My grandson has a new bike. It’s just the right size for him. His previous bike was too small. Although he had outgrown it, he rode it relentlessly because he was born to ride. And yet, when he visits his neighbourhood buddies, he insists on riding their bikes – even though those bikes are bigger than the one he is just big enough to ride.

So today, he was riding a friend’s bike in a nearby park along with the friend’s younger brother. After crashing about, they dropped their bikes on the grass and climbed aboard the gym rigs there.

Later, they realized that the bike my grandson borrowed was gone. Stolen.

When he got home he announced what had happened. No explanation why he was using his friend’s bike and no reason for not minding it while it was in his care. In fact, he seemed quite indifferent about the theft except that it provided a minor frisson of excitement.

However, there was a happy ending. The other boy’s father drove around the neighbourhood, spotted the stolen bicycle and retrieved it from another youth who explained, “It was just lying there, so I thought I could take it.”

So why are some kids so blasé? As parents, do we care more about their possessions than they do? Is it because they have too much stuff? So much that each thing is of little value? What do you think?