Why just me?

Hello I am at my wits end with my 7 year old...I belive he needs to be seen in a hospital then again maybe not...My question is why are his violent outrages coming out on me more and more and not his father who lives in a seperate home and sees him every other weeknd......I am sometimes bruised from top to bottom between kicking and punching me and picking up  the nearest object and just throwing it or trying to hit you with it......He knows after what he did so why does he do it.....My 9 year year old and myself are being abused so scared it's going to end up worse than bruises one day...Is this out of his control seems it's constant now over not getting what he wants......Why not in school? He plays alone there I know that has to bother him..Help Is it me?

[Jessica L Thomason Sassi, Ph.D., BCBA-D]

It's not uncommon for children's behavior to be different across different settings (for example, problems at school but none at home, or vice versa).  However, what you are describing sounds quite extreme.  If his behavior is really that dangerous, I'd advise that you try to get professional advice on how to deal with his behavior. A Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) specialising in behavior disorders may be able to help, but will only be able to do so after spending time directly observing your child as well as interviewing your family, so that they can provide recommendations on how to best address the issue. A local BCBA can be found at the following site: http://www.bacb.com/consum_frame.html

Good luck.