The Aggressive Child

“Dovy kicks me when he’s displeased. He’s pushed the nanny a number of times when she’s given him an instruction he didn’t like. And when any of the other kids annoy him, he chases them around with a kitchen knife. We’re all kind of afraid of him,” says a mother.

Kind of? How old is this family bully? If he’s only a toddler, let’s grab that knife out of his hands and move on. But if he’s eight — or worse, 11 — then we’ve got a serious problem on our hands.

Aggressive kids, especially big ones, can accidentally (and sometimes intentionally) cause serious harm. When wielding “weapons” like knives, scissors, broomsticks, plastic toys, or any other object, they cannot only menace and distress siblings, but they can scar them mentally and physically. It’s the responsibility of parents to ensure that each child feels safe in his or her own home.

“He doesn’t listen and he’s not scared of me or my husband. He does what he wants. I can’t stop him. I tell the other kids to just run away from him if he bothers them.”