Sour future ahead for South Side pre-teen

Unless one South Side fifth grader changes her ways -- and her attitude -- she's headed for trouble. It was bad enough that the 12-year-old girl got caught stealing candy from a local store, but when confronted she gave police a false name, date of birth, address and mother's name. Either she's a quick-witted liar, or she had her story all planned out in advance, which could indicate that shoplifting is already part of her life.
The merchandise she allegedly stole -- four bags of Clover Valley sour neon worms, two Wonka sour apple taffy sticks and one package of Clover Valley Gummi Dinos -- is not worth more than a few dollars, but shoplifters nationwide steal an estimated $25 million daily from American merchants, and from one-fourth to a third of those apprehended are children and teens. One-fifth of adult shoplifters say they started as kids.
That in itself is a worrisome statistic.
Important message
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry suggests that parents who learn their child has been stealing should "tell the child that stealing is wrong, help the youngster to pay for or return the stolen object, make sure that the child does not benefit from the theft in any way and make clear that this behavior is totally unacceptable within the family tradition and the community."
Perhaps the girl has already heard from her parents about stealing which is why she provided false information to the police. Or perhaps her behavior is not unacceptable within her family tradition.
One thing is sure. If she cannot be placed in some sort of effective juvenile diversion program, her future will be as sour as the sour candy the store's manager saw her put in her pockets.