Man Refuses To Pay Brother Back For A Figurine His Son Stole, Until He Finds Out The Reason Behind It

The fact that you shouldn’t steal other people’s things is a lesson that most children learn from their parents early on. And once you’re in your teens, you should definitely know better. However, some entitled, greedy teenagers don’t quite realize that their actions can have extremely costly consequences.

An anxious dad begged for help from the ‘Legal Advice’ online community after finding out that his son stole a rare, vintage, collectible Star Wars figurine from his uncle, worth a jaw-dropping $2,200. However, it wasn’t a ‘misunderstanding’ as it seemed at first. Scroll down for the full story and a dramatic update from the author himself.

Stealing is wrong, and most parents teach this lesson to their kids early on

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This dad found himself in the middle of a horrible situation after his son stole a vintage toy worth thousands of dollars from a family member

Image credits: Fernando Alvarez / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

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Parents should be deeply concerned if their children don’t feel bad about stealing other people’s property

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Lying and stealing are both unacceptable behaviors. However, the former isn’t quite as bad as the latter. As Johns Hopkins Medicine explains, stealing causes more concern to parents than lying because it may happen outside of their home and can affect other people.

Stealing may potentially happen due to low self-esteem, peer pressure, the child needing to fit in, or trying to ‘buy’ friends. They might also resort to stealing to feel ‘proud’ of something they’ve done, even if they don’t get positive feedback.

Children under the age of 3 don’t fully understand the difference between what is and isn’t theirs, so they might simply take things. “They then may become possessive of their things and protect them. They don’t steal with bad intentions.”

However, by the age of 9, children should already know to respect other people’s things. At this age, they should understand that stealing is wrong.

Parents should be particularly concerned if their older kids have a habit of stealing things or if they steal and don’t feel bad about their actions.

It’s important to stress that stealing is unacceptable without lecturing your kids

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“Children older than age 3 should be confronted with any lying or stealing. But it is important to remember that most of these behaviors are part of growing up. They do not represent severe problems. Each child is unique. Talk with your child’s healthcare provider about any concerns you have.”

The AACAP recommends that when parents find out that their children have stolen something, they should do a few things. First of all, they should tell their kids that stealing is wrong.

Next, they should help their children either return the stolen object or pay for it. On top of that, parents must make sure that their kids don’t benefit from this theft in any way.

“Avoid lecturing, predicting future bad behavior, or saying that they now consider the child to be a thief or a bad person,” the AACAP suggests. “Make clear that this behavior is totally unacceptable within the family tradition and the community.”

What’s your perspective, Pandas? What would you do if you caught your child stealing something? How would you react if you knew they stole the thing in order to sell it for profit?
If you have kids, how do you teach them about the importance of respecting other people’s things and property? It’s an important topic, so if you have a spare moment, share your insights and experiences in the comments down below.

Readers weighed in on the sensitive family situation

Here’s the update the dad shared about what happened in the family after the chaos got out of hand

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Image credits: Aakash Malik / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Whooooooop23

And here’s how the internet reacted to the follow-up post

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