Bored Panda works better on our iPhone app
Continue in app Continue in browser

The Bored Panda iOS app is live! Fight boredom with iPhones and iPads here.

Woman Demands To Check Brother’s GF’s Bag, Bans Her From Her House After Seeing What’s Inside
Angry woman indoors raising hands expressing frustration about demanding to check brotheru2019s girlfriendu2019s bags before leaving.
82

Woman Demands To Check Brother’s GF’s Bag, Bans Her From Her House After Seeing What’s Inside

49

ADVERTISEMENT

Family get-togethers walk a fine line between a heartwarming success and a total disaster, and sometimes, it only takes a brief moment to tip the balance.

A few days ago, Reddit user Kaylaharper90 shared a story about a recent visit from her brother, his girlfriend, and the children they’re raising. At first, it seemed just like every other time, but when the kids stopped playing, a few toys went missing.

As the Redditor went looking for them, she quickly realized that they weren’t just misplaced—the toys were purposely hidden in the visitors’ bags.

RELATED:

    Family visits can quickly go from great to bad to worse

    Image credits: The Yuri Arcurs Collection / Freepik (not the actual photo)

    This time, it was a few missing toys that revealed a much deeper problem

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Image credits: Image by Freepik (not the actual photo)

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Image credits: EyeEm / Freepik (not the actual photo)

    ADVERTISEMENT

    After the story went viral, the woman released an update on the latest developments

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Image credits: kaylaharper90

    Stealing can become an addiction

    Image credits: Image by Freepik (not the actual photo)

    We can’t know for sure what pushed the woman to steal, but there is a condition in which a person experiences a consistent impulse to secretly take items they might not even need—it’s called kleptomania.

    According to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the symptoms of kleptomania include:

    • A persistent, recurrent impulse to steal items that are not needed for personal use and do not bring financial gain;
    • Feelings of increased tension before a theft; of pleasure, gratification, or relief at the moment of a theft; and, often, of guilt, shame, and/or remorse after a theft, and sometimes of depression;
    • The individual’s thefts are not committed due to delusions, mania, or hallucinations, and are not motivated by revenge or anger;
    • A person’s thefts cannot be better explained by Antisocial Personality Disorder, Conduct Disorder, or a manic episode.

    The age of onset for kleptomania varies, and it can begin in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood. In rare cases, it also begins in late adulthood. So, if Vivian has it now, it could be that she didn’t have it when Chase met her.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    However, some experts believe this doesn’t absolve people of responsibility for their actions

    Image credits: kues1 / Freepik (not the actual photo)

    ADVERTISEMENT

    “In 40 years of evaluating a variety of offenders, including men and women who steal repeatedly, I have never encountered a true case of ‘Kleptomania,'” psychologist and expert in criminal behavior Dr. Stanton Samenow wrote. “These individuals steal frequently, usually with great proficiency and, more often than not, escape detection.”

    “Like driving a car, stealing is a skill that they acquire and practice. Developing a modus operandi, they quickly case out targets and proceed with the theft. They are under no compulsion to steal. If they think there is a good chance of getting caught (e.g., they spot cameras in a store or a security officer), they refrain from stealing at that particular time,” Samenow explained.

    But if they do get busted, he said these thieves offer a variety of explanations to try to minimize the penalty—portraying themselves as a victim is one of them.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    “This makes the act of stealing appear to be the result of a psychological disorder rather than what it really was—a conscious and deliberate act,” Samenow said.

    “Stealing is not necessarily related to a need for the item or to its monetary value. Some individuals steal merely for the excitement. This excitement occurs before, during, and after the act (unless, of course, the thief is caught). For the proficient, frequent thief, even when he is arrested, there is the challenge of deceiving others in an attempt to get out of the hole into which he has drug himself.”

    People have had an extensive discussion with the author of the post about  what happened

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Most of them believe she did nothing wrong

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT

    But a few think otherwise

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Poll Question

    Total votes ·

    Thanks! Check out the results:

    Total votes ·
    Share on Facebook

    Explore more of these tags

    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Writer, Senior Writer

    Read more »

    Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

    Read less »
    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Writer, Senior Writer

    Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

    What do you think ?
    KatSaidWhat
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    how these YTAs condoning this - she got caught, called out and is upset that her children saw that? Maybe don't steal and lie.

    Ge Po
    Community Member
    Premium
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Maybe even, the children learned that, no matter what mommy said, stealing is not okay and will get you in trouble.

    Load More Replies...
    Nitka Tsar
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Take it from someone who tried to steal something as a kid: those girls knew what they were doing! Apart from their ages (they are old enough to know better), they were acting too suspicious. They knew they were not allowed to take the items.

    Earonn -
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yeah, it's kind of OP to protect them, but they clearly knew not to let OP look into the backpack. Why, if they thought the toys were gifts? And wouldn't kids normally thank someone for being gifted toys?

    Load More Replies...
    Borje Stromming
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Im kinda glad Chase wasn’t a complete äss-hat in this story, sounds more of a victim to baby trapping. So many stories where partners just side with their spouse for the sake if it. Vivian sounds like a real entitled piece of 💩 ”your girl has more toys then my 3 has combined” Buhu!

    Load More Comments
    KatSaidWhat
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    how these YTAs condoning this - she got caught, called out and is upset that her children saw that? Maybe don't steal and lie.

    Ge Po
    Community Member
    Premium
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Maybe even, the children learned that, no matter what mommy said, stealing is not okay and will get you in trouble.

    Load More Replies...
    Nitka Tsar
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Take it from someone who tried to steal something as a kid: those girls knew what they were doing! Apart from their ages (they are old enough to know better), they were acting too suspicious. They knew they were not allowed to take the items.

    Earonn -
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yeah, it's kind of OP to protect them, but they clearly knew not to let OP look into the backpack. Why, if they thought the toys were gifts? And wouldn't kids normally thank someone for being gifted toys?

    Load More Replies...
    Borje Stromming
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Im kinda glad Chase wasn’t a complete äss-hat in this story, sounds more of a victim to baby trapping. So many stories where partners just side with their spouse for the sake if it. Vivian sounds like a real entitled piece of 💩 ”your girl has more toys then my 3 has combined” Buhu!

    Load More Comments
    You May Like
    Related on Bored Panda
    Popular on Bored Panda
    Trending on Bored Panda
    Also on Bored Panda
    ADVERTISEMENT