If you take a seven year old to the police station for always steeling, will they talk with him?

thats a great idea, and yes, they will talk to him..they will be happy to do it cause then they are stopping a future potential adult thief .my friend had a lil girl who was constantly talkin back and just bein a brat.. so she took her to the police station and they talked to her for that... it did a lot of good. the best thing to do is take him to the police station, and let them give him a tour of the jail to see what happens to ppl who steal.. i bet he wont want to do it again after that tour.

Well, a police officer should have had more sense than that. But the police are not social workers or psychologists. We can say that they should get some training in social work and psychology, but basically, they are just guys or gals that got a job, and their skills vary considerably. You can't really expect much from them when it comes to dealing sensitively with children. Additionally, he was wrong to not wonder how it happens that a seven year old child showed up at his station unaccompanied after school. That should definitely be a cause to wonder about his competence.

Wow..you have a problem ...this is something really serious the parents need to follow up on...

Yes, sometimes these "scare-visits" to a police station are very good. I would call ahead and ask for an officer who is experienced in dealing with kids. Then explain the situation and what you would like to have achieved. I am sure they would love to do this, so that this little boy gets on the right track and won't become a wellknown "guest" at their facilities...

Also, have the parents talk to maybe some specialist (maybe psychologist) to get deeper behind WHY he is doing that...

Not only do you take him to the police station you have the police pick him put the cuffs and drive to the station in the cop car and put him in a holding cell for awhile I am sure if you go talk to the cops and explain what is going on they will be willing to help you with this. I say the only thing you can do is som,ething like that tough love and scared straight would be your next step good luck

You say this has been happening for the last three years, which means he started doing this at about age four...very young. You also mentioned that his parents "give" him money. Taking him to the police department may put a little fear into him, but it sounds like there needs to be more behavioral accountability going on.

Suggestions for his parents:

1) Teach the child the value of money. Instead of just giving it to him, make him earn it with chores that are age appropriate.

2) Put consequences in action for him. And be consistent. Instead of just having him hand it back and apologize, assign a certain amount of chores to earn money to give in compensation. (Like a fine.)

3) Help him to develop more empathy for fellow human beings by getting him involved in volunteering. This will help build his self-esteem as a caring person. It is equally important that he gets positive feedback for doing good for others, as it is the negative feedback he gets when he messes up.

At his age, right now, he is testing the boundaries. By reassuring the negative and positive consequences to his actions, his parents are directing the way he seeks attention. If they are consistent and the extended family is supportive of this, he will grow out of it. He is simply learning right from wrong through trial and error, which is perfectly normal for his age.

This sounds like good idea. Most police depts would be more than happy to sit down and put the fear off god into him. Perhaps if this works he will continue on the right path. It's good that you're trying to nip this in the bud before he gets older. Studies show that behavior like this continutes into adulthood unless something is done early in the childs life. Good luck with this.

I think that the boy need sto be seeing a counselor not the police just yet. Remember you want children to respect police officers and to go to them when there is a problem - in this case it may cause a FEAR of police or a negative reaction. If he is stealing he first needs to be with a counselor to find the reason and to not be left unsupervised EVER until the behavior is corrected.

Yes, they will talk to him and tell him not to do it anymore, or else he will wind up in jail when he gets older

P.S. it would be a good idea to take him to a psychiatrist or therapist to find out what the real problem is, especialy since he is seven, but do it if he continues stealing after the police talk to him, if he continues, you know that he has a real problem that needs to be taken care of before he reaches his teenage years, after that the habit is likley to stick

It might scare him silly to be dragged to the police station to begin with. :P Police are awesome people, in general, at least the ones I know. If anything you could take him in to the highway partol, it's sometimes more relaxed there, and I'll bet you if you explain it to the person at the desk he/she could call an officer out to read your nephew his rights.

I think that's a pretty good idea, to be honest with you. Try it!

I think you should take him to church instead of the police station. The police experience could have very negative consequences from a psychological standpoint.

Someone needs a parenting course to learn how to deal with this child.'s aggression.