. I know it’s only a couple of quid but….My mum would have gone bananas if I’d just spent the change. Thoughts?/Advice, is this nothing and I’m just old fashioned??

My dad would have done the same when I was a kid.

I can understand your wife thinking you went overboard but it’s a matter of basic manners and decency, Something a lot of kids seem to lack these days.

Good on you for trying to bring him up the right way I say.

I don’t have children but am in my 20s (so it’s not a million years since I was your sons age!!) and I would have got a bollocking if I’d helped myself too.

At the same time a very small reward for him doing a job would be fair?

In principle you are right but I wouldn’t have…

a) gone bonkers
b) accused him of stealing

There’s better ways of making your point.

No need to go bonkers. Explain to the boy that he’s effectively taken out a pay day loan at approx 5000%, interest is calculated daily of course. Then offset the pringles loan against his pocket money. Let him choose how much he wants to pay back, He’ll probably take the minimum amount of say 5p per week. Then when christmas comes around you can withhold all his presents as payment for the now outstanding loan which has grown to a couple of hundred quid.

There you go punishment and economics lesson in one.

That’s 13yr olds for you.

My daughter generally asks, but it’s not unknown for her to treat herself.

Certainly wouldn’t have gone down the bonkers/thieving route.

If he’s scoffed them before his meal, then a stern word – then maybe suggest he earns the couple of quid over and above fetching a loaf.

I’m pretty lenient with our daughter though and she possibly gets away with too much

was a tube of pringles a fair price for not walking to the shop yourself?

Remember doing the same when I was about five or six – sent into the shop for something along those lines, and bought myself an Action Force figure with the change.

Let’s just say the point the OP is making in his post was explained to me extremely clearly.

you can withhold all his presents as payment for the now outstanding loan which has grown to a couple of hundred quid.

Steady on – the £2 was his Christmas fund, the tight bugger….. 😉

I’m 23 so again I remember being that age quite well. I think you are right to be angry at the behaviour and to explain to him in strong terms that what he has done is unacceptable. I also think that it is the same as fraud or stealing, he spent money that was not his on something he didn’t have permission for. He has to realise at his age he has to start taking responsibility for actions.

+1

It’s naughty, but not stealing. Different if he’s tried to conceal it from you, big trouble then for dishonesty. If it was the first time, I’d just be telling him its not on and keeping the Pringles, and give him an opportunity not to repeat. If he did it again having been told it’s not on, then there’d be a punishment of some sort. That would be mu take on it, but of course you know your lad and how obedient he usually is!

My lass helps herself to food, but she doesn’t go for junk food so we let her crack on with it. The boys, conversely, are not allowed to help themselves to the crisps and cakes.

So you went bonkers – what are you going to do when he does something properly naughty?

Did you see the pringles, did he smell a bit ‘cidery’? Just thinking back to my teens.

Sounds like you went off on one a bit but the principles pretty basic and you know that he knows better so a stren word would be the appropriate response.

To the payment for getting the loaf of bread brigade – going to get a loaf of bread is pretty fair for having a roof over your head for 13 years.

oh chill out, just wait until he helps himself to beer in fridge. came home from work gagging for a beer…none! see 17yr old sitting in garden with his mates knocking my beers back. life is too short, your kids wont be at home forever.

I think my issue is taking without asking. He is well rewarded for doing chores and had he asked beforehand I’d have most likely said yes. It’s the sense of entitlement and rudeness that gets me cross. It’s like a bloke who looks after the whip and regards the change as his, not major but really it is.

Stealing pringles @ 13.
On crack @ 14 with twins on the way.
Stamp it out now!!!!!! 😆

The actual circumstances are not that important but it pays to show your offspring that you mean business once or twice in their life before they become too mature.

You’ve probably cared for them all their life like most parents do but I think it’s good for them to realise that there’s another side to you

I wouldn’t have gone mental over it

I would have enjoyed sitting there eating all the pringles that I paid for 😈

The real question is what would you do if he posted in the wrong forum.

Better reaction would be take the pringles as a you got caught thing.

jam bo +1

Did he buy the Pringles for you , and / or the family?
Or were they a treat for himself as a reward for going to the shop?
How far away is the shop 1/4 mile?? 1 mile?

So , Im not a Dad , but I would speak to him about it , explain why its wrong then leave it.

Wow – what will you be like when he comes home and announces he has got his teenage gf pregnant ? Or you get the phone call “hey dad – guess what ? I’m in jail”.

Aye it’s wrong, but if you go mental at that kind of thing you have set the bar quite high !

I would have done the same and taken the Pringles off him.

Seems odd that if you do teach him right from wrong that he did it in the first place. Maybe you should start feeding the poor lad!

yes

When I was a kid (Im in my late 20’s, just starting to forget!) I didnt do the same thing as we always had an au pair who would be with us. a bit posh maybe, but looking back I would have given anything to have my mum or dad tell me off and have the interaction.

At the same time I always had the utmost respect for my parents. These days, everything has slackened off, even from 15-20 years ago. You now need to sit him down and talk it out as he may not really know why. They dont just know why despite maybe telling him a thousand times. At the same time, kids will be kids.

and scientifically, they have proven that as teenagers brains develop they do not think about why, they just do. All down to the chemical mix.

went a bit bonkers and asked him when he’d be stealing from me

I hope you pointed out that he’ll probably end up in prison, as someones bitch, and struggle with substance addiction, to numb the pain, as he sits in the corner of his cell, rocking back and too, weeping as he self-harms? For thats all his life is now likely to amount too

These things don’t grow on bloody trees. They’re 60p a bloody tube. I think its entirely proportionate that you went AWOL at him. Cheeky little sod is taking liberties thinking a packet of crisps might be a fair price to ensure you don’t have to get off your arse and go to the shop. He needs to be taught the error of his ways

I presume you’ve grounded him this weekend too?

Before constructing a concise post with advice and options for punishment, can I ask what flavour the Pringles were?

What flavour and did he share?

EDIT: Darn it, beaten to it!!

I wouldn’t have said anything.

Next time, I’d knee-cap him.

In 5 years time he’ll be crashing your car. Let him have the crisps.

Too strict no, but the minute you got angry you lost all chance of changing the way he thinks. He’ll now just be piseed of and annoyed with you. How do you respond when someone calmly explains why they don’t like what you’ve done compared to when someone gets angry with you over it, which do you respond best to.

To the payment for getting the loaf of bread brigade – going to get a loaf of bread is pretty fair for having a roof over your head for 13 years.

I think if you’re going to require your kids to repay their upbringing, you should give them the choice as to whether they should be born first.

man you’re all lunatics on here.

Total overreaction. Are you absolutely, completely sure you are not venting out your frustration from an unrelated issue? Poor kid.

Where are you going to escalate your reaction to when he actually does something properly wrong. Mey I suggest the stocks and a good flogging, or maybe a spot of crucifiction.

Get some perspective.

Done a similar thing once with a topic bar at about his age….the reaction by my mother made sure I never done it again.

It is stealing and you’re right to tell him off.

Is it stealing if the kid goes into the fridge and gets food out ?

how about when he has a crap, is he allowed to flush without asking ?

Turning his TV on allowed ?

An split of opinions. I’m surprised people think this is ok tbh different values I expect but I agree I could have been calmer. As for kids not doing little chores like this … Really?

Well he won’t be getting anything from the fridge, flushing the toilet, or turning the TV on if he’s locked under the stairs, will he?

So I think that answers that question