The case of the ‘missing things’

A few weeks ago, when chatting to another mum about the frustration of how our kids constantly lose items at school, she told us a very funny story about what her nanny does.

My friend (who I will name Wendy) said that if her nanny (let’s call her Aggie) saw that her daughter’s PT shorts were missing, for example, she would ask Wendy to drop her off at the school for her to look for the missing shorts.

Aggie would almost always come back to the car with the missing item after looking in the lost and found box. So, one day Wendy asked Aggie how it was that she would always find the items and yet she couldn’t. Aggie said: “I look for the same size and if it doesn’t have a name on it – I take it!”

What a revelation!

I have often been at the bottom of the lost and found bins searching for a lost jersey, jacket etc and it never once occurred to me to take something without a name on it!

This story would definitely explain the missing item if it wasn’t labelled and who could blame Aggie because the question remains – where do the marked items go to?

My son, although he is ten years old, recently lost his whole kit bag with a complete uniform, including school shoes; A kit bag that has his name screened on it! There’s no way you could miss it. At first, I had my usual reaction of steam coming out of my ears, at the fact that he had lost something AGAIN but then I simmered (as I do) and I went on the hunt to find the bag – visiting the classes he had been at the day he lost it and of course – the lost and found box!

I’d like to take a moment to check-in and ask – are you as afraid as I am of the lost and found box? I’m never sure what my hand will touch next and I am petrified that some unknown diseases are being festered there. Nevertheless, I am still willing to risk it if it means finding the missing item.

So, my obvious conclusion is that there are kids that are knowingly (or unknowingly) taking home items that do not belong to them. I do believe that if you look this up, the word to summarise this behaviour is “stealing”. And to the parent of the child who brings home something that does not belong to him/her, if you do not send it back to school, this is called “aiding and abetting”!

My assumptions are, of course, not proven but if anyone else can explain it or has theories – I would love to hear them. In the meantime, there’s Aggie’s method of shopping, because after all – if you haven’t marked it – there’s no way for me to return it!