Mom checked her 4-year-old’s backpack after she kept bringing random things home — feared police might come looking for what she found
Many kids go through a phase of taking things before they understand personal boundaries and ownership. When a mom of three, Emily Powell (@emilyopowell), was checking her kindergartener's bag, she found something that made her wonder if the cops might turn up looking for it, as reported by Newsweek on Tuesday, January 20, 2026. Emily shared the video on her Instagram account, asking her daughter about it, and the interaction has left online users amused. The video shared on January 6, 2026, has garnered over 38.8K likes.
The video was captioned, "Episode 152 of random things I find in my kid's backpack." Iowa-based mother, Emily Powell, was checking her four-year-old daughter Octavia's school bag when she found something that left her stunned. In the video, Emily confronted her daughter about what she found in her bag. The mom, holding a set of keys with keychains that read, "Iowa State Patrol," along with a police badge, asked her daughter where she found them and why they were in her backpack.
"Octavia, we need to talk," said Emily, as the kid initially appeared guilty. The little girl tried to reason by explaining that it was given to her by her friend, Nora, who told her that they were fake. Her mom, who knew her daughter was lying, insisted that it was not fake. Hoping that her daughter would come clean, the mother stated, "I'm worried the cops are going to come here to try and get their keys back." Emily revealed that this wasn't the first strange discovery in her daughter's backpack. Past finds included a sharp silver object Octavia called a "Barbie knife," random toys from other children, and even a gem she claimed came from the principal's office.
A 2017 report by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry noted that children between the ages of 3 and 5 often take things that do not belong to them because they have not yet understood the concept of ownership and struggle to learn that taking something without permission is wrong. The report notes that the tendency to steal decreases once children mature and parents respond calmly. The study also highlights the importance of parents choosing the right approach to make the child understand their mistake, which is through clearly stating that stealing is wrong and avoiding harsh labeling. Although Emily was concerned about her child's behavior, she did not choose to discipline her child through harsh means. This allowed the child to learn what is right and wrong in a calm environment.
Thankfully, the mother was able to return the keys to their rightful owner the very next day, as revealed in a follow-up post. However, the internet found the interaction between the mother and daughter hilarious. @tnellebelle wrote, "The school police they put to protect the children was pickpocketed by a kindergartener? Kinda scary actually." @briebrieblooms remarked, "Bianca once came home with some makeup in kindergarten. A boy had taken it from his mom, obviously without her knowing, to gift Bianca." @bridget.kealy.goins recounted, "I used to teach kindergarten and caught a student giving his mom's keys to another kid. The mom had been looking for her keys for weeks."