Klepto Kid

So Dotty has officially become a kleptomaniac. She has once again stolen a toy.

At this point I am thinking of signing her up for a 12 step program.

All kidding aside...I realize that some kids do this as a way of getting attention. It is just another form of "negative attention is still attention". However I worry.

Yesterday when we took Brittany and Dylann back home from getting the girls pictures made with bunnies Dotty took me into her room to "tell me the truth" as she put it. I was at a loss until she pulled a purple ball out from underneath her puffy pink Easter dress. She had taken the ball from the studio.

I was at a loss for words for a minute. Then Tony came over and together we tried to explain to Dotty how wrong it was to steal...even if it is just a toy. We told her she must know it was wrong because she had hidden it. And we asked her if she knew it was wrong...a bad choice...she nodded. We told her that this was the second time we had to have this talk and that we did not want to do it again. If she stole again she would be punished. Tony asked her what she thought should be her punishment if she steals again (I thought that was a great idea on his part) and she said she needed to have a toy of hers taken away.

So her "tab" (a.k.a. Leap Pad Game toy) is up on the blocks. If she does it again it will be taken away for several days.

We also told her we were glad she told us the truth...that we loved her...that everyone makes mistakes...and that she would have to take the toy back and apologize as a way of fixing her mistake. (I plan to call ahead to the studio to fill them in on the details and to ask them to be firm but kind to Dotty.)

I am not "Mother of the Year" by any means...and a I learn daily how to be a better parent but I am at a loss on this one. I can only hope that some day when she is running for public office or something that this incident will be a humorous story and will not keep her from winning any type of election.

In reality...I hope to nip this thing in the bud to keep her out of jail!!! I don't really care if she runs for any kind of office or even if she votes for that matter...but I do want her to not be banned from voting due to a criminal past!!!