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QUESTION: How should I punish my child who stole candy?
“My 6-year-old son stole candy out of the closet; what is a proper punishment to give him? Tt was two days ago he did it, I’ve seen it just now; putting him in a corner won’t help cause he isn’t learning from it.”
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Community Answers
The following top answers have been selected by a moderator from hundreds of responses to the original question.
“It’s candy and he’s 6! I don’t know that there’s a lesson to be taught there. Think about it. Candy + 6 year old = pure joy. Children are impulsive! Let it go, sit and eat a piece with him and explain how wrong it is to take things without permission and that he needs to try harder next time. Hug him and love him and tell him you know how good he can do at not dipping into the candy. Another thing, if you’re one of those parents that are controlling with food, this is inevitable, to prevent it, you’d have to allow him to indulge once in a while or more often than you do.”
“I would throw the rest away in front of him.. explain its because he helped himself without asking now he won’t get anymore.”
“You can’t punish a child for something that happened 2 days ago. However, you could say i know you took the candy i had put away and next time I would like for you to ask next time before getting into it.”
“He’s 6 years old. The most you should do is tell him you found the candy he took, remind him that he shouldn’t take it without permission bc it’s a dessert and eating too much isn’t good for him…hence why mom decides when he can have a treat.
Put out healthier sweet treats that he can eat when he’s hungry anytime. Fruits, yogurt, granola bar, etc…”
“He’s six and its just candy from your own house. You aren’t raising a thief, you’re raising a kid who likes and wants candy. If you’re that worried about him taking some candy put it outta sight outta mind. Everything in my house is fair game. If there is something I don’t want touched that is for me only which rarely happens I ask em to stay out of it. At 6 candy is the least of your worries.”
“I would say let it slide. Don’t discipline him for something that happened two days ago. You gotta discipline him when it happens. Sit him down & talk to him about having to ask mommy before you eat candy. Maybe put the candy in a different spot & high up so he doesn’t find it & get into trouble for eating candy.”
“Personally I think you’ve missed the moment for “punishment” as it happened two days ago. Have a conversation with him about why it was wrong.”
“He’s a six year old boy who knows there is candy hidden in a closet (for whatever reason?). It’s a perfectly normal thing that 10 out of 10 six year old boys would do.”
“Communicate communicate! My five year old son doesn’t get ‘timeouts’ When he does something he shouldn’t then we sit down and talk about why what he did was wrong, the consequences he will face now, and the privileges that he will lose if he does it again. My son will lose favorite toys, activities, special foods, or even have to help with chores as punishment. I don’t spank my child and I don’t put him in the corner because that solves nothing. Young children are learning and exploring and they need to be told why what they did was wrong not just being told that they did wrong.”
“I’ve always had the policy my son shouldn’t have to ask for certain foods in his own home. He can help his self, just like what adults do in their own home. For us this works well, he isn’t greedy for sweet things and still will eat meals.”
“If it happened two days ago I wouldn’t punish him for it now. Just talk to him and explain to him that he can’t just eat what he wants lol and to ask you first. He’s 6, still a baby as far as I’m concerned.”
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