this is a 2 year old thread ...
ooops, sorry i already posted a while back and this time i had not read that the father is bp.
It may not just be learned behavior. If the father yells and screams, perhaps he is bipolar and undiagnosed.
Normal kids with normal brain chemistry would not go after their mom with a knife or try to cut themselves.
This sounds very much like Childhood bipolar or temper regulation dysfunction. Please have your friend get her daughter to a child psychiatrist as soon as possible. She has already tried to cut herself ---- i am not trying to scare you but kids with childhood bipolar have a higher mortality rate than some forms of childhood cancer. Kids like this are known to do the most rash and dangerous things when having a fit. they will jump out of cars, cut themselves, or worse....hang themselves.
Mood stabilizers are seemingly needed here.
Angi
She has seen her parents behave like that it is learned behavior and the problem lies with the parents more than the child, your child should not be in that enviroment witnessing that behavior, the Family all need counseling and soon.
Before I even read that the dad is bi-polar i was thinking that the child sounds bi-polar. A six year old chasing her mom with a knife and threatening to kill herself is way more than typical as you already know. I have read many books on this subject lately and these are symptoms of childhood bipolar. There are medications now (abilify, risperdone) that actually can help this child if that is indeed what is going on. It is not fair to the child who cannot help these outbursts...she has a brain chemistry issue. I feel so bad for the child and the mom. I have been there, and i understand.
Maybe get the mom a book on childhood biploar on amazon and give it to her. There are several good ones that talk about the symptoms and waht to do about it.
Good luck,.
Angi
Nobody can make this little girl's mom seek professional help. If she doesn't want to get help, there is nothing that you or anybody else can do. I don't think it is safe for your little girl to be around this child. I wonder if the little girl is being bullied by someone? I grew up in an unhappy stepfamily, and my stepbrother used to get so angry and frustrated after being teased that he would grab a knife out of the kitchen drawer and tell the other kids he was going to kill them. It never got any better. By the time he was an adult, he was a mentally disturbed individual, who eventually turned to drugs. He was murdered a few years ago by a drug dealer. He never got any professional help as a child because I guess my parents didn't think it was important enough. The child you are talking about needs help, but if you have suggested it and it falls on deaf ears, there is nothing more you can do, but you should keep your child away from that situation.