It's painfully common to read or watch news reports about parents abusing their children. But what happens when it's the kids who abuse or beat up mommy and daddy?
In England, at least 62 children -- one of them just 10 years old -- were taken into care since 2015 after being violent to their parents or carers, The Sun reported. The kids were from Bristol City, Luton Borough, Central Beds, Wiltshire, Portsmouth City, Wandsworth, Croydon, Barking, Somerset, Windsor, Maidenhead, and Dagenham in east London. There are also cases in East Sussex, Cheshire East, Trafford, Telford, Wrekin, and Halton.
The Sun obtained its information after issuing Freedom of Information requests to all 149 councils in England over the weekend. There are strong suspicions that the number of parental abuse by children is much higher because several councils refused to disclose details, citing data protection laws as the reason behind their refusal.
According to experts, council officials don't want to break up families so they wait for the abuses to be significant and sustained before their mediate. The 62 abusive children came from only 16 councils, raising fears that there might be hundreds of kids taken from their homes for hurting or abusing their parents.
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), a charity group focused on child protection in the United Kingdom, said violent behavior isn't excusable and it requires instant action to ensure no further physical harm will be done. A spokesperson for the group, however, said that kids who hurt others "may be acting out violence they've witnessed or suffered in their lives."
Parental abuse by children includes "verbal abuse, power tactics, emotional control, intimidation, through to physical abuses of kicking, spitting, punching, slapping, destruction of property, use of weapons, and threats to kill," according to Lynette Robinson, an expert in child-on-parent violence, The Independent reported in 2012. Majority of parents who are being abused refuse to report it to the authorities to protect their kids.
Robinson said many of those who suffer from abuse is single mothers raising adolescent sons. The issue, however, extends to all families in all income groups and even in married couples.
Jeremy Todd, chief executive officer of U.K.-based charity Family Lives, said there are several reasons why children are aggressive at home and towards their parents. This includes insufficient parenting approach, disrespect, parental domestic violence, abrupt and unpredictable changes in the family's routine, and bullying at school. The latter pushes the kids' anger and pain to be unleashed at home.
