You see, my son trusts all his friends to be good to him, to do right by him, and to help him. He gives so freely, frequently asking people to come play, stay for dinner, sleep over, or share toys. He often finds things he would like to give to others as gifts, and he understands about charity and helping others.

But now he also understands theft, suspicion, anger, loss and that feeling of being violated.

He had his wallet in his room, right by his bed in his chest of drawers. He had worked hard to save up his money. He had denied himself lots of treats so he could have enough for a special train piece he wanted.

During the past week he had lots of friends over, and lots of those friends were in and out of his room, playing freely with all his things. They helped him create fantasy places and fun adventures. And all that time it never occurred to him to worry that any of his toys would go missing when a friend left.

He never worried about something disappearing, never thought to count his Hot Wheels, or to sort and label his train tracks. He never felt the need to put his name on every single Pokemon ball and toy.

In the past, when he couldn't immediately find his favorite snuggly Beanie Baby—the one he built a house out of toilet paper boxes for and tucked in every night—he would just assume it was under a pile of clothes or out in the car and would magically reappear.

Now all that has changed. Someone came into our house as a friend and helped him or herself to my son's allowance money.

Stealing his allowance meant that person had to look for my son's wallet and open it up. They had to think sneaky and mean. They had to be a thief before they came into our home. And when they left, they took lots more than just four dollars—they took my son's trust.

Now he looks at every friend differently, wondering if they are bad people hiding behind a smile.

They also took his sense of security. He counts everything and gets very fearful if he doesn't instantly find one of his small toys. My son, the kid who never worried, is sure everything not right under his fingertips has been stolen and he wants to call the police. Someone took his happiness.

He used to love having friends over to play. Now he is worried and doesn't want to invite anyone over because he or she might take his toys. They might take his money again. They might take his mommy, too.

I don't blame the child who took this cash—or any child under 10 who takes anything. I blame the child's parents.

Right now there is some parent out there who never checks what her child brings home, never looks into that backpack and never cleans out a lunchbox.

Right now there is a parent out there who really believes that his kid finds all kind of toys and his child was given all the little things he or she brings home. They are the gullible, blind parents who never taught their kids how deceitful and wrong thieving is and who are so besotted with their own progeny that they would never question where or how their kid got the basketball, the Pokemon cards, the bike or the money.

A parent like that might just as well encourage their child to become a thief—buy them a lock-pick set for Christmas and sign them up with the cat burglar society newsletter. They do a disservice to their children by not watching everything and never intervening. They believe too easily and too often, and little kids know this and use it to their own advantage.

My own child is no exception. He has tried to convince me that a younger playmate wanted him to have a certain toy. I told him the child was too young to give away their things. I made him give the toy back. When he comes home with something that I did not buy him, I make sure I know how he got it and make a phone call to double-check the story. I do not want to be responsible for some other little 6-year-old crying and sad over something lost.

Meanwhile, out there in Willow Glen, there is a kid with four dollar bills. His parents haven't asked him where he got the money and they don't seem to care.

Will he grow up to take advantage of everyone he meets? Or grow up to be greedy? Either way, I blame the parents. They should be paying more attention.

Contact Deborah Taylor-Hollis at dthollis@svcn.com.