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Boardwalk :: Forum List Reading the Signs Problem teen or normal behaviour?
cynstepmom
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stepson heading the wrong way - 2007/11/04 04:31 I have a 12 1/2 yr old stepson who I have been raising with my husband for the last 7 years. We have full custody of him since his birth mother disappeared at the age of 3. He has always been a good, respectful kid up until the last couple of months. Last week, he stole all of the money out of my wallet and denied it until he was blue in the face. We know he stole the money and he lost all of his possessions. He admitted to me last night that he stole the money from me and didn't know why he did it. I spoke with him, without getting angry, to find out what need he had that we weren't meeting that would drive him to do that. What I could get from our chat was that he wanted to buy lunch at school vs. bringing lunch. We are on an extremely tight budget these days so I compromised by saying I will give him the funds for lunch 2 days a week and the rest of the time he can bring a sack lunch. Am I doing the right thing or am I condoning this behavior? Help?!?
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tti_admin
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Re:stepson heading the wrong way - 2007/11/04 13:04 The bridge of communication that you made with your stepson was definitely the right thing to do. Choosing not to start off your conversation with him by “getting angry” may have been exactly what let him feel comfortable enough to tell you what his real issue was all about—wanting more lunch money. By dealing with the situation in this manner, you could not call it “condoning” such behavior. As you said, you know your stepson as a good, respectful kid and this situation with the money has not been particularly recurrent. Give him some time for your own observation. If the situation boils over, then you can be pretty sure that your stepson has come totally clean on what his issue is all about. Just keep an eye on what’s happening, so you can be sure that lunch money is really what he needed the extra cash for. If you find out something else, then decide on a different course of action in order to discipline him. Goodluck!
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Boardwalk :: Forum List Reading the Signs Problem teen or normal behaviour?

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