Hello!

My miss 8 sneaks lollies.it doesn’t matter what they are if they are in the fridge or pantry for any reason she will sneak them into her room. We have treats we by special for each member of the family. Hubby and I get a chocolate bar each week and the kids get to choose a treat when we go to the shops sometimes flavoured milk, sometimes a lolly. But if we have something we are keeping for baking or a present my daughter will sneak it. We have tried everything from explaining they are for this or that, to hiding the treats, to banning her from treats as punishment. This week it was medicated throat lozenges I have for early mornings when I need them as I have been ill. She took three packets and ate them over one weekend.
How do I stop the sneaking without hiding every treat we bring into the house


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  • Personally I have removed sugary treats from our house hold. However my husband buys his own and has them in a safe :)


  • I would reduce the special treats to once a fortnight so they are not in the home. You may have to hide the lollies or not purchase them until they are required as a gift.


  • Maybe put a lock on the cupboard and tell her until she stops sneaking food it will stay on there


  • I was like that as a child, and still the same now. I get my husband to keep his lollies and other junk food in his car so I don’t know it’s around. Difficult to overcome.


  • I’d just give her lots of lollies she’ll soon get over it, so they aren’t such a big deal we do this with my 5 year old she has a container in her drawer to for her, her own secret stash, only has a few.


  • We detoxed the house of sweets and it worked a treat!


  • We put a combination lock on our pantry (so we didn’t have to keep track of a key) to help address this exact behaviour with an older kid.


  • Hmmm, seems like you’ve tried just about everything and haven’t managed to stop it. So I’m kinda thinking you may have to consider locking them up somehow


  • Maybe find a better hiding place like the car boot or hiding inside a container or box in the cupboard of something she won’t like or think to look inside


  • Choose the sugarfree treats, too many of those will not have her coming back for more!


  • I remember doing this as a child, purely because my parents told me not to. I’d lock them away, buy a healthier option or stop buying them altogether


  • I think this could be a deeper issue. My niece went through a hiding and sneaking food stage and a psychologist helped. It wasn’t really about the food at all.


  • Lol, I have a 12yr old with very severe kleptomania who steals where ever she sees opportunity (at school, at the dentist, at the doctor, at the neighbours, at school).
    You could try a reward for not stealing or a reward for being open about it. You could set something out that she can steal and put the rest behind a lock. Neutral approach, no anger. What we do is acts of retribution for items she takes


  • You could try putting them in a container with a lock and key and then putting it up high where she can’t reach even with a chair/stool.
    I feel like my little boy will be like this. He loves his sweets – he’s definitely my son! Lol


  • Maybe try a container for the things she may take and put into a high cupboard? Could you make yummy healthy treats and have them available to grab?

    Otherwise as suggested… punishment? No tv? No wifi?


  • I had a child that did this. Would take the Nutella jar and a spoon in her room or my cooking chocolate etc. So frustrating and I have to admit it was an ongoing battle for quite a while. There just has to be conseqences when caught. No computer game, or promised outing etc.


  • You need to buy healthy snacks and less treats!


  • This is why I stopped buying them haha


  • I don’t know there is an answer. Hopefully just a phase. Obviously talk and explain and at 8 years of age should get the idea. For really important things (like a birthday gift you’re waiting to give maybe just hide it better for now, just in case!). Sometimes allowing access to treats, giving them as desserts etc. can take the edge off, if it’s just a case of taking something forbidden. Also give a consequence if she does take what was not intended for her.


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