What to Do When a Friend's Child Takes Something from Your Home

hello M.! ok you need to tell his mother that some things have been missing and if she could just see if the items are at her house. dont make it seem like your saying he did it but at least she knows to look. then if she finds them she will know about her son. im sure if your kids were to take something from someones home you would like to know, right? you dont have to let anyone you dont want in your home. i dont know his mother or if she is the over dramatic, but she should know!! good luck! i hope you get your stuff back!!!!

I would try to nicely say something to the parent. There may be a problem they already know about and just don't advertise it much, and this could help them out. Otherwise, this child will continue to take things and think there is no punishment for it. My brothers friend did the same when we were younger, and my mom said something to their mom along the lines of "You know, I have a small problem. Some of the things such as....seem to be missing from our house. I was wondering if you have seen them around at all." The other mother replied "I'm sure my son has them, he seems to have gotten sticky fingers a lot lately. I'll ask him about them and then take a look around his room." Sure enough he had them, he apologized, his parents apologized, and my mother being a saint that she is worked with the parents to try and help the child out. Then my younger brother became friends with this kids younger brother...and imagine this...the same thing happened! AHHH!

I agree with Kari. In my experience, it's a lot easier to get something back if you act like it was a mistake, even if you know it wasn't. Once she finds the items, you can ask her to remind him that he can't take something without asking the parent (i.e...you) if it's OK. If you have him over again, limit the areas of the house in which the kids can go and politely stop him before he goes home and ask if he's sure he's taken everything out of his pockets. You provide him a concrete reminder that way about what's acceptable (or not) at your house, plus it's a lot harder for him to lie to your face.

Ok i understand that you are mad but first and most importantly you need to calm down about it before you go to his parents. This is something that kids do, kids of all ages and someitmes it becomes a problem and sometimes it is jsut a dumb thingthat happens once and never again, it depends onthe kid, i babysit and i've had kids take things, mostly younger kids the oldest was 9, but then again my dd when she moved in ehre with her dad, she took things as well and she would take things from her sitters but she was 4 at the time and it wasn't malicisous sp? boy did it ever piss me off though, so i can relate. I have always found it best though to calmly call and say hey the other day when you son was here i noticed a couple things missing when he left would you mind asking him if he knows where they got to? generally a parent can tell if their child is lying but if you call them up and make accusations then you're likely to get a lot more resitance. I've found i get a lot more of my stuff back and have better long term results if i make it sound like i think it was an accident even the few times i knew it wasn't. good luck.

Not to sound like the bad guy, but are you sure your child didn't take them and when you asked about them he didn't hide them for fear of getting in trouble? If you are sure that it was the neighbor kid, I would go over to the house and ask the mom to ask her son if he remembers seeing the items in question. I would certainly make sure she does it in front of you and when he says no (because all kids lie about stealing, especially when they get caught) I would say, you and (your son) were the only ones who could have taken them and neither one of you has seen them, until I get them back you and (your son) can no longer play in my home. I am sure the mom will get mad, but the way I see it, stealing is stealing, skeleton keys aren't replacable and memory cards are expensive.
Good Luck, and most likely be ready for a fight!
Jenn