The Stealing Box

The Stealing Box was created by Bruch Buchanan and I originally found the idea in a book called "A Safe Place For Caleb" by Kathleen A. Chara and Paul J. Chara, Jr. The idea is to create a box that is filled with small toys or "vouchers" that can be traded in for bigger items.  The child is allowed to steal from the box (how often can be negotiated) and keep the items stolen if:

1. Nobody saw them stealing (this then hopefully satisfies the desire to steal elsewhere for the thrill)
2. Items are not stolen from anywhere else, inside or outside the home.
3. The child talks to the adult at the end of the day about their feelings surrounding the stealing.
4. If the child steals elsewhere, all items stolen from the box are returned.

Although at first glance you may be concerned this idea is encouraging the stealing, the idea is to meet the child where they are at and then help them to transition towards honesty as well as decreasing the episodes of stealing.

This idea could easily be adapted to a classroom setting as well.