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My 3 yr old cousin keeps getting knives

Discussion in 'Family, Friends, and Relationships' started by BigBadBasher, May 21, 2015.

  1. BigBadBasher

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    So for some reason, my three year old cousin keeps getting our knives. Sometimes we have one on the counter when we're cooking, and yet he's too short to see where it is, yet he somehow keeps getting it. Other times we leave it in the drawers or on the dish rack next to the sink and yet he still gets one. What's worse is that his mother found a stray kitten and kept it, and everytime he gets a knife(normally a sharp one with a pointy tip) he always ends up going after it with the knife. We have two sofas across from each other and one time he stood on one of them, got the cat, and tossed it to the other couch and laughing about it! I'm worried about this kid and need to know what to do about it. His mom won't take parenting advice or anything like that and she knows about this and just brushes it off by simply taking the knife from him and yelling NO at him. She probably thinks its just a phase but I think it's worse than that. He tends to hit us a lot and whenever he wants to play it always ends up hitting others. He runs around and hitting us and laughing at our reactions. I get the hitting thing is probably a phase(especially cuz he likes watching the ninja turtles movies like 30 something times) i just need assurance that it is just a phase and not something worse.:icon_sad:
     
  2. Foz

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    Chances are it's just a phase, kids can become obsessed with the most random things! I used to be obsessed with the Spice Girls when I was 4 *eternal shame looms*

    She's obviously not doing a good enough job of stopping him, she needs to get a lock on the knife drawer and keep them all in there. Kids will find all manner of ways to get things, when I was 2 I figured out I could use the drawer handles as a ladder to climb up onto the worktop to steal from the cupboards! But the random hitting does just point to piss poor parenting.
     
  3. BigBadBasher

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    I honestly don't see how grabbing a sharp knife capable of cutting through frozen bacon and going after a small kitten is considered a phase. I'm worried of what happens when he does get the cat with no one stopping him. Isn't killing small animals a sign of a killer or something? THAT'S what I'm afraid of
     
  4. Foz

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    How often do you see him? 3 year olds haven't quite developed the ability to lie yet so I would just ask him "do you know what would happen if you tripped with the knife or what would happen to the cat?" and see what his response is.
     
  5. CuteZhemn

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    Well.. Obiviously she should take knifes from his reach. Its probably gonna end up bad. But would his mother be okay with her son probably dead?. You need to be harsh with the mother i think. Cuz if she doesnt change her way of thinking you might not have cousin anymore.
     
  6. PeachPenumbra

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    People are animals and I think some people, toddlers especially, struggle more than others with base instinct and self control. Part of growing up is learning what is and is not acceptable and that comes more naturally to some than others. Toddlers are pretty famous for being insane. He might be fine.

    If it was my kid I'd still take him to a Dr though. Phase or not his behavior is incredibly worrying. Violent behavior in kids is normal but it can also be a symptom of various things, especially if it's that extreme. I mean punching people is one thing, chasing a cat with a knife is another.

    I have a little cousin who was aggressive and weird from birth, would bite his bother and draw blood unprovoked, he flashed a girl, if he was told no he'd headbutt the floor and he did that before he could walk! He grew out of it eventually and he's a great kid now.

    You can get magnet strips that you fix to the wall that you can keep knives on, child minders in the UK have to have them by law to keep knives out of kids reach, that might help.
     
  7. HunGuy

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    Is his name by any chance Dexter Morgan?

    But seriously, GET THAT KITTEN OUT OF THERE!
     
  8. BigBadBasher

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    Thanks for all the responses. Apparently he thinks the cat is a toy when he throws it (he just did it again and got yelled at by his mom). Still not sure about the knife thing. Being harsh with the mom is not easy because she herself is extremely harsh, she often ridicules me for stuffthat none of her business, and she herself is an intimidating person. HunGuy i understood your reference and yet I don't even watch the show! Luckily we keep the sharpest knives on top of the fridge and not even being able to stand on the chair will be enough for him to reach it. I'll be moving thise knives from the dish rack to the top of the fridge whenever necessary.
     
  9. bicomplicated

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    There are a lot of things 3 year olds don't understand. They don't understand things will hurt them until they actually get hurt. And even then, they might not remember. I've had many a preschooler argue with me "No, but I won't get hurt!" They think they are invincible super heroes. Seriously! They just don't understand. And also, they really don't understand when they hurt others. A three year old might show some compassion occassionally, but they really can't empathise with others. They just don't understand "if someone hurts me, it makes me sad, so if I do this to someone else it hurts them also and makes them sad." They can't put that logic together. They don't understand. So it's important to teach young children when they are being hurtful. One thing you need to do is get child safety locks for your cabinets so the child doesn't get hurt or hurt anyone else or the cat. Also, you need to sit down with the child and have a simple yet grown up like conversation with the child when he hurts animals or people. Ask him how he would feel if someone did that to him. would it hurt? Would it make him sad? Tell him he is hurting the cat or kids he hits. Just start talking with him and having conversations with him. Have him start thinking. His mom is not parenting well by just yelling at him. He needs positive guidance not yelling.
     
  10. BigBadBasher

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    I will talk to him, though I think the kid is a bit "dense" if that's the word I'm lookibg for. I'm saying he still needs to learn how to speak. He hardly says any clear sentences, except for thank you, your welcome, bless you, and the last word he hears whenever he copies what we say to him(which usually happens after he hits someone and they yell at him.
     
  11. blurryface

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    Hi, I had a relative similar. He'd come at us with screwdrivers but it wasn't malicious and I honestly don't think he knew what he was doing. The thing about him not speaking is interesting though. Sometimes if children can't express themselves they do it by hitting out. My relative would hit his head against a wall if he was frustrated or throw things at people if he couldn't understand them. I wouldn't say it was necessarily just a phase but it's something that can be dealt with. My relative went to a speech and language therapist which helped a lot as they deal with a lot broader behaviours than just speech and language such as how people interact in general
     
  12. bicomplicated

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    At 3 years old he should be speaking way more than that. At 2 years old he should be speaking more than that. Something sounds delayed. Has his doctor not expressed concern? Does he go to daycare? If so, has his teacher not suggested testing? His mother should speak with his doctor and see if he needs testing for anything. And, yeah, if a child can't express thoughts through words, the child will find other ways to try to express what they are trying to communicate. I think he is trying to be heard.

    ---------- Post added 22nd May 2015 at 08:49 PM ----------

    And as an Early Childhood major and a preschool teacher since 2004, I have some background and experience with this issue. I hope the child gets help and support.
     
  13. BigBadBasher

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    That's the thing he's not in school yet, his mom only takes him to the doctor for medical reasons like if he's extremely sick or something like that. His brother, who's currently six, never had this issue(behavior and speech mind you) at his age, which is strange. I don't think it'll be possible to get his mom to take him to a therapist, but she did say he'll be entering school next year. His speech is a bit broken actually, most of the time we understand what he's saying, though his sentences should be more clear in a couple of months. His treatment of the cat is similar to how he and his older brother at that age are the same; too young to learn that throwing a dog/cat that small is bad and both tend to take their grip on the small pup/kitty a little too tight. He does love watching the ninja turtles and there use of swords could be the source of this. He tries mimicking the fighting stances and tempting jump kicks and the like, he uses certain toys like nun-chuks, i guess he just mimicking the show.
     
  14. banana1

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    I worry about the parents :/ you can't expect from a 3 year old that he knows how to handle knives...

    thats why child safe kitchen drawers were invented...


    If he can't play with a knive in the next month he has forgotten about that.