Sneaky kindergartener....taking things out of the house without permission

[MilkOnDemand]

The daycare director stopped my dh this morning during drop off to let us know that Dustin has been bringing his gameboy not only to daycare, but to school & then playing it on the daycare van to & from school. We have talked to Dustin about how he is NOT allowed to take it from our house because we don't want it to get broken or stolen, plus telling him that school is not the place for video games. This is the 2nd time he has been caught, and I've already decided no video games at all for 2 weeks, but I don't think this is enough to help understand that taking it was very deceitful and also that the boundaries we set are there to help him, not convinience us. I also want him to understand that the games are a privledge, not a right. He will be 6 in a month, so I think it is important that he start understanding...

[mamaduck]

Maybe you could ask ahead of time that if this happens again, his teacher or DCP confiscate it for a period of time?

Another idea would be to designate a place in your house where the game boy must be deposited each morning before school. A place that you can see it. And then make it a routine to check that it is there every day.

[Quillian]

I second MamaDucks advice And maybe have him involved in finding a solution. Basically what to do you want to come out of this situation?Have the gameboy home and have him understand the reasons why right? Taking away the gameboy without previous knowledge will shift his thinking from problem solving to anger imo.

[foreverinbluejeans]

No video games for 2 weeks is a punishment. Punishments do not teach good behavior and can make children resent their mother. I think this is a mom problem, it is your responsibility to put the Gameboy in a place that the child can't get it. You may be upset because the daycare director caught you. What if she were to punish you by saying your child could not come to day care for 2 weeks. I think it is import to think about how our children feel (not about how upset you are) when we consider punishing them.

[moondiapers]

Originally Posted by foreverinbluejeans

No video games for 2 weeks is a punishment. Punishments do not teach good behavior and can make children resent their mother. I think this is a mom problem, it is your responsibility to put the Gameboy in a place that the child can't get it. You may be upset because the daycare director caught you. What if she were to punish you by saying your child could not come to day care for 2 weeks. I think it is import to think about how our children feel (not about how upset you are) when we consider punishing them.

I agree, I would assume that he's not yet ready for the responsibility and I would put the game boy up out of reach each time he is done playing with it. Once I felt he could handle the responsibility I would get it down for him....

or...

I would let him use it on the bus, loosing his gameboy until he's saved enough money to replace it because someone stole it or because it broke is a very real and natural consequence. My mother never placed restrictions on my belongings. There weren't her's to restrict.

-Heather

[Messac888]

IMHO, I would think that not letting him have the Gameboy for 2 weeks would only worsen the problem cuz he'd want to play it even MORE to "make up for" two weeks of lost playing time. I like the idea of having a specific place he must put it every morning before leaving for school. In our family we do natural concequences, so he'd be allowed to keep thinking he's getting by us unnoticed and then, when it breaks or is stolen, he'll learn, albeit the hard way. Sometimes the lessons best learned are the ones that teach themselves.