The 4-Year Old Accused of Shoplifting
From the archive. This post was first published on the original Green Eggs and Moms blog and is kept here as it was.
In the case of the Savannah Harp incident- the 4-year old girl from Washington, US who was banned from a store, after being interrogated by a security guard for shoplifting- who is at fault?
The Story
Who is at fault?
You can look at this story from multiple angles: the security guard, the child and the parents.
Frankly the secutiry guard overreacted and went a bit too far by asking the 4 year old to sign a document that stated she was banned from the store.
Next, the child. While no one can really blame the little girl for this, some argue she is old enough to know the concept of stealing. In my opinion, even if Savannah was taught that stealing is bad, I doubt her actions in the grocery store of were of malicious intent. Besides, if she really was bent on stealing, she would not have returned the dried fruits on the shelf.
That leaves us with the parents. While some blame the father for not keeping an eye on Savannah, some also say that this ocurred because her parents failed to teach her how to behave.
But honestly, everyone should just relax!
1. Parents can’t always keep an eye on their kids, especially in stores. Yes, real parents become pre-occupied with shopping lists and finding the right products, which means little children are left unsupervised for short periods of time. This is a fact of life. Why do you think child harnesses were invented?
2. No parent can teach children every single DO’s & DONT’s of the real world. They are bound to miss something. Again, this is a fact of life.
The takeaway
Kids will always mess up. What’s important is for parents to explain what they did wrong so they can understand that in the real world, actions have consequences. Oh, and a little girl innocently munching on fruits can hardly be considered as a criminal act!
Sources:Komonews.com – Security guard in hot water over treatment of 4-year-old shoplifter
Mommyish.com – 4-Year-Old Girl Interrogated For ‘Shoplifting’
Photo:
Creative Commons from eflon
Video:
Youtube from 1Mackinley
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