The Power of Money

I had the pleasure of attending my son's parade for Halloween. This is where all of the kids get in their costumes and walk a couple of blocks as their parents "ooh" and "aah". The parade went off without much of a hitch as the rain held off and no one was injured.

It was after the parade that things got intersting. As I was on my way to get my son from his room, the Principal stopped me. He said that he had noticed that my son was coming to school with a hand full of quarters each morning and purchasing pens, pencils and paper. Now, the kid has been in school for about two full months, so I find it hard to believe that he would need any more supplies than we have already purchased. I thanked the Principal for his insight into my son's behavior and slowly walked to retrieve my son from his room.

I was torn as to how I was going to confront my son. I didn't want to make a scene at the school. I have done this once before and I ended up in more trouble than my son.

When I arrived at his classroom, I asked to see all of his pens, pencils and workbooks. He showed me all of his supplies with pride and some wonder. It was almost as if he could sense that I knew what he was doing.

We left the room and my mind was racing. I stopped him near the dispensers of the school supplies and asked him if he needed any more pens, pencils, etc. Sheepishly, he stated that he had enough. Then I asked him if this was where he was purchasing the new supplies. Again, very sheepishly, he said yes.

It is at this point that I sought to discover what he found so empowering about the ability to purchase new supplies. I asked him to explain where he got the money to buy these supplies. To his credit, he told me that he was taking the coins from a large canister in the office at home. I asked him why he felt that he needed to steal from me to get new supplies. He was unable to give me an answer and the tears were starting to well up in his eyes. In order to not cause a large scene, I told him to get going toward the car.

In the car, I tried to get him to tell me why he needed to steal the money from me and again, he was unable.

I am truly puzzled as to why he would need to buy more supplies. He has enough for a couple of years of elementary school!

Perhaps, he feels empowered by the ability to steal. It is not about the supplies but more about stealing without getting caught.

Needless to say, my son was unable to go out trick-or-treating. His punishment is to have to sit next to his sister and watch her eat all of the candy her heart desires.

I am still working on the reason for his need to steal. He has never wanted for much in his life. I have done all that I can to make sure that he is well fed, has clothes to wear and a comfortable bed to sleep in. Maybe I need him to see what it is like to "want" a little more in his life.