Rite of Passage or Cry for Help?
Your daughter is wearing bracelets and earrings you don't recognize or buying expensive gifts for friends. Your son's CD collection has suddenly grown. Or worse, you pick up the phone one day to hear a police voice: Your teenager has been picked up for shoplifting.
Parental nightmare? Yes. But does this mean your child is on the road to juvenile delinquency? Maybe, but unlikely.
"An awful lot of kids, boys and girls, ages 12, 13, or 14, even younger, get involved with shoplifting," says Anthony E. Wolf, PhD, author of Get Out of My Life: But First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall? "As a clinical psychologist, when I hear about a teenager shoplifting, I don't think, 'Oh my God, this is a pathological situation' -- although it may be."
Consider:
Most juveniles caught shoplifting, when asked why they did it, will say, "I don't know," says Sharon Jones of Shoplifters Alternative, a nonprofit organization based in Jericho, N.Y., that conducts education programs for juvenile offenders. As for adults, the reasons kids shoplift vary. But often they do it because they want nice things, feel pressured by friends, or simply do it for the thrill, Jones says. Typically, the items teens steal are things they can't afford or are not allowed to have, like CDs and tapes, cosmetics, stylish clothes, cigarettes, or consumer electronics.
Another contributor is the combination of poor impulse control and adolescent vulnerability that characterizes the preteen years. "Teenagers new to a sense of their own autonomy want to show to themselves that they can do bad and naughty things. It gives them a sense of power and excitement," Wolf says. They also may be showing off to friends or they may steal merchandise on a dare. "The effect of the group is powerful in this age group. They'll goad each other into it."
Parental nightmare? Yes. But does this mean your child is on the road to juvenile delinquency? Maybe, but unlikely.
"An awful lot of kids, boys and girls, ages 12, 13, or 14, even younger, get involved with shoplifting," says Anthony E. Wolf, PhD, author of Get Out of My Life: But First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall? "As a clinical psychologist, when I hear about a teenager shoplifting, I don't think, 'Oh my God, this is a pathological situation' -- although it may be."
Consider:
- About 23 million people in the U.S. steal from retail stores -- one in 11 Americans.
- Although teenagers 13-17 make up just 7% of the U.S. population, they account for 25% of all shoplifters arrested.
- 89% of kids say they know other kids who shoplift.
- 20% of adults who shoplift say they started stealing in their teens.
Why Teens Shoplift
Most juveniles caught shoplifting, when asked why they did it, will say, "I don't know," says Sharon Jones of Shoplifters Alternative, a nonprofit organization based in Jericho, N.Y., that conducts education programs for juvenile offenders. As for adults, the reasons kids shoplift vary. But often they do it because they want nice things, feel pressured by friends, or simply do it for the thrill, Jones says. Typically, the items teens steal are things they can't afford or are not allowed to have, like CDs and tapes, cosmetics, stylish clothes, cigarettes, or consumer electronics.
Another contributor is the combination of poor impulse control and adolescent vulnerability that characterizes the preteen years. "Teenagers new to a sense of their own autonomy want to show to themselves that they can do bad and naughty things. It gives them a sense of power and excitement," Wolf says. They also may be showing off to friends or they may steal merchandise on a dare. "The effect of the group is powerful in this age group. They'll goad each other into it."
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