Teenagers stealing food

Vaila

im sorry but the op has brought this on themselve
understandabbly the have bought some food to keep for whatever reason, thus the children should have been told not to eat it or the op should have hidden it in a cupboard etc. i myself keep all my baking things ie chocolate,dried fruits and nuts away from the main food cupboards

goodnesss sake op, be glad your kids dont have eating disorders , by you classing snacking as stealing!

welshmoneylover

OMG teenagers stealing food.. perhaps they're hungry.

Unbelieveable thread, I'd never in a million years restrict food from the mouths of my children.

OP, are jealous of these children? Or do you just dislike them that much you'd rather see them go without food?

Barneysmom

Maybe you could try being sneaky.
get some snacks in and tell the boys they are forbidden, knowing these are the ones they will eat. Get Tesco own beand cheap chocolate which is very tasty?
I always used to scoff the cereals, and even now like a bowl of cornflakes or Fruit & Fibre in the evenings.
I think toast is a bit too boring for them, or get some peanut butter/choc spread to put on it?

faded_flowers

How rude! We've always shared food equally treat-wise, as in everyone knows if there's 10 of something they can take two etc. Lucky for me, or my brother would eat everything in sight before I ever got there!

Raksha

welshmoneylover wrote: »

OMG teenagers stealing food.. perhaps they're hungry.

Unbelieveable thread, I'd never in a million years restrict food from the mouths of my children.

OP, are jealous of these children? Or do you just dislike them that much you'd rather see them go without food?

Once again - my kids are NOT hungry! I am not restricting their food - I'd just like them to check with me before they eat things and have asked them to do this.

Jealous? Dislike them? I'm a 50 year old woman, not a teenager myself.

ViolaLass

I find it curious that on page three there are still people saying that the OP needs to tell her kids not to eat the nuts etc when she stated in post one that she has done this.

OP, how do your kids respond when you ask/tell them not to eat the nuts? Do they actually listen and appear to take it in? Or do they just say 'whatever' or some equivalent? I would suggest that this is more an issue of discipline than about food per se. Sure, there should always be something they can eat if hungry, fruit or toast seems fine, but if you tell them not to eat the nuts and cranberries without asking first, then that should be that and NEEDS to be enforced. I never had to ask my parents first before eating things from the kitchen but there were certain things that I knew were off limits.

I think no internet for a year is unrealistic though, for you as much as for them. Why not make them pay for those items if they take them (provided you've told them specifically which items)? Or could you find extra chores for them to do?

Hiding the items could obviously work too but you risk them looking for them and finding them and I would be inclined to use this opportunity to work on teaching the kids about rules, discipline and consequences.

mountainofdebt

tbh I don't think the boys are 'stealing' food as such - being inconsiderate yes but theives no.

In fairness if there's food in the cupboards then it is there for everyone, though very often I've gone to eat something and be very annoyed to find there's none left.

I think you have three options here - you either put up with it and accept it as inconsiderate teenage behaviour or don't buy the 'treats' or only buy when you're ready to eat.

The third option is to put the food somewhere where they won't find it - OH used to call the boot of my car a mobile larder as I used to keep 'treats' in there to be made available to eveyone when I decided.

jamespir

pupsicola wrote: »

That comment is so rude and out of order

no its not its just a question

ifonlyitwaseasier

if it's so bad that they can't leave it alone then make no treats and anything you get hide away where they'd never look (in the cupboard with laundry stuff?!?!)

Raksha

Thanks for listening Violalass - the appear to listen, but who knows what's going on between their ears?

We talked about respect, the need for house rules - encouraging them to help make these rules according to things which are important to them as well, how not being able to trust people you live with is a nasty feeling, how stealing from your own family can be the tip of the iceberg and lead to stealing from those not known to you.

I never had these problems with my first son