Introduction

Where do children come up with such heinous crimes like stabbing their baby sibling or killing their parents? Is it because they live in a violent environment?  Have they been a victim themselves of some type of abuse (sexually, physically or mentally)? Is it nurture vs. nature?

            It is sad to think that children at very young ages are living with so much stress and anxiety. A stage where they should be discovering themselves, enjoying themselves and having feelings of security and protection; secured and protected  knowing that the family they were born into or the adults who are their guardians are going to provide for them, love them and guide them to become all that they can be and succeed.

            Reading and watching the news of incidents where children kill their own parents, siblings, grandparents or best friends has stirred up my  own curiosity to dig a little deeper to find out the reasons why children are driven to such horrendous acts of violence. Researching some of the articles on this topic it is clear that lots of research has already been done. There are many causes that can make a child act in such angry, violent ways. There are many causes that can make a child
 act in such angry, violent ways. It could be the family structure (Mack, Leiber, Featherstone &
Monserud, 2007), it could be their environment (Day, Hart, Wanklyn, McCay, Macpherson &
Burnier, 2013), or it could be abuse (Day et al., 2013). As the journey down this road begins, hopefully there will be a clearer picture on what experts have found in their research concerning children who go over the edge with violence. This journey will venture into some interesting stories about children who have committed acts of violence, the causes of their behavior and insight into any programs in place to help these children. Are there places or treatments for them that they can renew their way of thinking, heal emotionally and obtain new coping skills to deal with stressors of life? According to out our society, are these kids labeled forever, does our society want to see these kids restored or is there an attitude of rejection or exclusion? Let us begin our journey.

 References:

         Day, D. M., Hart, T. A., Wanklyn, S. G., McCay, E., Macpherson, A., & Burnier, N. (2013). Potential mediators between child abuse and both violence and victimization in juvenile offenders. Psychological Services, 10(1), 1-11. doi:10.1037/a0028057
         Mack, K. Y., Leiber, M. J., Featherstone, R. A., & Monserud, M. A. (2007). Reassessing the Family-Delinquency Association: Do Family Type, Family Processes, and Economic Factors Make a Difference?. Journal Of Criminal Justice, 35(1), 51-67. doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2006.11.015