We’re having our house renovated at the moment and living elsewhere while the work is done.

Popped round there today with Ms Markie Jr and was looking round the outside of the house with the builders as Jr headed over to her Wendy House. She disappeared inside it and then came running back saying “my house is empty”. We carried on chatting for a bit as she repeated herself, then I wandered over to take a look…

Someone has stolen her play kitchen, her plastic table and chairs, her baskets of plastic food and crockery and her Hetty play cleaning trolley.

It’s happened between Sunday afternoon and this morning and that kitchen was a hefty chuck of plastic – I’d built the play house around it. Garage still secure, but I’ll have a chat with Mrs Markie tonight and I can see some side bolts being ordered tomorrow!

I’ve been fielding some pretty awkward questions from Ms Markie, feel like I’m treading a fine line (and any advice on discussing theft / criminal activity with 4 year old would be appreciated!)

Scum.

That really is low. Stealing a kid’s toys?!

That is low. Could another child/children have stolen it maybe? (i’ve no idea how big/heavy a plastic kitchen is).

Christmas innit. The thieving scumbags who think the rest of the world are earning them a living couldn’t give a shit about Ms Markie and her feelings. All they give a shit about is being dishonest scumbags and lining their pockets through other peoples hard work. And they make me very cross.

That’s really, really low. Have you called the Police? The sort of person who’d do that is well worth catching.

Mate of mine went to look at a house the other day, went back again for a second look and someone had half inched the woodburner…

Nightmare and sorry to hear that.

Reminds me of a situation a few years ago when we spent a fortune and a whole weekend replaning our garden with conifers, rosebushes, etc and some thieving t£@t dug them all up again on the Sunday night….no doubt sold the in the pub the same night!!!

Some people……

Lots of schools broken into lately, theyre taking the kids computers and tablets,depriving the kids for their own selfish benefit.

Always report it, as somewhere it may be plotted on a map anmd plod may keep a look out.

Wish theyd nick the laptops at work, may actually learn something then

Thanks all.

We bought it for her second birthday and she’s loved playing with it ever since – and that little house has been her ‘home’ while the main house is worked on, particularly through the summer when she was in and around it for hours a day.

The kitchen they took was 123x124x47cm and weighed 30kgs, awkward but fundamentally easy work for a couple of guys, I’d guess 🙁

I reported it to the police, the lady I spoke to was great, although not all that positive on our chances of recovery 😉

Adding to Mrs Markie’s upset, there was a little wooden chair in there that her father had made for her when she was a little girl. 🙁

As above, that’s a real shitty thing to do! Especially if whoevers responsible then wraps it up and passes it on to their kids as stuff santa has brought them! Scum bags indeed!!!

That’s really low. You’re sure the builders didn’t just move it all somewhere safe or out of the way?

and any advice on discussing theft / criminal activity with 4 year old would be appreciated!

Hedgehogs took it to build a house? – Kids have to learn that some people aren’t trustworthy, but you don’t want her worrying about the home / garden not being safe from [bleep]s.

It wasn’t the builders – liking the hedgehog plan, but we’ve already embarked on the ‘bad people’ route. We’ll see what tonight brings, I suppose.

Not sure which is worse, but whether it’s now for sale or wrapped up as a gift, guess I just need to let it go. ****.

I had my phone and wallet lifted off a table in a restaurant in Spain, my 8yr old saw it happen. When she was telling her teacher about it in class at school her teacher asked what she would do if it happened again. I think she was a bit taken aback when she said ‘Daddy says I am to stab the thieving *** him in the hand with my fork’

I’m not really a very good Dad

scumbags… this may cheer you up though, after a couple of incidents on or industrial estate we decided to put up cameras, two got nicked within the week… not before we got very good colour images of them on the recorder though, the police seem to be finding the info very useful!!

Thieves or folk break into houses to steal others possessions should have their fingers broken for a first offence, 2nd offence all their fingers on both hands, third offence wrists etc…etc.

Having seen first hand the terror that one of my elderly neighbours lived with for the last few weeks of her life after she was witness to a break in in her house when she was in bed I’d have absolutely no qualms about carrying this punishment out wi a hammer or bar.

Poor girl, is she dealing with it ok in the way that kids do?! That is the saddest thing I’ve heard for some time. Hopefully the innocence of kids will absorb it more that ‘grown ups’ that realise what a malicious little low life must have perpetrated such an act.

I agree with Somafunk, except skip the first stage.

I’m a bit confused by the scenario to be honest, are you sure no 3rd party contractors could have been involved? (Just becuase it seems a bit weird for a ‘random’ theft)

Mate had his house broken into last night, along with his bike + telly they took all his cups and glasses out the cupboard??!!

As regards the maiming of thieves, I’m probably a bit too far gone on the wishy-washy front, but Ms M seems (in this as in all so much else) to have taken after her mom. This evening at bedtime she held up a plastic kilner jar (usually used for bobby pins) and said (quite cheerfully!) “if we cut them with a special knife, we could keep their blood in here and they’d be dead” :/

I got a bit concerned when she asked if she was going to be stolen, but thus far – touch wood – she’s doing fine. It can be hard to tell what’s going to bounce around her mind (the damn blob from the numberjacks) and what’s just going to settle, so we’ll see.

I agree it’s a bizarre thing to go. The gate into the back garden is in no way secure – it’s a big heavy thing, but the builders have it off its hinges and just shoot a latch through at night, so access was no real problem. As for the builders themselves, they’ve been with us five months now and have been fantastic throughout – and indeed were great this afternoon. Jr is very excited that her new kitchen will be secured in the house by both HUGE bolts and expanding foam that she will be able to apply herself. It gets no better.

In my less charitable moments I’ve wondered about the scaffolders who took down the top two courses at the end of last week – though given the house is still wrapped in the stuff I can’t really see it – surly and rough but not stupid enough to foul their own doorstep, would be my more considered take.

I’d wondered if it was people having a scout around the building site, not seeing any way in and then just grabbing something to make the night worthwhile, but it seems a stretch.

I’m now wishing I’d given the garage more than a cursory glance, will head over tomorrow and see where I’m at.

Thanks all for kind words and sympathy, much appreciated.

Markie, that is just a real shitty thing to do, stealing what is quite clearly a small child’s toys. It upsets me on her behalf just reading about it. 🙁
Have you done a search on the usual online auction sites, For Sale boards in local supermarkets, etc? Those sort of jackasses are generally not too bright, and may well try to sell locally, just because of the size and weight.
Of course, it could have been taken for a family ‘present’, so tracking it down might not be possible.
I like the Kilner Jar comment from the little’un, though.