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I'm pretty sure our 13 year old found our gift stash and went through it.
I know this is common, and I should just let it go, but I'm kind of upset about it. When this happens (if it does) at what age does it happen, and what, if anything, do you do about it?
Hide them better.
Honestly...I am not being snide or snappy or whatever.
But you know how it's going to be now, the curiosity can be insatiable, and you simply need to hide them better.
I agree, stan4. I should clarify. What bothers me is that he deliberately locked us out of the house. We were running a quick errand, and did not take our keys. He knew we were coming right back. When we were gone, he had locked the door, and we were standing out in the freezing (or close to it) cold. He heard us banging on the door, and he said "Umm, just a minute." And continued to not come to the door. I don't think he meant anything cruel by it, but I think he needs to be spoken to about it. His father disagrees. I am the stepmother, BTW. Not looking to get into an evil stepmother thread, just trying to figure out if I should speak up or not.
You could exchange some things and pull a switcheroo, if you're disappointed that the surprise is ruined. Snooping is not OK in any case, so I know you will want to address that. If your kid isn't normally a snoop, chalk it up to insatiable curiosity and hope for better next year. And yes, find a good hiding spot.
I was a snoop as a kid. I was home alone in the afternoons and bored. Trust me, spoiling the surprise is worst for the snoop. You lose the anticipation, and you can't play with or use the gift or even acknowledge that you know what it is. Maybe your teen taught himself or herself a lesson.
What bothers me is that he deliberately locked us out of the house.
That part is weird, but it also is a lesson for you about this time of year. As for the snooping, let it go. His Christmas now will be pretty anticlimactic, which will be his "reward" for snooping.
But next time, hide them better. The older they get, the harder you have to work.
he deliberately locked us out of the house. We were running a quick errand, and did not take our keys. He knew we were coming right back. When we were gone, he had locked the door, and we were standing out in the freezing (or close to it) cold. He heard us banging on the door, and he said "Umm, just a minute." And continued to not come to the door.
THIS is what you talk to him about. He should have been told how unacceptable locking you out is the moment you walked through the door.
Kids snoop. But locking the parents out of the house and making them wait in the cold until he decides to let them in or the coast is clear or whatever..... yeah. Right.
That part is weird, but it also is a lesson for you about this time of year. As for the snooping, let it go. His Christmas now will be pretty anticlimactic, which will be his "reward" for snooping.
But next time, hide them better. The older they get, the harder you have to work.
I agree with this, he basically ruined it for himself. I wouldn't make a big deal out of the snooping either.
One of my best hiding spots was inside the suitcases stacked in the storage room. Worst? Under any bed.
Just curious - how do you know for sure he snooped? Just wondering.
Locking you out of the house is not okay, but are sure he wasn't doing something else?
I'll agree with the others - let it go because he ruined it for himself. I remember we snooped one year. As a gang. There were four of us. I was the youngest and I think they talked me into doing the dirty work. At that point the gifts were already wrapped and under the tree and they talked me into pealing off tape and being the fall guy......
I snooped one year (about the same age) and went back to the scene of the crime because my first snooping took place early in the month of December and I knew there was more to come. When I went back for my second look, I found a letter from my mother that said she knew that I had snooped and was sorry for me because she also knew that my Christmas morning would lack the surprise element that helped to make it special other years. She hoped that I would spend the days until Christmas reflecting on what Christmas was really about and how giving and receiving were essentially gifts among people who cared for each other.
My Son went thru that phase. But mostly I ship stuff to my office, and when I got him a 'big' gift, I left it @ work in our package room. On Christmas Eve after he was asleep I came to work, got it, and brought it home and under the tree.
He was totally surprised. At that point I know he had 'found' the few other things, Mostly clothing. So he was searching big time, since he sort knew there is alway a 'big' gift.
And he could not find it.
(16 now) And he been hinting.. .where is his Gift hidden.. (I have not gotten it (and not sure what I'm getting him yet) yet.
Also @13 maybe he was doing something else that he did not want to be interrupted at, thats why he locked the doors.
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