Renad Ghanem

Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — Saudi parents whose children steal from them say they do not how to deal with this delinquent behavior effectively.



Some of these children do not feel guilt by taking what is not theirs, they added, and if caught they simply lie about it.



Some parents accepted they are to blame because they did not teach their children the difference between what is theirs and what is not.



A mother of a nine-year-old child discovered that her son was stealing from her indirectly.



She said: “He used to come to me demanding SR100 for a school activity or to enroll for an extracurricular activity”



She was shocked later to discover by chance that he had not been using the money like he said he would, but simply pocketing the cash.



She said: “I asked one of my friends whose son was in the same school as mine about the activities and she had no idea about it.



“When I spoke to the school, they told me they never had such activities and if there were, a letter would be sent to the family.



“I was shocked yet I did not confront my child with it nor did I tell his father.



“It never came to my mind that he would lie about this because I trusted him.”



An Egyptian mother of a 10-year-old child, who did not want to be identified, said she found out her son was taking money from her purse without her knowledge.



She said: “I began to notice from time to time that a SR50 or SR100 note would go missing from my purse.



“Although I got suspicious but I always blamed it on my bad memory, convincing myself that I must have spent it here or there.



“That was until one day I saw my son sneaking into my room.



“When I sneaked in behind him, I found my purse open and his hand in his pocket.



“He was shocked to see me. He took SR50 out of his pocket and claimed that he wanted to buy some candy.



“I did not shout at him and simply put back the SR50 and gave him SR10 instead.



“That day I cried a lot at night because I did not know how to deal with such behavior.”



Social expert Mutea Al-Ghamdi told a local Saudi daily that children stealing was delinquent behavior and the result of a lack of family guidance. She said that some children are tempted when they see money in front of them.



If they feeling deprived for whatever reason, they steal it to satisfy their needs. She said ignoring such bad behavior is dangerous because if it not dealt with, it would get worst.