My 7 yo daughter has started stealing food from the pantry and fridge. We have tried everything.?

Question

I have 4 children and my 7yo is the 2nd oldest. She has started stealing food at all hours of the day and night. We have tried just about every parenting technicque and nothing is working. We even banned her from entering the kitchen and rather than stop her, it just made her become sneakier in her stealing habits. She is definately not hungry and is unable to explain why she is doing it. I feel so frustrated and can't figure out what it is that I am doing wrong. Please, has someone else had this problem or is it just me??

Answer 1

Obviously something is wrong. Just as adults eat when they are upset, comfort foods, kids do the same thing. You need to get to root of this problem. Find out if something is going on at school & she can't sleep because she's worrying about something, not wanting to go to school the next day. Is there a pattern to it? Does she do it after a certain activity, going to a certain place, being around certain people. Or before those things.
So many parents (and I'm NOT saying you!) punish their kids so much without even trying to find out why they are acting the way they are.
You sound like a mom who cares. I hope you can get this figured out!

Answer 2

Hi it's possible it an attention thing. she is seven with 2 younger siblings , is the youngest a baby or are the younger two consuming your time? at seven you can't explain why you do things, perhaps she is having trouble at school and feeling left out at home, find more time to spend with her alone before bedtime( even a story were she sits on your lap) and include her in cooking dinner etc, yes it's time consuming, yes it's a nuicance but worth it if you can find a solution., and she maybe lacking in vitamins, this can make you want to eat. i would probable leave locking the cupboards until you try working through this a bit more( seeing as banning her made it worse). good luck, all children can be trying but in the end the effort you put in is worth it, and quite likely you are not doing anything wrong, you just have to get to the bottom of her need.

Answer 3

I can't avail myself to answer the question as to what it is that you may be doing wrong, I don't have all the facts. Regarding what to do in the matter of her "stealing" food, I would reccommend that you consult a pediatrician and a child psychologist. Other answers I can offer are to look up on the 'net for recipes that are completely distasteful. Prepare such a recipe(for cake, maybe?)and let her teach herself the law of natural consequences. Another solution would be to leave out(open and available to the child)some gag candy. There are some that leave the mouth/lips/tongue/teeth temporarily dyed a certain color, then there are those that are unexpectedly sour or (cinnamon)hot-OUCH! Those "candies" can also extremely bad tasting like fish or dirt.
All kidding aside, my advice would be to consult a pediatrician and/or a psychologist.

Answer 4

I had a similar problem with my 7 yr old earlier this year. Sometimes I think she did just out of boredom, other times I think it was stress related either problems at school or something with one of her friends or maybe mad because she got in trouble for something. She didn't really want to talk about it. I called her school counselor and explained what was going on and asked her to talk to my daughter. Their conversations are private and confidential but I've seen a remarkable change in my daughter since then. She opens up more to me and we try to find solutions together now. And she has stopped feeling the need to steal food from the kitchen. Good luck!

Answer 5

Is she eating 3 balanced meals each day and a couple of snacks? Does she get a snack right after school and one before bed?
Maybe she is having too much sugar - this could cause some uncontrollable cravings for her. Maybe she needs to have more fruit in her diet - to help her with sugar cravings. Is she getting enough exercise and play time during the day?

Is there shame feelings connected to her desire to eat? Are you making too big a deal of this and making her feel ashamed of her self - thus the sneaking around and hiding?
Is she getting enough hugs and kisses and plenty of attention from her father as well as you? I've heard that sometimes girls will fall into these behaviors if they don't feel close to their father. Getting enough attention from her father can ward off eating disorders and promiscuity when she is older.

These are just some suggestions to look at if you haven't yet. God bless- hope something works out for your daughter and all your family.

Answer 6

My daughter is similar, and I am guessing just from my observation, that during the day when she does it, it is because she is bored. Sometimes at night, like on the weekend or during Summer vacation, when she can stay up later, she does this. She does have an attention disorder, but I don' t treat her with medication, and the Doctor thinks that would help. Now in school, we put her in advanced classes and she doesn't get hungry because she is more occupied????? I am concerned like you, because she has put on quite a few pounds since last year and she doesn't get enough excersise to burn off the extra calories. I try to only keep healthy snacks...Little Debbie has been banned from my house!

Answer 7

My 7 year old boy also steals from the pantry. My husband is installing a deadbolt on it next week! I find all kinds of food in his bed..he stashes it in his drawers..and even in bathroom cabinets.

He also is not hungry and cant explain why he does it. My boys are all pretty good eaters and arent overweight so I am not very strict on eating snacks (within reason).

So...we have decided to install a key entry deadbolt so I can regain control of my pantry. Good luck. I will definately be watching other responses to this question.

Answer 8

Instead of putting locks or alarms on the pantry why not rethink how you are stocking them. Stop filling them with JUNK food and try healthy food. Same with th fridge. If the child isn't over weight or starving why should you care. As long as they are eating healthy. Some children have very high metabolism and with eat in the middle of the night.
Also give some thought as to what your child is watching on TV. I remember as a child seeing those Sally Strothers commerical about the starving children and scared that is could happen to me and my family. Not to mention School have those food drive to feed the hungry and I know some of those teacher don't approach the subject in a way a child can understand it and not have fears of it happening to them.
I hope you are not making her feel bad about this and pointing it out infront of the others. Don't over react she is a child and she will grow outta this ..

Answer 9

that's one enormous situation. I had a suited Redbone Coonhound who develop right into a stray, and that i wager she by no skill were given sufficient nutrients. I extremely produce different dogs, so leaving nutrients at her disposal develop into no longer the way for me to bypass, as the different dogs might want to have ended up overweight. regrettably, the in hardship-free words aspect that stopped her from stealing nutrients develop into her stealing it from the incorrect man or woman. Down on the coastline in Rocky aspect, Mexico, she stole burritos from the shape workers. the subsequent day even as she back to thieve better, they set poison out for her. I do precisely like the conception of putting traps for the dogs on the table or the counters which will fall and frighten him even as he tries to thieve. In my abode, I basically placed each and every thing up. I were given used to it, and so did my kinfolk and acquaintances. possibly if I were better diligent with traps, she would nonetheless be with me as we talk.

Answer 10

As kids, all of us have done this more or less. with time this habit given way to other funs/habits. your daughter is just 7year old. at such age kids like to eat things independently, even after they have been fed well. Is there any particular item she steals regularly, if there is any such thing, give her the thing regularly. may be it'll help.