Child counselling on vices like stealing…
January 30, 2019
It is noteworthy here to mention for all the children that the vices like stealing is not at all a sin.
I would state that everybody at some or the other time is a thief, say for example you stole someone’s idea / thought , presented it before an audience and took applause for the same.But the fact remains that there are several other forms of arts/activities instead of stealing that are more interesting and enjoyable. I would also add that everybody in his/her lifetime has felt like stealing / has stolen some or other thing intentionally / unintentionally.
I would hereby like to quote the famous example of Gandhi ji; you must have all gone through his autobiography where he has mentioned that he did steal once and how his father reacted thereafter to , which seems to me as a bad precedent. Many people do appreciate the fact that how Gandhiji’s father punished himself saying that since I did not inculcate good values in you ; hence you stooped down to stealing. This incident taught Gandhiji that violence should not be perpetrated on others but only on oneself and he continued to punish himself for the rest of his life.I personally believe that this mode / example on kids should not be used.
I would like to suggest a better example with my experience that whenever some kid comes upto me and says that he /she has stolen something, then i would clarify to them that although there is no harm in stealing but there are many more interestingly enjoyable activities. We should make the child understand in detail that if we steal , then our conscious & sub-conscious mind would remain disturbed , nobody would like to befriend us, we may face many troubles and humiliations, we may even be jailed. Hence, punishing / beating them on knowing that they have stolen- should not be in my opinion an ideal solution to the concern.As a matter of fact-when the child becomes no longer afraid of / gets immune to the repeated beatings,they would then do bigger robberies / crimes.
Hence,I would again request that we as parents / guardians should firstly give a patient ear to the child’s concerns ; then make them understand that you yourselves have gone through worst phases during your growing up years and only then the child feels comfortable to open up their hearts / becomes familiar.
