Easton's brush with crime

A few weeks ago, I went to meet my mother in Southlake (where my brother and sister in law live) to hang out at my brothers to swim and wait for them to get back from Cabo. My mom had been watching their daughter and their dog for a few days while they were gone and we thought it would break things up a little to throw in a little play date. Elle had been discussing with my mother how she always has to do everything with the "babies" (what we call Easton and Addyson--they are both three years old) and never gets anything... Of course, I know this is ludicrous, but my mother entertains it by telling her that she can get something at a store and the babies wouldn't get anything...SO--off we go to a little boutique in the strip mall there by my brother's house. Elle picks out a little bag to take with her to Pine Cove while I am entertaining Easton and Addyson. Easton picked up a little bouncy ball (mind you, the ONLY boy item in the Sassy Girls store) with a jet inside of it and points out that he would like it...I tell him that it is cool, but that we will see it next time we are there (a standard answer for our household). We leave with Elle's bag--and my mom makes the comment, "See, you got a present and no one else did." Easton looks up with this really confused face, and says, "Cept' me!" and holds up the ball!!

Are you kidding me?? I took him by the hand and led him back to the register. He handed the ball back to the lady and burst into tears. I told him to tell her that "I stole this. I did not pay for it and I took it anyway." He kept saying, "I'm sorry, Mommy." It was so awful--but I honestly wanted to make an example out of that moment. The lady behind the counter then said, "it happens all the time".

Why must people say things like that when we are clearly trying to teach our children a lesson? Could you just play along and pretend to call the police or something?? :) I mean, she could have at least said something constructive--not "it happens all the time". I can just hear him saying that the next time he wants something and I won't let him have it--"can I just take it? It happens all the time!"