5 Comments   
According to the experts, stealing in childhood is almost a rite of passage and shouldn't alarm parents and make them think that their precious baby will grow up to be a jewel thief or bank robber.

According to Dr. Martin T. Stein, a professor of pediatrics at University of California-San Diego, "It might be unusual for a child to go through childhood without ever stealing anything, though the parent may not know." If children are caught, they should be reprimanded and punished -- but parents don't need to start calling the Scared Straight team and locking up their valuables.

Click here to read my tale of childhood shoplifting.

I admit that when I was about 5 years old, I used to steal stickers from the local drugstore. They were on a roll and you were supposed to tear off a sheet and go pay for them at the front. Instead, I would look around to make sure that no one was looking, peel a few stickers off the paper, stick them in my pocket and walk out of the store feeling like I was Superman.

That was 26 years ago and today is the first day I am admitting to my crime. While that "stealing" was absolutely wrong (and maybe I felt a tad guilty all these years), it didn't affect me in any way. I grew up to be a well-adjusted, non-threatening member of society

So, 'fess up -- did you steal as a child?