Klepto Chris: A lesson in karma

G’day. You probably know some child in your own family or network who was like “Klepto Chris”. I’ve always had a soft spot for good kids doing “bad” things because I always felt confident I could make a difference.

Chris was a happy young kid, 8 years old, lots of love, but he just couldn’t stop taking money if it was left lying around and then he’d buy something for other kids so they’d be his friend.

He’d been told, warned, smacked, grounded and even taken to meet a hairy eye-browed policeman to give him a scare. Chris would go OK for a while and then back came the old habit.

You probably know that many young pre-schoolers steal because they don’t yet know the boundaries – what they want they take. But 6-9 year olds are the worst; they know the rules but they're still self-centred - their need outranks their reasoning.

Some are stealing with their hands what's missing from their heart, some are just robbing hoods, some have ADHD and act before they think (i.e. there’s no malice in their stealing, just thoughtlessness) but a lot seem to steal to buy friends. .. kids whose self-image is so shaky they need to buy their peer props.

So I always check on what the stealers are doing with the money. That will tell you a lot as to where the problem is and what needs attention.

In Chris’s case he was one of those impulsive ADHD types that acted first and thought later so medication helped him think things through much better.

We also got him into soccer to help him make friends, but at home we started a game, instead of keeping money away from him, mum had to leave money lying around and each day Chris had to say where she left it and how much.

The idea was to strengthen up his mind muscle rather than punishing him for being a bad boy.

Most of my cases get lost from my life, but not Chris. After a shaky school career, he became a mechanic and then with lots of hard work and a supportive partner in Karlye, he did night courses and became a fireman and the Fire Service really valued his mechanical expertise.

Now Chris has three young children! And how do I know all this? Well, Chris brought his 5 year old son Aiden to see me because Aiden is upsetting the whole family, because, no lie, “Doc he’s taking things that don’t belong to him and it’s driving his mum mad”. Chris had tried sharing the problem with his parents but apparently they just rolled their eyes. It’s called Karma, Chris!