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Dealing with a teen's tendency to shoplift can be heartbreaking and overwhelming. We never think this will happen to us, but in reality it happens more often than we realize. Teens can often be facing peer pressure, bullying, insecurities and so much more. Read on to learn how to deal with your teen's tendency to shoplift.

Afraid your child may end up in juvenille hall? Think he or she may have shoplifting tendencies?

Is your daughter wearing jewellery you've never seen before? Bracelets, pendants and earrings you fail to recognize? Has your son suddenly acquired a host of DVD's you know he did not have yesterday? Or worse yet, have you picked up the telephone to hear a policeman's voice telling you that your teenage son has been apprehended for shoplifting, please meet him at the police station? Your worse nightmare come true? Definitely! But this does not mean that your son or daughter is heading for juvenile hall. In actual fact, Anthony E.Wolf, PhD who is the author of, Get Out of My life: But First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall? states that as a clinical psychologist he does not think, Oh my God, this is a pathological situation although it could be.

Wolf takes into account that approximately 23 million people in the U.S alone steal from retail stores. This estimate means that one in every eleven Americans has shoplifted at one stage in their lives. Teenagers between 13-17 make up just 7% of the U.S population, yet they are said to account for at least 25% of all arrested shoplifters. Unfortunately 89% of these same teens state that they know numerous other kids who shoplift. On top of all that, 20% of adult shoplifters state that they began their life of crime as a teen. But Wolf and other professionals appear to believe that finding the reasons behind the need for shoplifting can keep a child from becoming a repeat offender.

So why do teens shoplift?

Most teens who shoplift do not need the stolen articles, they are actually calling out for attention but do not realize this. Ask Sharon Jones of Shoplifters Alternative, ( which is a non profit organization which is based in Jericho, N.Y ) and she will tell you that teens who are caught shoplifting have problems explaining why they did it. The majority of juvenile shoplifters say, I don't know why I did this! Teenagers steal for a host of reasons, many want to have the same things as their friends. Others steal because they feel pressured by their peers or wish to be accepted by the in-crowd.

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