Ditto!!

i think you did the right thing instead of getting flack you should of gotten some praise as to what you did, and i do the same to my grandkids the last thing i want to see is this problem being ignored and the child have bigger problems later in life and no on can control him , i think you did him and his parents a favor!!

My 2 kids did he same thing. They didnt like it but they learned.Then my daughter got angry and broke a neighbor] in Germany] Barbie, So I made her give one of her newer ones to the other child. Boy that was the best lesson learned. It is not mean etc. if the child is old enough to know what is right and wrong.Especially if you are the one that bought the toy.No one should give you flack. The child will make the money back. Money is too hard to come by now-a-days. Ya done fine in my book!!

After teaching elementary school for many years, and raising my own kids, all I can say is kudos to you! I have seen too many kids who don't realize there are consequences for their actions. They need to understand this by about 7 or 8 years because the older they get, the bigger the problems and consequences...school suspension, trouble with police, courts, jail, etc. Start with the small things before the problems are large. At age 7 he is old enough to understand that what he did was wrong. You are teaching him, and doing him a favor in the long run. Most of the kids that I've seen having problems with authority in school are often the ones whose parents "run interference" for the kids and prevent kids from learning the consequences of their actions. It's easier to be "the nice guy" but it doesn't help the kids to become responsible people. BTW, I wouldn't give the money back...seems like you might be feeling a little guilty about keeping it. It's a small price to pay for a large life lesson. (Have him donate the money to church or a charity if you don't want to keep it!)

An 8 year old is plenty old enough to learn that his actions have consequences. If they don't learn then, watch out for when they're 15!

Exactly!

Exactly! I would love it if others helped me teach my kids what is right. I had to do it all myself after I was widowed. My family spent way too much energy 'feeling sorry for them'.

I agree, your reaction was a good one. . An 8 year old that did something like that on purpose needs to learn a lesson. I probably would have been too angry to think of what you did.. I'd probably have taken him by the collar and marched him to the woodshed.. (I don't really do that anymore, but I would have been really upset by that kind of behavior!) The sooner a child learns that there are consequences to their actions the better. When I raised my children I was always hopeful that they could learn the lessons they needed while they could pay for their actions. As they get older the things they do cannot be paid sometimes without life long scars. Better to take a child back to a store for stealing when they're 5 or 6 than have them in jail when they're 22 for stealing. He can afford to pay for this, hopefully it will hurt enough for him to learn from it..

I agree, to many children are not being taught responsibility for their own actions. Children today also have so much they don't appreciate what they have. I feel sorry for them.

Sounds as if the parents need some lessons in parenting.

i think you did the right thing. the rest of the family needs to understand that too many kids get away with this kind of thing and end up hurting others when they are grown