Friday, June 10, 2011

Can 5 year olds Kill?

Rage in any age can kill. In general, you may think that young children don't have homicidal rage. They may not have intent or the understanding to do harm in the terms of planning to kill, but more in the spur of the moment like the case of the five year old drowning a crying toddler. Impulsive rage that is destructive can be seen in children as young as three. The younger the age the rarer it is. I have seen in my practice many 5 to 7 year olds with aggression that can kill under certain circumstances. More often than not these children have underlying problems with both impulse control and mood regulation.