Kleptomania in children

A Need for Stealing Things

There are people who steal things due to the fact that these things are easily obtainable this way and due to the fact that these people are criminals. However, this is more a social issue than a psychological one. Namely, since we are children, we are taught that stealing is bad and that we should cherish what we have rather than take something from someone else. Some people manage to hold these moral boundaries throughout their lives while others are incapable of doing that. However, there are children and adults who steal things for less logical reasons. Their reasons seem to be completely psychological and their need for stealing is quitepeculiar.

This kind of a need for stealing is called kleptomania. A kleptomaniac usually steals things he/she actually does not need. Moreover, the stolen goods are often of little value and are of no use for the person who stole them. Still, a kleptomaniac needs to obtain things which are not his/her in order to feed his psychological addiction and problems. Children can be kleptomaniacs too. They usually take things they do not need from other people, places and even from their own parents. Seeming to be unable to restrain themselves from these wrongful acts, the children, once their “crimes” are discovered, usually feel ashamed and sad, knowing that what they are doing is bad throughout their childhood, even during the acts of stealing.

Reasons behind Kleptomania

One of the main reasons of having a need for stealing unimportant things is probably the thrill of it. Namely, serotonin and dopamine levels in a kleptomaniac rise during risky theft situations and he/she enjoys the very moment of this tension. On the other hand, these stolen objects may be symbols for missing things in one's life. Psychotherapy is usually capable of revealing these mysteries behind kleptomania. Additionally, children prone to kleptomania have usually lost someone close to them and search to fulfill the emptiness inside of them through stealingthings.

The Treatment

This condition may be treated and the sooner a child faces psychotherapy the better. However, he/she will need all the help possible and parents should not scorn the child. Rather, they should face the fact that this condition is hardly the criminal act but, rather, psychological problem. Then, the child should be administered to a behavioral and psychoanalytical treatment where they are usually restored to normal.