Teachable Moments

This past summer, my wallet was stolen.  Not only was it stolen, but it was taken from my diaper bag, which was tucked under my baby's car seat, while Olivia and I were next to the shopping cart.  I think I even saw it happen!
Once I realized what had happened, and had to spend the whole day filing reports with the store, the police department and canceling my credit cards/checks/drivers license, I realized that I had to talk with Olivia about it.  She was really wondering what had happened.  She had been listening to me talk with everyone that day and when we left the police station she asked me "Why did that lady steal your wallet"
I didn't really know what to say.  I hadn't thought of this scenario before.
I decided to start with the basic information.  Yes, I think that the lady had stolen my wallet.  We talked about what "stealing" is.  We agreed that stealing means taking something that is not yours without asking and getting permission first.  I told her that I didn't know why it happened but that there are some reasons why people do steal.  I told her that some people don't understand that stealing is wrong and how some people do.  I told her that some people know that stealing is wrong and that it hurts people's feelings and they do it because they want to anyways.  I talked to her about people stealing because they don't have enough money for food or diapers.
  We talked about how angry and sad it made me that the lady had stolen my wallet.  We talked about what she probably did with my wallet after she took it from us (I was told by the police that when thieves take wallets they generally look for cash and throw the rest of the wallet into the nearest trash can.)
I talked with her about what I should have done differently, because, even though the lady shouldn't have taken my wallet, I should have zipped up the diaper bag, been more vigilant, etc.  Olivia, who is a big fan of Dora the Explorer, said that I should have said "Hey lady, stop swiping," and that she probably would have said "Oh, man!" and walked away.

Now we still occasionally talk about it and she seems to really understand the idea that it is not okay to take things from people without getting permission first.   In that respect, I am happy that it happened because it opened up an important dialog that we probably wouldn't have had otherwise.
On a side note-it does look like my wallet was just dumped in a trash can because no charges ever showed up on my credit cards and no checks were written from my bank account.  The funny thing is, that my wallet had NO cash in it that day, not even a penny.  "That lady" as Olivia calls her, chose the wrong person to steal from.