Neighbor Boy Stole Easter Eggs That Where Hidden for My 2 Yr Old

To you (since you have a 2 yr old), 6 seems like a big kid. 6 is by far still a young, learning age. I'd tend to be more upset at parents of a 6 yr old who might not handle situations well, but sounds like they are taking charge. I'd let this go. Soon enough you will find out just how "little" 6 still really is. :)

You really need to stop dwelling on this. What kinds of inapropriae things did you do when you were 6? It's only easter eggs, and for one poster to compare him to the grinch.....really?!,the Grinch?! Well, in the end, everyone loved the grinch!

I think my reaction would depend on which kid was mine. It is kind of funny and you will never forget this Easter! It's over. Forget it. They did everything they could do to make it right.

Just remember..... anything you say your kids will never do..... they will do in public.

I was once irritated with my four year old nephew for licking off all of the icing off one side of my one year old's (first baby) cake and thought that he should have known better. I remember all the comments that I made to my sister in law or directly to my niece and nephew over the years when they were under 5 regarding things that I felt they should know better and not do. Now that I am a parent of a 5 year old, a 2.5 year old and a 14 month old, I feel terribly guilty looking back and remembering some of the things that I said and remembering how high my expectations were of them. Like someone else said he might have thought that the Easter Bunny left them for him and candy filled eggs are way too high of a temptation for a 6 year old. I would totally let it go.

I would have totally been upset about the theft of the eggs but not so much after I found out it was a 6 year old. It sounds like the parents did a good job in resolving the situation. I would definitely not let this get in the way of being good neighbors. As far as the Dad initially laughing he was probably caught off guard.

Good luck!

I think the parents handled it well and, if you can have some good humor about it, you might "hire" him to be the Easter bunny and to do all the hiding for you next year. Of course his mother is mortified, we all would be. Of course his father thinks it's funny, men are pigs :-)

Well I can answer that question because I have a 5 and a half year old. If he saw Easter eggs he would go and collect them, because they are there and there is candy involved.

He still doesn't understand our yard vs the neighbors yard. He might know they weren't "his" eggs but the temptation would be too overwhelming for him to resist.

As his mother I would be a bit embarrassed and make him apologize and make restitution. It would make a GREAT lesson about not taking things that don't belong to you and boundaries.

You will understand it a bit more when your daughter is 6. They are not fully trained and civilized quite yet at that age.

I can think of very few 6 year old boys that WOULDN'T do this. It isn't malicious----he just really wanted those eggs! 6 year olds (or 16 year olds for that matter) simply aren't capable of making those kinds of decisions. He probably didn't even question whether it was right or wrong, he just did it. His parents handled it. Your daughter is fine. What I would do is think "How would I want my neighbors to react if my child had done this?"
I think the answer is probably "with understanding and patience."

Sounds like you have some decent neighbors--lucky you!

He was intruigued by the eggs. He apologized, added some additional eggs and re-hid them. No harm done. He didn't steal a car. I wouldn't be upset. The parents handled it properly. Something to laugh it. One day your child might do something similiar. A little grace extended to this excited neighbor boy is in order. Maybe next year he will help you hide all of the eggs savings you time, energy and backache.

All of your responses are great! I just wanted to share that I got a good laugh out of your post. Finding eggs is fun and thrilling for children of all ages so he probably thought he struck gold! The parents handled it just fine. Everyone is experiencing different feelings about the situation right now, but in the end it truly is an Easter either family will never forget and you all will have a great laugh about it for years and years to come. Thanks for sharing :)

HONESTLY- as a pretty "strict" M., I personally had to laugh out loud when I read the title to your question. I found it funny enough to tell my husband the title of the request (who is in the same room as I). My husband's response to the question..."what a jerk!" -referring to the six year old boy (lol).

Now let me be clear, I would NOT have laughed if I was there in person (hopefully his father didn't laugh in front of him to encourage this behavior ?), BUT this is one of those stories that you can tell everyone about on Easter about how some neighborhood kid had the gall to take an innocent 2 year-old's eggs! Just sounds funny. I'd have to say that his punishment seemed appropriate. I have a 6 year old... and a 5, 3, and 1 1/2 year old, so I handle stuff between them far too frequently.

