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Hard not to be snarky when people are essentially accusing you of being an immoral thief.
This is pretty rich when the snarky accusations started with some comment around pearl clutching perfect people.
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What about going 5 mph over the speed limit. I am sure if you take back a pack of gum then you never go over the speed limit, or not use your turn signal, etc.
The fun thing about the consequences of speeding is a speeding ticket! Police departments love them. The fun thing about the consequences of your kid taking something is returning it or paying for it.
My mom was telling me a story what my 2yr. old niece had done while out shopping with her mom and Grandparents. They thought it was funny. I didn't and told my mom if my sister-in-law don't send the money to cover the cost of the necklace, it's stealing and not setting a good example for the kid. My mom acted like it was no big deal. I was mad.
I would take the 2 year old and the necklace back to the store and ask to see the manager. It is a big deal. It seems they should be watching a 2 year old a little better while shopping. Perhaps they take it so lightly because the 2 year old saw another family member do the same thing, something to definitely think about.
I am shining off crowns of perfect moral leadership. Line up. But bring the gum your kid tossed into the bag without paying.
The only thing worse than taking the moral low ground, is throwing stones at those who are at least trying to teach their kids the right thing.
If you kid swipes something and you don't care, the world won't end but that doesn't mean YOU did the right thing. But what is absolutely wrong, is pretending there is something wrong with those who say they would take it back or pay for it. Shame on you for THAT.
I'm curious how that would go. You call the store, and describe the item, and say I'd like to pay for the $3 item with my credit card over the phone, please.
Employee time is worth something. It's hard to believe it would be worth an employees time and effort to take that payment.
But it would be interesting to try it (not stealing an item, just calling and trying to set that up and see what happens).
Do stores not have price tags where you live? Do items not have UPC numbers on them? Even packs of gum have upc barcodes on them. Read the number.
And if the employee is confused, ask for the manager. If they say "don't worry about it" than at least you attempted to make payment. But pretending that the store is hundreds of miles away is just an excuse for poor behavior.
Do you see that there would be a difference in accidental taking, and purposeful taking? A child who is old enough to know better (age 4+) and who will benefit from the lesson should be taken back to the store.
Accidental taking - or taking by a child too young to know any better (2 and below) maybe could be handled differently.
Sometimes, this is a teachable moment, and sometimes it's oops the gum slipped down into the bottom of the cart and I didn't see it at check out.
If someone happened to grab your computer, in a bag that looks exactly like yours, at a conference, do you think they are morally obligated to try and return it? Because that would be accidental theft too and the only difference is the value of the item. And then we are back to assigning a number value to theft.
Best practice, if my 2 year old grabbed something and put it in a stroller and I didn't notice until I got home, I'd take it back and explain the situation, expecting no big deal. In reality...I'm not perfect and I'd probably not have immediate time to take it back and I have mom brain and I might actually forget all about it or I might totally remember to take care of it...either way, I'd have the best of intentions whether or not it worked out in practice. This is, of course, assuming that a 2 year old would grab a hot wheel or a candy bar and not an x-box or a diamond necklace I wouldn't as easily brain fart on a big ticket item.
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"I don't understand. But I don't care, so it works out."
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lkb0714
If someone happened to grab your computer, in a bag that looks exactly like yours, at a conference, do you think they are morally obligated to try and return it? Because that would be accidental theft too and the only difference is the value of the item. And then we are back to assigning a number value to theft.
Yes, they are morally obligated to look inside the computer case in case there's a phone number or email address you can contact. Do that, and leave the computer at the lost and found. If you can't find any identifying information, then just leave the computer at the lost and found.
My opinion on how your "response" to a 2 year old vs a 4 year old taking an item would be the difference in how you go about returning the item. With the 4 year old, that child needs to take responsibility and apologize for taking it, or some other consequence. A 2 year old need not accompany you back to the store, and need not be shamed because they don't understand property rights and money. You just return the item next time you're back in the store, "this ended up in my cart".
This is pretty rich when the snarky accusations started with some comment around pearl clutching perfect people.
The fun thing about the consequences of speeding is a speeding ticket! Police departments love them. The fun thing about the consequences of your kid taking something is returning it or paying for it.
LOL Oh come on. People speed without getting tickets all the time. And I see red light runners and think, where the hell are the cops when you need them?? That's actually dangerous and risky unlike accidentally keeping a pack of gum one time. So no, not everyone who breaks traffic laws is always ticketed.
By the logic of many here, any time someone catches themselves speeding they need to march themselves to their local PD and demand they be given a ticket. But they don't do that. Because that would be insane. About as insane as returning a pack of gum you didn't realize your kid took until you got home. Or something else as worthless.
I think this is very circumstantial. It depends on the scenario. Did this happen once or does your kid do this all the time? If once, okay, if all the time, you need to address the issue and shouldn't just let it go and always keep what your kid takes. Did your kid take a $100 necklace, or a $2 pack of gum or a small bouncy ball from the dollar store or something? A lot of people are just being hilariously judgmental and holier than thou. It's pathetic and says more about them than those who admit they may just keep the damn gum one time.
For the record, I would probably return even the gum at some point. But I'm not quite so judgy of others. I'm not willing to call them immoral or thiefs.
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I wouldn't as easily brain fart on a big ticket item.
