Public Forums

View latest posts View Archive

Stealing Underwear

Thatssewmoo July 19, 2019 14:36

I wish this was a one-off, but this is the third time this has happened.

We have 2 boys, 13 and 12. The 13yo is a bit more sexually mature (he has been in trouble for watching porn at school in both primary and high school, for example) and the police have flagged him as being at risk of becoming a sexual offender due to this, and the fact that he's twice (that we know of) broken into our bedroom (which we keep locked) and stolen my underwear. The 12yo has shown no signs at all of interest in boyfriends or girlfriends at all and we think that might be part of a developmental delay that affects him all round emotionally.

This time, it's the 12 year old. He has been in to our bedroom twice this week and took clothes and a bra of mine, and says the 13yo has egged him on.

It feels like a double blow. I feel like my only safe haven in the world has been tainted and sullied.

My boyfriend thinks he's trying to get rid of me so they can have their dad all to themselves, but as I work long hours and he's their primary carer (I'm step parent of 3 years, he's adopted dad of 7 years) I only see them at weekends, and then we do stuff all together, so I don't know what to believe.

We've now got even more door locks and cameras and all kinds and it feels like living in a prison. They've both got previous for stealing, but the younger one who has been taking this time is more vindictive and revenge seeking. We're looking to get a diagnosis of PDA (autism) for him, which makes him controlling and manipulative and violent at times, and my relationship with him is already at rock bottom.

I don't know what to do. I cried for hours this morning and the thought of seeing them tonight when I get home has my tummy in knots.

Edited 17/02/2021
Thatssewmoo July 19, 2019 14:54

Update!

We've since found a video of him wearing the bra (upside down, it was strapless) with socks stuffed in, and putting on a top of mine that we didn't know he'd taken.

I'm honestly not sure what to do at all.

Edited 17/02/2021
Donatella July 19, 2019 15:47

Oh dear.

A few things. Why were the police involved when he was viewing porn? Given that it’s so easily accessible now and it’s, sadly, not uncommon for children to access and view porn ... there may be other reasons? Given that there was police involvement, what work has been done with him on appropriate boundaries? Has there been any therapeutic support - in school, outside school etc? And btw, how was he able to access porn at school? Kids don’t have access to school Wi-fi in my kids school ... and if he was using school equipment, where were their security settings?

PDA can be tricky to manage. My daughter is PDA - it can look like deliberate behaviour, it can appear manipulative but in reality most of their behaviour is driven by huge anxiety. And, of course, it can also mean that those kids simply don’t understand adult/child hierarchies. What your partner says may be the case ... or it may simply be that he doesn’t see you as being in a position of authority? Not his dad’s equal, but way beneath him - and possibly the boys - in the pecking order?

What strategies do you both use to manage their behaviour? Do you work co-operatively? What support are you getting? What support are they getting?

Edited 17/02/2021
Thatssewmoo July 19, 2019 16:37

Hi Donatella

The oldest was actually in trouble with the police for stealing snacks and drinks from a shop,and we spoke to the police about the wider picture of stealing and the concerns we had because we didn't think a five minute standard "don't do it again" would suffice, so that's how they got involved. They promised SW would get in touch but they never did despite chasing.

He managed to look at porn via Pinterest because apparently that's a loophole the school didn't know about, he had boards for boobs and bums and some more hard core stuff which was quite shocking. I reported it to Pinterest but don't think they took it down, but school did ban it.

For PDA, we only found out it even existed about a week ago and are hoping to get a referral next week to a specialist to get a proper diagnosis, but the description couldn't be more perfect for him. We're hoping we can find some strategies for helping and supporting and avoiding meltdowns etc but at this point we don't know enough.

We work cooperatively and always make sure we're not undermining eachother. We get no support at all except from eachother, and the oldest gets counselling at school but the youngest is officially without diagnosis and we've found getting support really difficult. SS have referred us to a charity last week for disabled children but it doesn't feel like the right solution

Edited 17/02/2021

Read-Only

This topic is read-only. You must log in to reply.