Just a different perspective on the subject, however- My kids LOVE hunting Easter eggs, SO much, in fact that we have several hunts on Easter. As soon as the eggs are all found, we hide them again, and again... Your 6 year old neighbor was probably wrapped up in the fun of finding Easter eggs that he got a little carried away! You are right, he knew it was wrong, but some other mom mentioned that 6 is still very young, and it is... so lighten up a bit. He was punished and rightfully so. Try not to brew up a hatred for him though (not saying you are) LOL.

I think it is great that they had a wonderful consequence for what their son did, they are good at finding a punishment that fit the crime. yeah he is six and should know better, but sometimes when you are young even if you know better you cant controll yourself. I dont think it is a huge deal and I think that his parents did the right thing and hopefully he did learn from it. hopefuly this will be his first and last theift.

6 is still pretty young, as you will know when your kids are almost grown. That's why he did it, he's young.

This is a learning experience for the boy, and it sounds like his parents handled it well. He did exactly the things he should have done.

If the dad thinks it's funny, that's between him and his wife. Actually it IS kind of funny, and will make a good story for when he's older. I hope the reason he did it isn't that his parents don't put out eggs for him - that would make me sad for the poor little boy.

I don't think he was thinking of right or wrong. I think he was a 6 yr old thinking about the fun of the hunt and the candy inside!

Lesson learned:
1. after hiding the eggs, someone should keep watch over the yard.
2. next year, invite him over for a joint egg hunt.

M.

Sure...That stinks. But it kinda sounds like you got the right response from the parents. Besides, at six, his concept of right and wrong are still warring with his former toddler -I-am-the-center-of-the-universe self.

When I was 5, I absconded with a handful of my beloved gramma's jewelry (the fake stuff to be sure). Boy did I get in trouble. I remember my mother's horror and my father humor. I had to return it, apologize, then do yard work.

I agree with the other moms. At 6 years old he may not of even realized he was doing something wrong, until he got caught. For all we know he may have thought the Easter Bunny left them there for him. Obviously when he saw you guys he made the connection that he should not have taken those eggs. And he made a bad decision to lye about it. The lure of candy filled eggs is just too strong a temptation for most 6 year olds. His mother handled it well and as far as his father laughing, I kind of chuckled too when I read about it. Not because it ok for him to take the eggs that were not his, but because it is something only a precocious 6 year old little bot would do. Not to mention his family will still be teasing him about it when he is 40.

I can understand why you were upset when you found out about the "theft", but since the parents rectified the situation, I would definitely let it go. You don't want to become the Hatfields and McCoys over a few Easter eggs that were replaced. I agree that at 6 years old, they still don't have a lot of control over their impulses. I have a 4 year old that has started to display some behaviors that I would expect out of a 2 year old and she NEVER did that kind of thing when she WAS 2! It is maddening because I think she should "know better", but at her age, she apparently still needs a reminder every now and then.

Bottom line is that the parents took care of the situation, so just move on and continue to be good neighbors. No harm done!

six is still so little... they were there (eggs) and you were not... too tempting. poor kid was probably so embarassed... that is punishment enough at that age. my only advice is to hide them right before you hunt...

Of course I'd be upset, but the main thing is that the parents did the right thing. If they didn't, I'd be really angry. But since they were good parents about the whole thing, I'd let it go. Unless the 6 year old is a real bully (a true bully, not just a stinker) he is just being 6. I doubt he did it just to be mean. He saw eggs, he wanted them, he took them. He knew better and tried to lie about it, but it most likely wasn't done to be cruel. He is a little kid with poor impulse control. Kids do things all the time that they know better than to do. But for kids it is more like practice. They don't automatically know right from wrong, and when they do they don't always understand WHY it is right or wrong. He only knows what he wants and takes it. I shoplifted candy at about that age. I knew it was wrong. And I would never ever do something like that now. But at the time I just wanted the candy. As long as the dad isn't encouraging the behavior, I think the whole thing played out just fine. Your daughter doesn't really know what was going on, and the 6 yr old learned a lesson. And, you got to see what kind of parents your neighbors are, and that is a nice thing to know.

