This is something that is somewhat common in foster care. Stealing is taking anything that does not belong to you (in my opinion). I personally have dealt with this a lot in foster care. In my house in no way is stealing excused even with a foster child. If you steal anything you will face and accept the consequences in my home.

Children coming into foster care can be stealing for any number of reasons. I had one teen boy that was put in the position to steal food and then in time there was not a limit to what he would steal. His biological mother started stealing things to sell to support her drug habit. His grandmother said that his mother would have him steal things so if he got caught it would not be a major deal.

When she did visits with him while he was in foster care she would bring bags or boxes of all kind of things to give to him. It was not surprising for the clothing to be wrong sizes, women’s, and some even came with the security tag still attached. He received women’s roller skates 3 or 4 sizes too small. He would get all kinds of video games but to all different systems and at times more than one of the same game.

He would tell us that his mom stole all of the things that she was giving him. This was considered normal for the teen and had been happening most of his life. He did not understand that other people did not steal things that they wanted.

Children can steal some of the craziest things (pens, remotes, lotion, band-aids, paper clips, keys, etc.) that are not even a benefit to them. They can also steal from anywhere including family and friends.

Stealing food is a common thing that foster children steal. They can be receiving plenty of food and know that the kitchen is full of food but still have the desire to steal food. Candy and sweets are things that you may realize keep disappearing in your home probably because of a child stealing food.

Continued.............

Understanding Foster Children’s Need for Survival Skills

Survival Skills with Your Foster Children - Food