How do you know if your teen is shoplifting and if she is then why is she doing it? As we’ve all seen in the headlines, shoplifters are not just the poor or needy. In wealthy communities around the U.S., teenagers are frequently caught for taking items without paying for them. In fact, in the U.S., shoplifters steal about $25 million from stores each and every day! This directly affects every consumer because stores need to mark-up products to cover for this potential loss.
Teenage shoplifting isn’t limited to students who are involved with drugs or alcohol, or are poor students. Your child who is getting straight A’s, is involved in school activities and is helpful at home could easily get roped into this behavior due to peer pressure or the thrill of the act. Always being perfect isn’t always very fun, and some teens find this rebellious act enticing. Sometimes, the young adult is looking for attention from peers while trying to get in with a more “popular” crowd. Or, they just want to stay up with the fashions and can’t afford the name brands, so they do it to keep up with the trends.
Teens don’t often look at the long-term results of their behavior and they believe they can get away with it. If your teen is caught stealing, it’s important that parents follow through with strict consequences to halt the behavior. The adolescent should return the stolen item, apologize to the place of business and should face harsher than normal punishment at home including grounding and taking away privileges. If it is a first time offense, the store may not press charges, but if they do, the judge will most likely mandate that the teen takes a theft education class.
Children of all ages need to understand that shoplifting isn’t just about taking the one item from the store, but it’s taking money from the people who own the business. It’s important that they understand how this theft affects society as a whole. Theft education classes cover this topic as well as understanding the cause of the behavior and preventative skills that support stopping the unlawful behavior. Teens will learn all about the consequences and risks of shoplifting. Judges generally have little tolerance for repeat offenders and the punishment gets more severe with each offense.
If your teen has been mandated by court, school or an employer to take a theft education course, the best way to go about it is to take them online. Online theft classes can be accessed from any Internet based computer. This makes it easier for both the parent and student because you don’t need to get across town to make a set time of a traditional classroom setting. Young adults are very much in tune with computers and often find this a more relaxed and interesting way to approach learning. Classes are often lower in price than a live class because there is no overhead in rent to pay. However, the subject matter is current and a licensed and practicing psychotherapist can be contacted with any questions or concerns.
Whether your child is showing signs of shoplifting or has already been convicted, online theft classes will provide them the education they need to put a stop to the behavior. Taking the proactively will save you and the family a great deal of future heartache.
