Teach children that there are no shortcuts in life

I still remember vividly that Wednesday evening when my son walked to me and said he had seen his bike in the next block.
We live in an estate where bikes, skateboards and toys are left on the front patios, sometimes for days and no one will steal them.
So, it did not raise alarm when my son’s red tricycle went missing, because I knew it would be found in the estate or brought back by whoever had borrowed it.
A week later, the bike was nowhere to be seen. Walking from block to block did not yield any results. My conclusion was that one of the boys who accompanies the garbage truck must have carried it to sell as scrap.
I trailed him, like those Proboxes that chase cash vans. Through the rails, I could see the tricycle I personally bought with my money at the supermarket.
Anyone could argue that bikes are produced en masse so it was a look-alike, but like I mentioned, it was an old thing so I had done a bit of repairs here and there to push him another year, or two.
The first was the front wheel, which burst in a manner I have never understood, so I had replaced it with a different one.
The plastic saddle too had become loose over time, prompting me to tie it back with heavy rubber band, lest he rode it while sitting on a protruding pipe.
It was either that was my son’s tricycle or another dad in this estate thought, acted and repaired things exactly like I did.
I rung the bell, and the door was answered by a middle aged woman in a grey dera with black and white flowers.
After exchanging pleasantries, I informed her that my son’s bike had been missing for months and we had spotted its replica safely parked in her backyard. I told her I was there to check why they looked so similar.
“Ooh, my son came with it from out there and drives here from house to house.”
A seemingly well-educated and responsible woman was telling me her son just rode a strange bike home one day and she never bothered to inquire where he got it from.
For months, a whole family watched the young man scuttle around the house on something they did not own, yet went to bed every night and slept soundly.
Did they assume God dropped it like He did for the Israelites with manna? These are folks who can easily kill someone.
My own son came home one Friday from school with a strange pullover in his bag and I was disturbed the whole weekend because I knew a parent was troubled out there.
I could literally feel the pain of a fellow parent searching for that piece of clothing with frustration. That was the first thing I packed the following Monday with a note that should be returned to the real owner.
“Liam, get the bike back, ”she told her son. He frowned, wondering why mom was telling her to give away ‘his’ bike. A tricycle he had walked four blocks away, nicked and personalised without an iota of guilt.
That is how land grabbers are made. I told him to keep it since he loved it that much; I would replace it on my son’s birthday in two months.
I pitied that young man because the path his ‘loving’ mother has set him on is disastrous, to say the least.
The terms ‘theft’ or ‘illegal’ may not exist in his vocabulary at home, but they do in the society he is fast growing into.
He will probably help himself to something else, but this time the confrontation will not be with a parent who does not mind walking away; it will be with an angry mob, or a burning tyre, even an officer’s bullet.
As I walked back home with anger, my boy quietly disappointed in me for not getting his bike back, I appreciated how the mothers of our time brought us up, including all the whips my own gave me the many times I innocently picked money on the road.
She was teaching me out of shortcuts and petty theft; that people must work hard for their money.
Never mind the fact that she always forcibly took the money, finding ways to convince me it was hers even if I had picked it somewhere she has never set foot at.
Modern day parents must ensure that children do not get away with theft no matter how minor an item maybe. Children should be taught at a very young age that if they want something, they must work hard for it or request for it if they cannot afford it.

Emphasise honesty
Whether your child has brought home suspicious items from school that he claims were a gift, or you caught him taking something from a store, emphasise honesty, teach your child to respect other people’s property, return stolen goods and provide punitive measures for stealing.
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