After I was clued in and back on the hip-Dad train, I started to think about the bigger issue at hand. Most businesses have a zero tolerance theft policy; one strike and you are out kind of thing followed by prosecution. Do you have such a policy at home, and if so, how strictly do you enforce it?
Like everything else good or bad, behaviors start at home or at least they are first exhibited there. This calls to attention the need for parents to be vigilant, so as to detect and correct a misguided behavior at its earliest début. Detecting the behavior is easy enough, but how do you correct it?
Theft, petty or otherwise, is about invasion of privacy and violation of your right to property far more than physical loss. While some children may respond to a firm reprimand, most will understand the error of their ways by feeling the loss themselves, or experiencing the embarrassment that comes from such activity.
When I was young, my friend had a camera I really liked. It was very inexpensive but it didn't matter. I liked it and therefore I jacked it. Like most kids I was smart enough to help myself to it, but not smart enough to cover my tracks. Soon my father found out about it, and when I regained consciousness, I realized that my clothes were from the previous season.
I know another parent whose son stole a pack of gum from a store. She found the gum when they got home, called the store owner and asked him to speak to her son and scare the daylights out of him. She took the boy to the store and the owner asked him to name his punishment or he'd call the police. He put the fear of God in him and the boy never did it again.
So regardless of the situation, there is a fix for it. Giving a child a dose of their own medicine may be the best cure. And for us parents, load yourselves with a strong cup of coffee, a Red Bull, or whatever your choice of alertness booster may be, because we cannot afford to fall asleep at the switch.
If you haven’t heard about the summer movie the Bling Ring–don't fret! You’re not uncool, I had no idea either until my daughter shared what a mess these teens were depicted in this movie. In short, it’s about a group of teens and young adults burglarizing the homes of several celebrities and boasted about it on social media. Paris Hilton was the target on several occasions – {alright people - contain your empathy for the poor girl!}

Chris Efessiou
About Chris Efessiou: Chris Efessiou is an entrepreneur, business leader, educator, mentor, international speaker, radio show host, and best-selling author of CDO Chief Daddy Officer: The Business of Fatherhood based on his own experience from raising his daughter as a single dad by applying his business knowledge to the business of parenting. Listen to Chris’s weekly Radio Show Straight Up With Chris: Real Talk on Business and Parenthood on Voice America Radio. You may connect with Chris on Facebook, follow on Twitter and visit www.ChrisEfessiou.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Chris-Efessiou/223809014341181Leave a comment
Make sure you enter all the required information, indicated by an asterisk (*). HTML code is not allowed.
Recent Posts
- 1
- 2
- 3
Celebrating 37 Years in the Land of Opportunity
08-27-2013 Leadership
August 27, 1976, seems so long ago but it feels like yesterday....
Read moreTurn “Back to School” to “Back to the Future”
08-20-2013 Parenting Tools & Advice
Another school year just started or is soon to start, and you...
Read moreTwo Things to Give Your College-Bound Child
08-14-2013 Parenting Tools & Advice
Two Things to Give Your College - Bound Child! by Chris Efessiou...
Read moreMoney Management 101: The College Years
08-08-2013 Business Topics
Congratulations Mom and Dad. You survived the teenage years! You and I...
Read moreWant that Job? 3 Easy Steps to Ace that Interview!
08-01-2013 Business Topics
Want that Job? 3 Easy Steps to Ace that Interview! by Chris...
Read moreWant that Job? 3 Easy Steps to Ace that Interview!
07-30-2013 Business Topics
No, I am not a Human Resource guru, an industrial psychologist, a...
Read moreWill and Kate, 5 Things I wish My Father Had Told Me….. You’re Welcome!
07-23-2013 Family & Parenthood
Now that Will and Kate’s bundle of joy has arrived, I’d like...
Read moreThe Bling Ring? It’s Not for Keeps
07-16-2013 Parenting Tools & Advice
If you haven’t heard about the summer movie the Bling Ring–don't fret!...
Read moreThe Day the Door Came Off the Hinges
07-09-2013 Family & Parenthood
To a teenager, the door is everything. It’s their direct path to...
Read more