My 4-year-old, the thief?

Yesterday was the first day of Pre-school for Parker. And it was the first day she became a thief!

My sweet, precious daughter smuggled a small teddy bear out of the school under her sundress…in her underwear!

So this reminds me of a story my mother fondly told of her childhood…

Mom’s twin sister, Bonnie, stole a candy bar and hid it in the seat cushion of the family car. She planned on retrieving it later on in the day.

Well, Bonnie thought my mom had beat her too it. She thought she had destroyed the evidence by eating the chocolate bar. Mom insisted she wasn’t the one who ate the candy car. It wasn’t until years later they found out who really ate the candy bar…it was their older sister Marylin!

Some say every child tries to steal something at one point. They test. If they are lucky, like Parker, they get caught and learn a very valuable lesson. We talked about how you shouldn’t take things that don’t belong to you and how we were going to make it right. And she did. This morning she took the teddy bear into the classroom and told her teacher she was sorry for taking it. I didn’t have to steer her in the right direction.

This was a good parenting moment. Lately they have been few and far between. 

{Mom’s childhood story was updated thanks to my sister, Shannon. Apparently I hadn’t remember the story correctly. They say the mind is the first thing to go! Thanks ‘lil sis!}