A group of 12-year-olds were caught by police after they tried to sell goods they'd stolen from a Hamilton house.

A group of child burglars have been caught after they tried to sell the stolen property via Facebook.

Hamilton city area commander Inspector Hywel Jones said the discovery came during their investigation into a burglary at a Patterson St house over the December 13 to 16 period.

"Our staff discovered that a group of 12-year-olds had carried out the burglary and, thanks to a member of the public drawing it to our attention, electronics stolen from the home were being sold on a Facebook page," Jones said.

"Progressing our inquiries, we discovered some property had been taken back to the victims by the parents of one offender."

Two others allegedly involved had now been referred to Youth Aid.

Jones said it was good that the parents of one of the children had intervened and returned the stolen goods, but there were a number of things that could be learnt from the incident.

"First up, particularly over the holiday period where young people find themselves with too much time on their hands, we're urging parents to ensure their children have adequate supervision and you know who they are spending time with," Jones said.

"Secondly, we're asking parents to be vigilant in terms of any electronics or other property their child may turn up with, ask the hard questions like where they got it from and make the effort to be aware of their internet activity."

Such intervention from the parents could help curb further offending, Jones said.