European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 27, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse By Elizabeth Mehren los Angeles times t is the most pervasive lorm of juvenile delinquency. And yet stealing by children is Seldom acknowledged by schools by communities by psychological Uera lure even by parents As an Issue that sweeps All social classes and May tie in directly to later anti social behaviour. Most children psychologist Ronald a Prinz old a symposium in new York of he american psychological association report lha at some Point they have stolen " bul because they tend to attach excessive emotional overload to the notion of a child who has Stolon adults Are often Likely to deny the Belia Vior. Fellow Panalis Leah Klungness said. They think. My child has stolen a pack of gum therefore he s going to sing sing " besides said Klungness. A psychologist wild the South Huntington Union free school in Huntington Lalion. By adults Are typically hesitant to Label it stealing they All remember Hal they did in onco " Early on the first Day of this 94th annual convention of the world s largest organization of psychologists the subject of pre adolescent stealing Drew an enthusiastic standing room audience one reason Lor the High degree of interest panel chairman Susan g. Formano the University of soul Carolina speculated Wasl hat so Little has been written or publicized on whal Forman termed a very serious problem panellist Gloria Miller from the same team of psychologists at the University of South Carolina agreed. I feel that this Issue and this behaviour have been significantly in Large part because of the relative dearth of research no actual data exists on the numbers of children who Leaf there Ara some suggestions Klungness said that pre adolescent boys steal More than pre adolescent girls. But again Klungness cautioned we Don t know for what researchers do know Klungness went on. Is thai one of the most critical issues is the accurate Labelling of the child s stealing stressing that stealing in this context is Covert and refers Only to non confrontational behaviour that is. Not mugging or other overtly aggressive acts Hal involve confrontation with the victim Klungness called deficient Labelling potentially the largest Factor contributing to a recurrence of the behaviour when Sugni Lical adults fail to identify a child s stealing Klungness said in contributes to an atmosphere of those adults usually parents May also Aster an air at acceptability by accepting such alternative Labelling As i round in or someone let me borrow in one explanation for Misla Beling of juvenile stealing is that a lot of times adults Are fearful of possible Legal repercussions they Are scared of the Long srm Miller said. Some research she added indicates that adults May in effect devalue the stealing behaviour by placing other issues ahead of it. They will say Yas he is stealing bul really he s failing math " Miller said. Or Klungness said very often there is a kind of denial pattern within the adult for example adults May not count suspected stealing or stealing of Small amounts of Money or inexpensive objects. Such leniency she said Means a greater likelihood Hal stealing will occur or in general however stealing by children does tend to reflect a general Lack of Adul disciplinary skills Klungness said As Well As a Lew level of involvement Wilh to of ten within the Home of the child stealer Sho said there is inappropriate said Miller children who have a blog unmonitored time tend to get into trouble. We know thai the Covol nature of stealing adds a major obstacle to treatment Miller said because you have to be aware when the Large behaviour is this is not necessarily easy. Stealing is not very readily Miller said a s hard to select. It s very rare that you catch someone in the act of stalling is also highly reinforced " behaviour she said in thai right away you get the goodies frequently Miller said children who steal will share whal they steal with their Peers. It provides instant reinforcement you take the Klungness said you get the indeed Klungness said very very few incidences of stealing by children Are related to genuine physical stealing. In the View of Prinz. Is part of a Constellation o behaviour children who Sloan to said Are Likely also to exhibit problems of conduct such As disobedience non compliance or excessive aggressiveness in a realm enl program Lor aggressive boys nol necessarily steal cars Ages a to 9, Prinz said already in our 60 families 40 percent to 50 percent of our parents Are reporting occurrences of ii parental acknowledgement and involve Mon is the key to treating stealing by children these psychologists said so is consistency. We emphasize that ovary acl of stealing no Mailer How big or Small be always followed Wilh an immediate predictable negative Prinz said. He smiled in the manner Peculiar to someone who knows exactly what he is talking about a Nice one is a Boring work task for an hour or two something thai has to be done and has to be done immediately. The negative consequences can be tailored to thai child s interventions Miller concurred need to be individualized to the particular child the Lyscol stealing and the whatever the punishment it must be etched in Stone open to no negotiation whatsoever parental decisions about stealing Are not open to debate Wilh the Prinz said the Parent s word is the last word but children respond Well to direct action by parents. 1 pre adolescent Are still strongly influenced by the Rote of the family Prinz said. Children thai age pretty much still wan to please their parents end earn their approval when they react at All parents tend to Averre acl to the problem of children who steal. Pm said because the child May already have earned a reputation As a stealer among his Peers As Well As his teachers an inflated reaction May add to the slim of stealing parents can learn to View stealing like any other unwanted behaviour Prinz said. Just like if a child yells a lot in the House you want to Slop it. H s simply a be Havi Orlo change All the histrionics hand wringing and All night moral lectures in the world will probably not help to combat the problem. Prinz said we urge people to Deal Wilh it matter of factly " this also Means no Public humiliation of the child the supportive Parent will coach a child in How to reduce his stealing reputation and How to protect himself irom accusations from his Peers. Erma Bombeck Here was a time time when i honestly believed that the hands that held the car keys ruled the world. This was the Summit of Power the of Hutton of authority the guardian of destiny. That was before the Remote television tuner came upon the american scene. Believe me there is nothing to compare with the Force of holding the evening s television in the Palm of you hand. Every night alter dinner there is a scramble for the tuner. There s my husband. Darth Vader. Who regards the electronic device As his personal Force of Good Over evil. I m sitting there watching Dallas and just when sue Ellen says miss Eltie i be got to sort things out i thought Lor a few Days i d go to a 90-Pound Walrus flashes on the screen and Bill Conrad s voice says. The Bering sea with thousands of other bulls to Zinsli clively i know to has changed the Channel again Wilhour even asking. 1 know in my heart that As Long As he holds that Square Box in his hand 1 will never gel Back to Southfork. One of our sons has the distinction of never once having seen a commercial in its entirety. As soon As regular programming ends and a Pitchman comes on he begins to jump from one Channel to he next. It s one subliminal experience after the other As denture creams breakfast cereals and wins coolers All run together. Another family member hides fire tuner under a different Pillow each night. When you Are comfortably engrossed in a deep meaningful film Liv Ulman suddenly turns into Bea Arthur who turns into Frank Gilford who Lurns into the Boston pops who turns into two wrestlers. When you try to explain that Liv was a a crisis in her lilo and was about to make a major saturday september 27. 1s86 decision about her baby you Are told "111 turn it Back. I just want to see what s on the other when Liv is finally returned to you. The kid has grown up married and is talking about his Mother in the past tense. I be never vied for Power in the family before. Pointing a Box at the garage door and saying open was never a big Deal for me standing a the supermarket on lha ruler mat and watching the doors slide Back and Forth was t something i planned for a saturday afternoon bul holding thai television tuner and realizing i alone control whal is flashed on the screen brings out the Iacocca in me. The other night i got control of the tuner and held onto it Only by holding in in front of me like an exorcist and Yelling Back backs to the angry mob i thought me was supposed to be lonely at the lop. A 10m, pm Anglo this and old the stars and stripes Pago 17 i Kia
