My son is stealing food... HELP!!! (he is 8 years old)

[megal]

My son has stolen so much food in the last few days its unbelievable!! More than we would eat in a week as a whole family!! I believe there is a middle child syndrom and wander if thats it, but he does it in the middle of the night and has midnight feast. We have told him stealing is unacceptable and I have been 'nice' about it, I havent got angry until today (explain that in a mo).
We had to put a lock on the door yesterday as the amount he was stealing is unhealthy. He has been tested for worms and diabeties!! All clear.
Well today I found he has been peeing on the floor in the loo. Its been a smell thats built up over the last few weeks and it got so bad I moved the carpet and found it was soaked!!
We moved a month ago, but he says he loves it here and loves his school, I have tried to talk to him and he says he is happy and fine, but obviously not!! He is 8 years old and I am worried. Any Ideas??

[sarnieken]

Maybe middle child syndrome. One of my nephews is a middle one and that is being blamed for him turning into a little sh*t recently. Personally I don't really believe it as all my sister's kids get equal amounts of attention.

Regarding stealing the food, if he wants extra to eat then reduce his options. Get rid of sugar packed treats altogether and leave only things like fruit, seeds and the like for him. It will either stop him stealing the food or at least he will be eating healthily.
My sister did this and its amazing the affect it had on all her kids. One stopped nabbing food as he wasn't keen on seeds and fruit and the otther two can't get enough of them.
Treats are locked away and only given when deserved.
The peeing problem could be something he's not telling you about. Perhaps one way to ensure he always hits the target is to literally give him that. It was found in studies in Germany that by actually giving both kids and grown men a target to aim for in Urinals, that they would not spill as much or, in some cases, any. Put a sticker of anything on the pan and let him aim for that. The novelty alone will cause him to stop peeing on the floor.
The alternative is to go with him all the time to ensure he aims true.
Is he like that at school?

[dot.hawkes]

He is not happy at all and he is finding comfort in stealing food, bet he is hoarding it too somewhere. His routins and all that was familiar has changed and he is behaving erratically because his head is trying to decide if he is coping or not. He should be fast asleep all night not waking up, get him into a sound routine, read to him at bedtime and make a fuss, he is feeling a littler lost and it noones fault but he doesn't know that.

[curiosity]

Is he sleep walking?

[curiosity]

If he is awake, to practice aiming in the toilet put a ping pong ball in and get him to move it around. It's fun apparently! and works.

[megal]

Hello Thankyou for your replies. No he is an angel in school, everyone says if they didnt know I was telling the truth they wouldnt believe it!!
I have tried not having other food in the house, but the other kids deserve treats when they are good.
My son doesnt sleep walk as he pre-meditates this by making sure he has took the stool from the kitchen in the day to reach the chain!! Now of course we have this lock and key!!

I do agree he is very upset about life and when I try to get him to talk to me he tells me he is happy!!
I dont know, maybe he thinks he is!!
I just wanna do the best job I can and make sure he is ok.
The only time I got mad was when I saw the pee everywhere cause his baby sister plays around that area of the house!! Even so I don't really shout, but I did tell him that stealing and lying is not acceptable in this family.
At least he isnt blaming an invisible friend yet!!!!!

[megal]

Oh yes and the toilet ideas are fab!!! Really I will do that tomorrow and I am going to read him bed time stories and have tickles and cuddles before bed, I guess he seems really grown up sometimes I actually forget how little he is!!!

Thankyou all for making this feel better!!

[Annlinda]

I have thinking all morning about your little boy. Are you sure this troubled little boys behaviour isn't a cry for help.Is he being bullied either at school or by older siblings?(The food stealing could be stealing to order) Is there something strange in his bedroom that frightens him? If you cannot get the real reason for doing these things maybe a visit to local child phsychologist would help.
I wish you the best of luck and hope that he soon gets back to normal

[megal]

Thankyou for your reply, I will talk to him about his room, I dont think he is being bullied, His older brother tries to be a dad, but doesnt bully him!! But I have asked him about school and he loves it, so he says.
We are going to see the school tomorrow and ask to see the school psychologist. He does need to talk to someone!
Thankyou for being concerned, its nice to know I am not alone, you and all of you are all very kind.
Hugs

[oldgrape]

it sounds to me more like he has a problem i.e bulling etc.. and eating is a way of getting comfort or even attention rather than telling him that stealing is wrong im sure he already knows try getting him to draw pictures of anything and see if he expresses any problems in these or get him to write a short story about a little boy like him this seemed to work for my nephew we found out that he was worried that he wasnt as smart as his big sister

[megal]

`OldGrape' that is a wonderful Idea. I will try that too.. I do believe he is worried about something and today we put the wheels in motion for a child PSY.
Thankyou xx

[FlowerPetal]

My step/son does this.
He steals food and other little bits and bobs when hes been told off. I put it down to him worying he wont get the treat while hes grounded. I tried hiding the stuff - he found it. I tried not buying it - but as Megal said, others deserve a treat. My step/son also pees around the toilet - i put it down to lazyness.
We did the 'talk nicely' about it and the 'shouting and screaming' and now we do whatever we deem fit for the situation.
I cannot understand why, after being told it is not acceptable time and time again, that he still does it.
We have weeks of it, then nothing, then weeks of it again. We took him to a child psyc who told us he was a well rounded boy within a well rounded family environment.
His dad does sleep walk , but i beleive that this is not sleep walking because as Magel explained, he plans it as he knows exactly where things are when he goes to bed and he trieds very hard to remain slient when he is raiding he kitchen.

Any ideas??

[kkrazysha]

perhaps he has Prader Willi Syndrome? uncontrollable
hunger.