Child Behavior: Physical Aggression
What is a "physically aggressive child"?
A physically aggressive child is one that thinks that they can solve their problems by hitting somebody, by being abusive to someone. And being physically aggressive gets them into trouble. Whenever we see children that are physically aggressive, we need to look further at what is causing that behaviour.
Why do children become physically aggressive?
A lot of times the focus is on children who become physical or aggressive; hitting other children or creating lots of problems at school or in the neighbourhood, and so on and so forth. Those are parents that seriously need to be in classes and learn how to raise their children without physical aggression themselves. One of the ways that parents have traditionally raised children is with spanking or some version of corporal punishment, or with the threat of it. A modern parent will not to that. A child should not be afraid that the parent is going to hit them; that the parent is going to do something that is going to cause their self-esteem to be damaged, such as chastising or being extremely negative. Many parents were raised that way and they swear by that technique because now they are not a criminal or a drug addict; because their parents smacked them around and taught them right from wrong and they used that as the method. It isn't necessary to do that now. One of the problems with hitting children, spanking children, is that it teaches them aggression. It teaches them that the big person can hit the little person and be justified in doing so. So, when you have a child who is physically aggressive, it's a really big red flag as to what's going on at home. The child doesn't use words to solve problems but instead has the idea that "I'm bigger and tougher, and I can get my way by bullying." So, there's a whole bullying aspect that is learned in the home.
