Help! My son, who is 5 has been acting very violently lately and only talks of traumatic things such as jail,

Question

shootings, arresting people, people dying, etc. I am a very concerned parent as we have always played nice and soft music for him and read to him and let him watch Barney, Bob the builder, Calliou and other non-violent shows but have limited his t.v. time. His teacher has real difficulties with him, him bus driver says he won't stay in his seat and today she found him with a wooden stick and he was shooting at people and pretending it was a knife. I am so worried as I never had any siblings and my husband says he only played sports like baseball at that age. Is this normal boy behavior? I am very confused and concerned as we don't even watch the news in front of him. How can I handle this.

Answer 1

his life is too boring, you are too protective.and it is normal.and i don't think what he does is violent.

Answer 2

Something I learned when my oldest son went to kindergarten:  You spent the last five years exposing him to healthy things, respect, manners, and keeping his environment violence free, it takes one week for the other kids (who did not have that same environment) to show him all the "cool" stuff he has been missing out on.  

All you can do is talk to him about these things in a way that he can understand.  Unfortunately many parents allow their boys to watch the "shoot em up" cartoons/movies, and many boys watch them with their dads so it's "cool".  Your child is only trying to fit in.  Try helping him think of different ways to fit in with the other kids.

Answer 3

If a child sees or experiences something they don't fully understand they may become fixated or obsessed with it.

I now that can be shocking. My boy was pretty violent (gets it from his father).

He would start fights, break things, throw tantrums ,curse...the list goes on. He was SCARY.

I took him to see a counselor. Turns out he just needed a male role model (who wasn't violent like his dad) and he, while not cured, is ALOT less obsessed with violence.

Answer 4

Does he have to kill a playmate before you realize that MAYBE he needs professional help??!

Answer 5

Don't feel alone, my nephew who's 3 pretends he has a knife and he's pretends to stab you. Don't know where he got it from.

Answer 6

could be a faze...kids go threw so many......see if he will grow out if it...if not talk to a doctor about getting him some counseling.....it's best that you start early!!!!!!♥

Answer 7

It could be a number of things that contribute to this behavior.

Classmates may talk of such things, confusing his feelings and he acts them out.

Perhaps he has a mood disorder and needs to see a doctor for a possible diagnosis and hopefully a solution.

He could have a reaction to something he eats. My children used to react to sugar so intensely that it hanged the hue of their skin, not to mention their uncontrollable moods.

And, sadly, there is the possibility that someone may have harmed him and he is acting out his emotions. Do NOT rule it out, just because you can't think of who would be likely to do so or the thought is just too terrible to ponder. I made that mistake before.