Donna Perugini, Children's Author age 7

Do you remember the first time you stole something? 

Maybe you never did, but because of the way I was raised as a child that first time is burned into my memory.  Even the second time which would have been six years later is stuck in my thoughts. 

My first experience with stealing I remember was when I was four.  I saw a balloon I wanted and asked my mother for it.  She said no, but there it was in the store…at my hand level, so I picked it up.  Not having a sense of guilt or shame at that age (4), I was beginning to blow it up outside the store when she saw it and told me it was stealing.  She explained stealing to me..as much as I could understand, and had me personally take it back in the store with some of her money to pay for it.  The cashier took the money and I was on my way to blowing up the balloon.  That is until my mother took it from me because it was still goods that were stolen at first.   She watched me closely in stores after that.

Age Brought Deviousness 

Then I was six years older (10) and saw a pair of socks I wanted at JJ Newberrry’s.  This time I didn’t exactly take the socks, but I changed the price tags to get the price I wanted.  You see, I’d gotten a little more devious about stealing.  Talk about guilt and shame!  I was overwhelmed with it and had to take the socks back and tell the cashier she gave me the wrong price and why.   What had happened between my early theft and my later theft was a spiritual belief that it was wrong.  A lot of people would call this ‘the age of reasoning’.  For those first 9-10 years of my life, my beliefs were formed and there was a strong pull in me toward the things of God or spiritual beliefs.  

Corrupting My Sister?

Another theft I pulled off involved my sister who is five years younger.  This time I helped form her values.  I was 11 and she was 6.  There was a promotion going on at the grocery store where you had a card punched and then received a candy bar.  I had my sister go under the counter when no one was looking, use the punch and fill up the card.  We both ate the candy bar.  Did I feel guilty at all?  Guilty enough to worry about being caught, and our mother was not with us.  I learned I could cheat and win.  What about my spiritual beliefs?  Let’s put it this way, wrong doing (sin) is like a callous.  It builds up over time keeping you from feeling anything through it.  The more I got away with, the thicker the callous became on my conscience. 

There’s a Moral to This Story

What’s the moral of this story?  What you teach your child early and continue to enforce will stick with them for a lifetime.  They will still have the ability to choose to do right or do what everyone else is doing.  Our job as parents is to give them the right way to choose by initiating the teaching.  When you see them do something that’s not right, get up and do something immediately giving your child a firm foundation in spiritual matters.  I don’t mean religion and traditions in religion. 

I mean, “Love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole mind and your whole strength.  Love your neighbor as yourself.”  According to Jesus, these are the two laws we are to live by.  If you love someone, you don’t steal from them.  If you love someone, you don’t teach them to steal. 

Do you remember stealing as a child?  What did your parents do about it?  Leave a comment about your experience and what you think.  Our community of readers would benefit!