When my son was a little younger than yours I too found a disturbing picture that featured someone's head with a dagger through it. There were others as well. He also had a decline in school performance and had always been a top notch student. When I confronted him about the pictures it eventually came out that he was being bullied at school by kids who thought he was showing off with his knowledge. He said it made him so angry that all he could think of was doing the things he had drawn. I told him I understood what anger felt like and that I knew he must have been very angry to have drawn the pictures. I then talked to the school counselor as well as an outside psychologist. Therapy, in his case, helped him with social issues and peer pressure and the results were improved school performance and no more angry pictures. I just wanted to make the point that in my son's case there was something behind the drawings and it was a red flag that needed desperate attention. It sure is challenging being a parent, isn't it - almost as challenging as being the child!
Sincerely,
Dee
Here's another perspective of a violent drawing. When my son was in kindergarten he drew a picture of our family burning down in a house. Coincidently, the assistant principal happen to be a substitute teacher when this happened. She was very concerned and brought it to my attention. My initial reaction was panic, fear, etc. I spoke to my son about this. His response was very articulate. Apparently, sometime earlier in the week they were learning about fire safety. He decided to draw a picture in response to what he learned by his kindergarten teacher. When all this was cleared by my son and the adults, he was given credit where credit was due. In the end, he was responding appropriately to what he learned in class. Btw, this was the only frightening picture he even drew. Thankfully, he now draws people and places. Good luck to you, I hope this eases your mind a little.
Dear Ms. Miller,
I don't think you need to worry about the picture. Your son was angry; the picture was an expression of this.
However, it would be good to speak with him in a calm, patient manner about the decline in his work output and grades. See if you can learn what he thinks about the situation (e.g., his reaction to it, why he thinks it is occurring). It may 'simply' be his devoting too much time to the social aspects of his school experience, and he may remedy it quite readily. However, there may be other reasons for the change, and only he can tell you for sure. It would also be useful to learn what the faculty makes of the decline - i.e., why they think he's changed.