Stealing my make-up

[MissOwlObsessed]

Hi everyone. To start, I’m not actually a parent, I work very closely with families & children , so I’m not a complete ‘parenting novice,’ however. I’m not sure how to proceed with my current predicament. My niece who is 10 years old, keeps stealing my make-up. Most recently one of my deep red lipsticks was found in her bedroom by a family member, who then passed it back to me. I used this lipstick maybe 5-8 times & it was almost completely used up. Then today, I found my foundation in the bathroom, I don’t keep it in the bathroom, I keep it in my bedroom. It was almost completely used up & the cap & nozzle were a complete mess. I never keep my name-up like that, in such a state. Since she’s not my daughter & her mother (my sister-in-law) is not exactly the most confident at giving her daughter appropriate consequences for bad behaviour, I’m not sure what to do. Obviously this behaviour can’t continue & I'm most upset that she took my things without asking, but I don’t want to step on any toes. Hope that makes sense, please help!

[FiorD]

HI!

New member here but your topic brought me back to my younger years so I'll give you advice based on the feelings I had when I would take my mum's make-up.

Maybe reach out to her, she's stealing it because she feels uncomfortable/unsure about asking. 

She is interested and that's probably from watching the women around her, so nurture her self-esteem and do your best not to get angry or make her feel like she's unworthy.

Bring her out shopping for a little bag of cosmetics she likes. Affordable of course - she's only 10.

She's learning.

(none of this was done for me and it hurt - a little patience goes a long way)