Stolen things

LegacyUser

My young fella 8y/o left a book of match attax outside earlier, by accident, he went out a couple of hours later and over half (around 160 or so) of them were gone. Now I know it was his own fault that he left it there but he's devastated. The thing that has really upset him, is that it was (most likely) one of his friends that he plays with almost every day that stole them. He said himself that it was his own fault for leaving them there, and he'd decided to rebuild the collection with his pocket money (saying "it's so bad that all my work is gone but they're only cards" and he has learned a valuable lesson in taking care of his stuff) but the fact that it was probably one of his mates is the bit that has him in bed crying.

How do I stop him from:

a) accusing every kid in the area that has some of the cards that are gone of stealing them (I have explained that he can't accuse anyone because he didn't see anyone doing it).

and

b) losing faith in his friends (that since we moved here, he's been so happy to have good friends that he can go play with and go off and do boy things with. He didn't really have that where we last lived).

LadyMayBelle

awww wrote: »

My young fella 8y/o left a book of match attax outside earlier, by accident, he went out a couple of hours later and over half (around 160 or so) of them were gone. Now I know it was his own fault that he left it there but he's devastated. The thing that has really upset him, is that it was (most likely) one of his friends that he plays with almost every day that stole them. He said himself that it was his own fault for leaving them there, and he'd decided to rebuild the collection with his pocket money (saying "it's so bad that all my work is gone but they're only cards" and he has learned a valuable lesson in taking care of his stuff) but the fact that it was probably one of his mates is the bit that has him in bed crying.

How do I stop him from:

a) accusing every kid in the area that has some of the cards that are gone of stealing them (I have explained that he can't accuse anyone because he didn't see anyone doing it).

and

b) losing faith in his friends (that since we moved here, he's been so happy to have good friends that he can go play with and go off and do boy things with. He didn't really have that where we last lived).

Who is more upset about the fact it might have been one of his friends who swiped them; him or you? Yeah it a very rubbish thing to happen, poor chap, but he sounds a bit rational about it, acknowledging that he left them out, and that he can save up and buy more.
You just have to empathise with that how crap it was, and that sometimes in life people do things without realising the repercussions; dont get inot a name and blame game with him, just encourage him to stand tall and to be more careful of things in the future.

Really feel for him, a friend nicked a bunch of my fancy papers when I was a kid but I couldnt confirm it, but I knew, I knew!

LegacyUser

Well I think that of course I'm upset for him but I also think its a lesson well learned, however harsh it may seem. He is extremely upset at the idea that it was one of his friends, that more so than the cards to be honest. We were away this weekend and that's the part that he kept going back to.

I have said that he can't go around accusing people. Even if he thinks he knows who did it, I think he understands why but it's still hard for him.

Thanks for the response.