Normal 12 year boy behavior???

[Beth812]

I have 12 year old twins that just showed me a video of them hanging a frog by a string and killing it then they watched it float down a river. I am so disgusted by this behavior and want to know if I am overreacting. They said it was their friend's idea and they just went along with it. My mom also knew about this and said that they were just acting like normal 12 year old boys. Am taking this too seriously? Do I let them play with this other kid? Please help.

[mama51]

I am a country girl, a tomboy if you will, I learned to hunt and forage in my teens, but also learned never to kill what I wasn't going to consume and no part of the animal went wasted. I am also from so. AL. Does that make me a hick?
I honestly believe that your boys' friend who did that was acting out a frustration.
I'm afraid that you might want to consider counseling for your sons, having been exposed to that kind of behavior, says their friend may have done more than just torture a poor frog.  
I understand boys will boys, my son is no different.  He had to endure things that are just coming to light when he still lived with his dad and he acted out!  He did similar things as your son's friend did.  We (my husband and I) fought with his dad to get my son the help and counseling he really needed. We won,and although still has anger issues, he has learned to redirect it into positive actions.  He is 18 now and the med he has to take helps alot along with the counseling he gets.

[specialmom]

I definately think you are entitled to your opinion and I can't say I disagree with you.  However, even my 4 and 5 year olds know that calling someone stupid isn't nice.  

[lboogie7729]

The third comment said 'it is very normal' and then went on to say that it rural areas this is common. I'm from St. Louis and I've been all over the country and out of the country. I know what a hillbilly is and they are all over, and they keep on breeding. I really don't care if anyone is offended, I'm not a prejudiced person in anyway except when it comes to uneducated hillbilly's. I call it like I see it, stupid kids raised by stupid parents do stupid things and are potentially menaces to society at the worst or just a burden on the system at the least. I'm not saying the mother of the 12 year old kids is a bad person or that her kids are bad kids, but she should find out who they are hanging around and who the other kid's parents are. What's next if the parents do just brush it off as normal, they hang a kitten or a puppy?

[specialmom]

I don't think anyone thinks this activity by these boys is okay------ but calling people hillbillies and breeders of hillbillies is a little uncalled for.  Do people still call people hillbillies these days?  I haven't heard that in a long time.  I'm pretty sure those in Appelacia would take offense.  

[lboogie7729]

Just because it is 'common' in rural areas doesn't make it normal to kill something for the fun of it. I would be disturbed if one of my little cousins did something like this. Do they not have more productive things to do with their time, like homework, house work, getting a side job, volunteer work? Rural to me, in this conversation, sounds like uneducated hillbilly's, and uneducated hillbilly's tend to just breed more uneducated hillbilly's. The dumbing down of America. Find out what makes your kids want to spend time doing something like this, don't just brush it off.

[heatherlynn22]

i don't really think that is normal behavior. the only people i know who have killed things at a young age are....well very disturbed individuals now.

you may want to get them into therapy to find out WHY they enjoy killing creatures.

[specialmom]

I wouldn't go as far as to say that killing things is normal.  But it happens.  My husband has some stories from when he and his many brothers were younger that I find a little scarey . . .and I guess he is okay(lol).    I think what bothers me is the video taping of it and the pleasure they took in the event.  I'd tell him to never do it again, but that is me.  

I think some people and families value nature/animals in a different way.  I grew up where a dog is part of the family and to some people they are just animals.  I grew up where hurting an animal just for sport would be frowned upon.  My father hunted but ate what he killed.  He didn't relish in the act of killing it as these boys did.  So it also comes down to how we have raised our kids to respect things around us.  (by the way, using something for bait is different than hanging it and videotaping it . . .)  So, I wouldn't see this as an indication that you have a group of serial killers on your hands but definately a group of kids who think odd things are fun and have a lack of respect for nature.  Good luck.

[remar]

This is not normal behavior. Killing any living thing just for fun is horrible. Take this very seriously and if I were you, I would not let your boys play with this other boy ever again. Can you talk to this other boy's mother about this to see how she feels?