Teaching not to Steal Things

What do you tell a youth who has read that the British Museum in London is stocked full of cultural treasures that were stolen during the colonial period who asks why the government refuses to give them back when countries ask them to.


We try to raise our children right and tell them that thievery is not tolerable.


And I am sure that many parents have had the experience of a child stealing something and we march them right back and tell them to return it and say sorry.


Where is the lesson when adults in authority positions refuse to do the right thing?

Be very vocal in your opinion that its the wrong thing, join a protest or write a stinging note to the newspapers.


Unfortunately governments then and now keep on making the wrong choices. How do you explain killing, eg, the iraq war? I guess our only choice as parents is to have social conscience discussions and openly disagree with what our government is doing. And encourage kids to be part of the political system - watch you voting!

.........and teach them that adults make mistakes too and some too proud to admit that and return what they've stolen.


Some are too proud to say sorry - the Australian govt only apologised to the Aborigines last year, after a looooooong time!


Tell him that at the end of the day, it is up to him to decide what is right and wrong. And that as long as he can live with himself that he has done the right thing, you'll be proud of him.


I have the same problem with my daughter. I tell her NOT to eat on the trains and I tell her to offer her seat to the elderly. Nobody else does it. Sometimes she'll question me, "Mum, why is that mummy eating on the train? Or why is it that you always ask me to stand up to offer my seat, yet nobody else does it?" So how do you answer those? I tell her that she doesn't have to offer her seat if she doesn't want to. It is entirely up to her but for every action she makes, there is a consequence. The old lady could fall and will not be able to get up like a 4 year old can. The old lady may have to spend time in hospital as a result of the fall. I tell my daughter to decide, it's her seat and that as long as she feels it is right, I will be proud of her. She quickly got up and offered her seat (thank goodness for that).

"The manners of days gone by are long gone. When I was small - no child would be occupying a seat, if a full fare paying adult needed it, regardless of their age."


I think such statements are based on a bit of an illusion. I'm sure previous generations had the same complaints. ;)

In the past, a gentleman would offer his seat to a lady, now it doesn't happen. In fact, last year on the train, I witnessed both a man and a woman rushing for a seat and he beat her to it.

Re-hashing this question, countries stealing from countries is not a relic of the past, countries use their military might to get their way right to this day.


But on another situation, business, we see that leaders actions are driven by greed and that this attitude is one that makes you rich so long as you operate within the laws of our times.


Tell me this, do you teach your kid to play by the rules and behave honestly? Or do some parents encourage their kids to not be so naive and teach them to go for it?


We have a friend who is a very senior banker and he let's his kid run wild, when asked why he puts no controls on him the father said that he thinks its a good think to allow that because it encourages aggression and I assume he expects that this unruly behaviour will be useful in life as a banker at some point.


My question then is do some people encourage behaviour like greed and challenge to the sheep like mentality so as to better equip their kids for a world that rewards these behaviours?

First off, I don't think things will change with time. There will always be a-holes who think as long as they CAN grab what they want it is ok. The fact that they are hated doesn't matter to their egotistical selves.


"We have a friend who is a very senior banker and he let's his kid run wild, when asked why he puts no controls on him the father said that he thinks its a good think to allow that because it encourages aggression and I assume he expects that this unruly behaviour will be useful in life as a banker at some point."


Aggressiveness is ok, but respect should also be taught. I think those kids will find that in professional life being aggressive without scruples doesn't always pay off. Payback will find them. Also, from personal experience I can find no evidence that people who play by the rules are worse off in the long run. Hard work is still required either way.


Another thing about people without scruples is that they tend to have a very black and white view of the world ("weak" vs. "strong"). Savvy people can often outmaneuver them by playing to their weak sides.


"My question then is do some people encourage behaviour like greed and challenge to the sheep like mentality so as to better equip their kids for a world that rewards these behaviours?"


Challenge is good. Greed is vulgar. Ambition is better. As mentioned, I don't think naked aggression and greed give anyone a leg up. People who are respectful of others, as long as they work hard and are not naive, can go just as far.