I agree with the other responses that said although he should not have done it, it was resolved as best as could be. The only thing I would add is that it is sad he didn't have eggs hidden for him by his parents. So the temptation was probably too much for him. Maybe next year you can involve him with hiding eggs for your child. And it would be nice of you to hide a few in his yard for him.
Hope this is helpful.
Victoria

I understand the initial feeling; we had neighborhood kids kick over our snowman this year, and steal all our winter wear: hats, scarfs, etc. that we put on the snow-family before we came in to eat dinner. I did find out where the kids lived and I did find three of the items on the sidewalk (on the path to their house) so I stopped by and knocked on the door. No answer; although I could hear kids in there, well , until I knocked and then it went QUIET! No answer for any of the three times I knocked. The next day, we thought we would stop again, a teenager answered, 'don't live here' ' not sure when a parent will be home' etc. This infuriated me!!! I eventually wrote a note to the address so that the parents were aware....it is frustrating, I am sure the parents know now....I ALWAYS see a car there now, which wasn't the case before so maybe they are watching the kids better. It is frustrating, but more so that the kids need to take responsibility for what they do---

I think this family did the right thing to make it right, so I hope that gives you peace about it. I would be more irritated about no response than the several step one you got....be thankful for parents that do step up. I do knowing that it 'seems' my neighbors are being monitored better. That is really all we can ask....kids are kids and parents can only respond with good teaching; we can prevent ALL things or foresee gaps in our parenting....I would not think to say "okay kids, it is Easter so if you see eggs anywhere do not touch them unless you ask." Not to excuse the situation but just to understand more fully. I LOVE the idea of asking him to be your "bunny" next year......hilarious and a fun way to connect your neighborhood.

I would have been irratated but it sounds like the parents did make him do right. I would have been more upset if the parents didn't do anything.

He may not have had a very good Easter and was jealous. Invite their family to do joint hunting next year or put the eggs in a fenced in yard area.

6 is still pretty little. maybe he didn't realize he didn't get to look for them too. Maybe next year do a egg hunt and include him. tell him he can look for all the blue eggs or whatever. It is one of those stories you will laugh over later. and she is little so she doesn't really know what happened.

be happy the parents at least punished for stealing, dads think weird anyway when i read your post to my husband he too laughed but said if it were his son "his a** would be red". you have every right to be angery.

The fact that the father thought it was funny is probably why he thinks he can do things like that. I would find it very irritating, if it was my son and husband I would yell at both of them. Stealing easter eggs from a neighbor's yard is just not right. Maybe they should do their own easter egg hunt with their son, and he wouldn't feel the need to do that.

I don't really see the humor... you were lucky to realize what happened right away. What if the boy was not around, then you would just be without any eggs on Easter, not like you can run out to the store or anything. He's like the Grinch that stole Christmas.

I don't have time to read the responses so I don't know if this has been stated but why is the 6 year old roaming outside by himself? I have a 6 yo and would not let her out by herself!

I would talk to that child sternly you know give him a piece of your mind.

Personnaly, I think I could see my 4 1/2 yr old doing this now & even in a few years... they don't always think before they react.

We hid our 3 doz eggs inside this year - some were really easy others a little harder... I have a 2 1/2, 4 1/2 & 6 yr old. My 6 yr old did push her baby brother out of the way to get some of the easy ones. After the older 2 gave up - I helped the littlest find the harder ones. They all needed found - they were hard boiled eggs.

But if there is no real boundry marker - it is harder for little kids to know what is their yard & what isn't. And when they are excited - their brain goes out the window. I'm not saying what he did was right, but I do feel his punishment was a good one. Even if your daughter was a bit older - she could have been told that he found some in your yard by mistake & will rehide them for her.

My kids took the plastic eggs out of their baskets & are still hidding them all over the house... they are playing Easter Bunny - even if they are all empty. They don't care - it's just fun to hunt them... so they take turns hidding them.

One question - how well does this boy know your family? I know one of my neighbors very well, but on the other side - I don't know if they have a kid or not. They never leave their house - unless they are leaving & even then they don't say anything if they see us. Heck - we just found out that one of the kids in my daughters kindergarden class lives 3 doors down last week & they have lived there for 3 years.

Either way - as long as he knows he did wrong & accepted his punishment... all has been handled. And everyone should leave it behind them & laugh about it down the road.

Glad you are starting to see the humor in it & I hope you neighbor boy's mom does here soon also.