How can I get my 10 year old daughter to stop stealing. She steals food after she's had a snack, and eats it in her room then hides the wrappers. She steals candy from her teachers at school too.

She sounds a lot like my niece was many years ago, she is now 21 and married but when she was little she had a bad habit of taking things, not sure why. Maybe she is trying to get attention, have you tried talking to her about it, asking her why, are there certain times she does it worse than others, like when someone else gets attention for something they may have done?
Just a thought, not much help here but at least you know she isn't the only one thats done that, my niece thankfully finally grew out of that.

My 11 year old niece does the same thing. After many talks with her it became obvious that she was ashamed of her weight. She is not over weight, but she is not extremely thin either. A few comments about her size were made by her older brother and she is now very self consious about what she eats. Try talking to her, maybe something happened at school that has her feeling uncomfortable. Good luck.

i know this sounds childish and it may not work for a 10 year old. but my 5 year old neice used to do this and her mother bought her an angel pin and put it on her jacket. her mother told her that the angel was watching her at all times and it spoiled my nieces conscious good because my sister told her daughter that is she did anything bad the angel would tell her mother. and i know that no child would want to be caught by their mother. i hope this works. best of luck to ya!

mem

Hi mom,
I was reading your post, and they hit home! I have a daughter who is 11, and a son who is 10. For years, we have had a problem with them stealing food and hiding the wrappers, bowls, ect. To the point we found ants in their rooms. Both of my children are ADD, and I have to limit their caffine and sugar intake, cause it makes them *bounce the walls*. I ask the dr. about why they steal food, (mostly candy, sodas, ect.) and was told that their body craves it, and they do it almost not even knowing it. So this is what I did, I am a diabetic, so I have to have sugar free things, I allow them to have maybe a *no sugar added* ice cream cone, or low sugar snack before bed, and it has helped in big ways, they are satisfied, and don't steal as much. They do still steal chips, ect. only if I tell them they can't have it after supper. My daughter has a weight problem, and I do not want her eating alot of junk. It also helps alot, if I find a veggie or something they like and let them snack on that. Hope this helps you in some way. Good luck to you! God bless

My best friend did this when we were children, in kindergarten. I'm 43 now. Looking back, my friend had an obsession with food (I believe caused by her mothers well meaning words about her being too fat) that my friend still carries to this day. She was up to 400 lbs and just this past Feb had gastric bypass surgery.


No amount of scolding, coaxing or yelling is going to help her. This all made my friends situation worse. Deprivation made it worse. It was certainly a bad situation for my friend all her life. Her mother didn't handle it correctly because she just wasn't aware of how serious a situation it was at the time. Years ago, not much was known about compulsive behavior nor were there any treatments for the condition.

If I were in your position, knowing what I know now, I'd see a child psychiatrist who deals with compulsive behavior in children. Overeating to the level of stealing food is a compulsive behavior somewhat similar to anorexia but just in the opposite. Something is going on in her head that has to do with control that you may be able to help with once you understand it more. It is a form of obsessive behavior though. A psychiatrist may be your best bet in this situation. Good luck to you. It's good that you realise that this is a serious issue.

My five year old has been doing that for about 2 years now. I decided to put healthy food (carrots, celery with cheez whiz, cucumbers, etc.) on a plate in the fridge and told her she can eat them whenever she wants during the day. She doesn't have to ask, she can just get it. I put some dip on there as well. It worked! It gave her some control over what she ate when, and she stopped taking food to her room.

I figure that even if she eats it right before a meal and is full, at least she's had healthy foods. She is skinny and no one has ever mentioned her weight like some of the others have posted. I'm not sure why she does it but I think she just wants control over something in her life. that's my guess anyway! lol



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Pink

double post.

[This message has been edited by Me24 (edited 06-01-2003).]

i don't have any suggestions, but make sure your careful about how you handle it, some kids are very sensitive to eating habits and you don't want her to grow up and have an eating disorder!


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[This message has been edited by kitaki (edited 06-02-2003).]