Hi, I got a call from the school this morning. They found out this morning that my 10 yr old son had taken another child's lunch order money yesterday. The child didn't get their lunch and told the teacher. They were able to deduce who it might have been and that's when my son fessed up and returned the money. So he was going to spend it if he'd gotten away with it. This morning he was sent to the Principal's office and they had a word with him about how disappointed they were etc. They asked him more information, he didn't say why he did it but he said he took the order, pocketed the money and threw out the paper bag.   He's usually quiet at school and known to be friendly and kind, the teacher had expressed this to be uncharacteristic of him and as such the discipline handed out was detention and removal from class responsibilities/jobs particularly anything involving money. Unfortunately, as his parents we know otherwise - he has taken money from us before (never from others) last year he took some money from my husband's wallet and it's always because he wants to spend it at the canteen and buy his friends and himself some treats. We thought it was over and he had grown out of it/matured and learnt to do the right thing. We thought he'd learnt that buying popularity/friends will lead to disappointment and pain and that stealing is wrong, he's not entitled to what he took.   I've been crying my eyes out feeling like I've failed him and am so ashamed. I'm in fear of what judgements will be made against him and our family and I especially worry about the impact it may have on his younger brother at the same school by other kids and parents. I'm not sure how to approach him to get him to talk to me and how to discipline him. I'm catastrophising and need to calm down - being blindsided and put on the spot by the principal is very intimidating! I just really feel torn between being upset with my son and being protective, wanting to ensure my boys are ok and they learn from this... ... View more