Date: 07/03/2008

Subject: Raising a 4 Year Old Convict

Good morning Shirley, Steve, and the crew. I'm a 25 year old mother of a 4 year old girl. Her dad and I are divorced but he's very much active in her life. I have a great stable career and we want for nothing. I have a huge problem and I'm concerned that my daughter is headed for jail. She's been stealing since she was 2 1/2. It doesn't matter who it's from. She steals from me, her grandmothers on both sides, my sister, her dads sister, kids from the daycare, workers from the daycare, her pre-k teacher (from this previous school year), and stores. She's so good at it, in the winter she stuffs things up her sleeves. I constantly have to check her pockets when things come up missing because I know 9 times out of 10 she's taken it. She's stolen make-up, candy, perfume, cell phones, pagers, jewelry, etc. I spoke with a child psychologist who said to take something of hers that she really likes and when she realizes it is missing explain to her that's the way people feel when she takes their belongings-it didn't work. I'm beating her butt constantly, I even spanked her in public after she stole candy from a store thinking that the embarassment would make her stop-it didn't work. I asked a policeman to scare her straight but where I'm from, they don't do it anymore because when the kids get older, they're afraid to ask the police for help. She's my only child so we spend a lot of time together, and I even added extra activities on the weekends thinking maybe she steals from not having enough to do but that hasn't worked so far either. This problem has gotten so bad, when things come up missing from my family or her dads family they call telling me to ask her where their stuff is. I'm in desperate need of help, the only other thing I can think of is to take her to counseling. I don't steal, so I can't imagine how she's learned this horrible behavior. Please help, a desperate mother currently raising a 4 year old convict.