How do I even handle this?

@midnightrose When I was a kid, I learned a valuable lesson about why one doesn't steal.
Mom had a change jar in the closet and one day when I was digging around in it, she came upstairs and was almost to the top faster than I could put the jar away.

I got my hide tanned by my dad when he got home from work that night.

@CestManan Ouch! Things sure were different then.

My reasoning for the above suggestion was that by having their things taken they get multiple lessons as well as learn why it's not good to steal.
•get a lesson in value and understand just how much $700 is for a person
•get things they value taken from them, which they may not like. By having to earn it back they come to understand the work one must go through if the things taken can't be given back.
•Talking to them about credit cards helps them understand that money has to be paid back and what if their dad hadn't had the money? He would have had to use money set aside for other things to pay off the credit card, if he even had enough in the bank to pay it off. Often times we don't, so he could have spent months paying it off.

I also think that while punishment may induce regret for one's actions it does not always produce sorrow.

@midnightrose Kids don't understand about credit cards though.

When parents take away the things their kids enjoy, the kids get bored and then start pestering the parents more. So the parents end up punishing themselves in the process. My parents never took my things away, probably for that reason.

But more on my own lesson in not stealing -

I did get grounded for a few weeks as well but getting a belt across my ass was all the motivation I needed to not steal.

I am now glad the whole thing happened because what if I had not been caught and got more ambitious about stealing? We know a thief is one of the most hated things in the world.

@CestManan It can be explained to them in a way they can understand. I assume these kids are old enough to read and write. They understood how to input the credit card information so I think they are capable.

Yes, it puts some some burden on the parents but the kids wouldn't just be sitting around, they'd be working to earn their things back.

I'm glad you went on to never do that again. However, there are many kids who were raised with the belt that the lesson doesn't last so I don't think we can say it's a fix all solution. It has its flaws, just like any other form of discipline.

I'm willing to put up with a bit of inconvenience to practice an alternative means of discipline I feel is more effective at teaching what I want to instill in my kids.

The poster may not want to take my advice and that's ok. He asked for advice on how to handle it, I gave my suggestion like everybody else.

@midnightrose One thing for sure - knowing how to use a credit card but not knowing it has to be paid back is what we call, "Knowing just enough to get into trouble"