There are ways to discourage kids from snooping

Snooping is a natrual part of childhood that can leave parents frustrated.
SCRIPPS HOWARD
You don't have to be a child-development specialist to understand why children look for their holiday presents, but it helps.
"For very young children, they don't have a really good sense of time. It makes waiting for anything difficult, coupled with impulsivity. They tend to want things right now. I remember looking for presents when I was a kid. We never opened them," said Emie Tittnich, who has worked in the field for 35 years and is based at the University of Pittsburgh's Office of Child Development.
While snooping is part of childhood, Tittnich suggests that parents discourage it.
"You want to discourage kids from unproductive activity and from things they shouldn't be doing. I think kids snoop probably more than we know. I've heard of kids unwrapping their gifts and wrapping them back up," she said.
Drastic measures
Some children are brazen. Earlier this month, a mother in Columbia, S.C., had police officers arrest her 12-year-old son after he repeatedly took a Game Boy from its hiding place and played with it at his grandmother's home.
The mother, Brandi Ervin, told the Associated Press she wanted to teach her son a lesson. The Game Boy was a gift from the child's grandmother.
"She sounds like she was at her wit's end. Why the police responded to that, I couldn't see. The legality of it eludes me," Tittnich said, adding that, "To my mind, it's an inappropriate form of discipline for that child or any child."
Reasonable solution
Parents always should consider how discipline will affect their relationship with a child.
"When parents are real desperate, they just want the behavior to go away rather than develop long, thoughtful problem-solving strategies. What's the purpose of giving a gift? Is it giving a gift or is it being in control? She could even take it back to the store and say, 'You don't get it until your birthday,'" Tittnich said.
She also said parents should tell children that, "If you find your gifts and open them, you will not have a surprise on Christmas morning. Is that what you want?"
"I would leave it at that," she said.