Quote Originally Posted by iamirondude View Post
but the other thing is the M-I-L still says he only took 1 or 2 different items but i called bullshit on them.
It doesn't matter if he took 1 or 2 or 10. The fact of the matter is he took something without permission, which is stealing -- it's the principle of the matter.

Quote Originally Posted by iamirondude View Post
just got home from ozformer grevious's house and walked straight into a shitstorm.they think i'm picking on him cause they say he doesn't know what he's doing.i call bullshit on that.he knows excatly what he's doing and he's playing on it,i know it,our friends know it but their blind to it and they keep harping on how he's had a hard life.they don't know the meaning of hard. so hopefully he does what he does here to someone else and cops a flogging for it.
Of course he knows what he's doing. Even if he has some kind of disorder like kleptomania - he'd still know that he's doing it. It's not as if someone with say a hand-washing OCD doesn't know what they're doing each time they soap up and wash their hands a hundred times a day! It's not as if hoarders don't know that they're hoarding! Of course these people know what they're doing! It only difference is that if it's because of an actual disorder, they may not know how to stop or control their actions even if they want to (like say a smoker who doesn't know how to quit - but they're fully aware each time they light up, it's not like, "Oh! What's this ciggie doing in my mouth?!?" ). And as I said before, if it's some kind of disorder where he really can't stop himself, then it requires professional intervention. But the majority of people who are compulsive thieves do NOT have any kind of mental/psychological disorder like kleptomania or OCD that predisposes them to doing so. Or he could just be a self-righteous spoiled brat with an over-developed sense of self-entitlement without any sufficient understanding of self-responsibility.

I find it difficult to believe that this child has gone around cutting hoses, brake lines and getting suspended from school, and yet the caregivers have decided to punish him by not letting him to a show, but reward him with some Transformer toys. W H A T ? What part of the word "consistency" do they not understand?!? Disallowing him from going to the show was a good move, I'll give credit for that... but you've GOT to be consistent in the application and execution of consequences. Considering the severity of what's happened, that should only be the beginning of his punishment... he should have all sorts of other privileges revoked like being able to watch TV or use the computer or confiscate his mobile phone etc. And the child will need to earn those privileges back through good behaviours and demonstrating that he is making an effort to improve. No good behaviour, no reward. More bad behaviour, more punishments.

It's not rocket science. Unless it's really like Wimp Lo from Kung Pow: Enter the Fist, and this kid's being raised wrong on purpose as a joke. That's gotta be it.