Violence
No parent wants to think of his or her son as violent, and yet at some point every child and teen will be aggressive or violent.
Aggression is at the core of violent behavior. Aggression stems from attempts to control the environment and the people in it. The problems begin when your son is aggressive in a manner that shows disregard for other people, their feelings, and their property.
Fact
Violence breeds a whole realm of other unsavory behaviors. Teens who take part in acts of violence tend to be involved in other problematic things. Violence is not something that happens alone or in a vacuum.
Violence and aggression might look like a series of nasty behaviors including verbal abuse, physical abuse, destruction of property, and the like. If left uninterrupted, violence will become a predictable coping mechanism. This is when it becomes a problem.
To stem the tide of violence in your son, you need to step in at the early signs and provide your son with a correct and appropriate way to handle pressure and situations where he may typically feel like being violent. One of the best ways to do this is to show your son the difference between aggression and assertiveness.
Being assertive is a positive alternative to being aggressive. It allows your son to stand up for himself and have some control over his environment but without the negative effects on those near him. Role-playing also works well here. Show your son how to respond to normal situations he may face regularly, without violence. He may not even realize the problem he is having.
