Child Makes threat

[jt24]

I'm having a hard time even writing this, but I need help. Fast. I have a son who will be 8 next month. He is a great kid with very few behavior problems. His worst behavior to date has been his inability to get along with his 6 year old brother. He is an excellent student and is normally pretty quiet and laid back in school, scouts, etc.

A few months ago, we began to notice that he started complaining non-stop . . . about everything! No matter what we were doing he was bored. This was very new. But we figured it was a phase and he would outgrow it soon enough.

Last weekend, we had a bunny die. I still do not know exactly what happened, but my son told my husband that he was afraid he might have accidentally hurt him. He said he was trying to lift him out of the cage, when he jumped out of his hands. He tried to catch him, but he ended up getting hurt and we had to euthanize him. My son loved this rabbit and we've had it for 2 years. He held him all the time and has never harmed him or our two dogs.

Last night, as I was changing the laundry I discovered that someone had taken a Sharpie and written "Kill You Next" on the wall. I was stunned and instantly thought someone had broken into the house. Long story short, my son eventually admitted that he had written it. After talking to him for a while, the only explanation that we got was that he saw it on TV.

I hadn't thought about it before, but now I'm terrified that he did something to his bunny.

I can't say it enough . . he has previously had no behavior problems and has always been a very loving and open little boy. What's going on??? Was the wall writing his way of dealing with accidentally hurting his pet, or is something much worse going on with him?

Please help!

[April2]

He may very well have been acting out something he saw on TV. That's why we parents have to be sooooooooo careful what we let our children watch. They are like little sponges and soak in everything around them even if you think they're not paying attention. Also, young children have a hard time seperating fantasy from reality, and they often times will act out the things they see.
I'd watch him carefully around the other pets and younger children for awhile. Pay attention to whether he is having bad dreams or not sleeping or eating well. But try not to worry. If this is the first time you've ever seen him do something like this, chances are it's just him playacting. If there really was something psychological going on you would have seen a pattern and more than one incident.
It might put your mind at ease to get a professional opinion, though, from the doctor forum. Try not to worry. I'm sure this was a one time incident. He's still your little boy! Take care.

[socgirl]

like april said...maybe watch him carefully around the pets for awhile.  However from what you desrcibed, it sounds like hurting the bunny really was an accident.  these things happen and he probably feels terrible about it.  the writing on the wall could have been something he saw on tv, or it could likely be his way of expressing how he feels about the bunny.  he probably really does feel like he killed his bunny and maybe doesn't trust that he won't accidently hurt someone else or something else.  when i was 5, i accidently killed my goldfish by overfeeding it...i was terrified to be responsible for feeding the dog, cat, etc because i thought i might accidently kill them too.  It was simply an extension of what i was feeling.

Talk to your son about his feelings regarding the bunny issue and reassure him that accidents happen sometimes.  As long as there is not a pattern to this type of behavior and as long as he doesn't show antisocial traits (such as lack of empathy towards anyone or anything), then i wouldn't worry too much about it.

you may also want to be sure to have a very serious discussion about what he wrote on the wall.  maybe he saw it on tv or whatever, but he needs to know it's not ok to say things like that, and encourage him to come to you ro his father if he ever feels that way again so he can talk about it.

good luck!