Case
Caught Red Handed

In my Kindergarten class I have an area with various toys for students to play with during their free time. I noticed that one little boy, we will call him Drew enjoyed playing with the match box cars. I only had a few and noticed that they kept going missing. Now, I thought they were somewhere in the classroom and they would turn up but in the mean time, I went out and purchased a few more boxes of cars. Now, when Drew was leaving I went to give him a hug goodbye and noticed his pockets were full. I asked what he had. He refused to answer. His mom took the match box cars out of his pocket. I spoke to Drew and said that I just bought those cars for the classroom and they had to stay in the class. The parent said jumped in and said I was mistaken and they are his cars.. ( they are not) ..and became angry at me. Fast forward, now I have no cars in the classroom because they all "disappeared"... Help?

Posted on: 02/26/17 | Views: 1424
Solution #1
Top Solution
I would recommend that you write your name on the bottom of the car with a permanent marker. So next time this happens you can show the angry parent that they are yours..

It is a good idea to put your name on the things you wish to keep and reuse in other classrooms.

this is a fantastic idea.

This is an excellent idea. If the student brings some home that have your name on them, then you continue the conversation further with the parent with evidence that those are your cars.

This is a great idea, I think that this is a good way to keep track of everything that you bought for the classroom.

I like this solution. The parent will have no right to argue then.

This is something that I would definitely do! I think this is a great idea.

I think this is an awesome solution!

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Solution #2
Top Solution
I've seen this happen quite a few times, both when I was in school and when I'm working with children. Parents know they aren't their child's toys, but are too embarrassed to admit that their child has been stealing. I would show your receipt for the toys to prove they really are yours and that it's okay if he would like to play with them, but only within the classroom. You don't want the parent to feel attacked, they know they're in the wrong but just don't want to admit it. Give them a chance to escape their lie with a "Oh, I had no idea!". Then, I would always recommend writing your name on all of the toys and other items within you classroom to prevent a future mishap. If you also would like the previous toy cars returned, I would ask the parent or send a letter home asking to speak with them. That way you can explain the situation, that you are not angry, but simply would like the toys you paid for out of pocket returned to you. They are meant for all the students to play with.

I think a letter home is a good idea, some way to get the parent to come talk to you so you can explain the situation better in a more calming environment. So the parent can fully understand that you aren't mad but you would like the toys that you paid for back and for them to stay in the classroom for all the students to enjoy. Everyone says to label the toys and that would prevent this from happening again.

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Solution #3
As the other student mentioned I would show a receipt to prove they are yours. You can also, as I have seen in some classrooms, that the students must right down all the toys that they bring with them everyday. This can show the parents that this is all the brought with them today and those toys are yours.
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Solution #4
With the parents you can show them the receipt of the toys. For the future, I would write Ms.----- on every toy and leave a identification mark to know which are yours and belong in the classroom.

I agree with this solution

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Solution #5
Well that does seem like a problem. I would purchase one more set of cars, this time write your name with permanent marker or nail polish. Also keep the reciepet and maybe a picture of all the cars. If they go missing again go from there. Try to talk to the student in your classroom before they go home and ask them about the cars.
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Solution #6
It can definitely be a struggle in the classroom when dealing with students. A smart idea would be to write Mrs. "..." class on the bottom of the cars or on other toys in the classroom so if something does go missing you will be able to tell if its yours. It can be helpful if your students may bring something to the cafeteria or the library and forgot to bring it back, it can find its way back to your classroom.
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Solution #7
If i was in this situation, I would write your name on the bottom of the car with a permanent marker. So next time this happens you can show the angry parent that they are yours.
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Solution #8
I would show the parent the receipt to see. In the future I would either mark the toys with my name or not have anymore toys in the classroom.
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Solution #9
I think it is time to start labeling all your toys! I do not think there is much to be done with your current student except make a report to your administrators. For the rest of the year, do not buy any more of the toys and keep a very close eye on the student. Label everything so this doesnt happen in the future.
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Solution #10
Label the cars as yours so in that case, the parent can't claim that the cars are her child's.
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Solution #11
I would mark them with some identifying information for you to be able to state without question that they are your toys. Also, when the students are playing with toys maybe you can have a sign out sheet for the toys they are playing with. That way it can be documented which students were playing with which toys and when they were returned. (You would be in charge of checking the items in and out)
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Solution #12
A solution to this problem is to stencil each car you buy. If a car go missing and you discover it on a student, explain to the parent that each car you purchased has a marking on it.
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Solution #13
For this I would next time write my name on the cars. At this point you should not argue with the parent. Or if writing your name on them does not work I would just let the students know that they lost the privileges of having fun things in the classroom.
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Solution #14
Write your name on things as proof that they are yours
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Solution #15
If you are having difficulties with these going missing in your classroom and the parents are not being cooperative at all, I would not punish the entire class by removing all the toy cars or banning them, but I would rather write your name in sharpie on the bottom of the car, so that the next time you see the child with cars in the pockets the cars would have your name on them, which would make it harder for the parents to say its theirs
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Solution #16
i would recommend labeling your cars/trucks from the students cars. That way going forward, it’s easier to catch him
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Solution #17
I'd simply stop bringing in matchbox cars. Explain to the class that you brought the cars in for everyone to play with, but, without accusing anyone directly, students weren't respecting that privilege and were taking the cars home for themselves.
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Solution #18
This is a touchy subject. I would be very irritated at the parent for blatantly lying. It is setting such a horrible example. That child knew they were not his, but if he hears his mom say that they are then he may think that this is an acceptable behavior. I understand that she doesn't want him to be labeled as a thief, but it isn't any better to be labeled as a liar. I agree with a lot of the comments saying the cars should have his name on them. I think it would be a better idea to put an identifying mark on them, but something not noticeable like a dot or a smiley face. Something small and discreet. I do not agree with displaying a receipt. I don't think that would solve anything, and antagonize the parent even more.
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Solution #19
If you label all of your school toys; you can keep track of them. To address the current issue; you should tell the parents that you had many cars for the student to use at the beginning of the day. You can discuss with them that the cars are gone, now.
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Solution #20
Seems like the student and parent ruined something nice for the class. I would try to provide proof of purchase. If not, then if you purchase more cars I would be sure to not allow that student to be anywhere near them. He will not longer be able to play with them if he takes them.

This doesn't really solve anything because, although you know that the cars are yours, you still have to prove that to the parents. By not allowing the student to get near them anymore, you're saying they're yours without proving it.

Proof of purchase of toy cars doesn't explicitly mean the toys in his pocket are yours, labeling future cars would help. A Kindergarten classroom is very hectic very often, it would be very difficult to keep your eye on this one student to make sure he doesn't go near the cars.

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Solution #21
I would of showed the parent the receipt of the toy cars you bought. That would show that they are yours and confusion or conflict. If that does not work i woould simply not buy the children anymore toys.

I am not sure that this is the best solution. Simply showing the receipt will not do much. The parent could still say that they too have bought some. I think writing your name on them will be a good solution because that is proof that those are yours.

I think is this the best way to go about this.

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