DESPAIR OF MUMS & DADS Police probe 10,000 kids for abusing’ parents

POLICE investigated 10,000 children in a year for abusing their parents or other adults in their homes.

The shocking figures obtained exclusively by the Sunday People reveal kids as young as six were probed for terrifying crimes of domestic violence against adults.

The alarming list of children’s’ offences includes alleged murder, rape, kidnap, death threats, false imprisonment and harassment.

And parenting expert fears the extent of the problem may be far worse because adults are too ashamed to ask for help.

She believes as many as one in ten parents will suffer some type of abuse from kids.

The Sunday People also found at least 25 children were taken into care over worries for the safety of their parents or other adults in the household.

In one case an 11-year-old was considered so dangerous that social workers decided the child had to be removed from the home.

Parenting expert Islay Downey said police reports were likely to represent just the tip of the iceberg because most parents are too embarrassed to report their child.

Spiral

She said: “We have a real problem in our society and it all stems from parents losing control and not knowing how to put boundaries in place.

“I once had parents contact me about a two-year-old child who was being violent towards them.

“You think if the parents of a twoyear-old can’t cope then what on earth will happen when that child becomes a teenager and is bigger and stronger than they are.

“We need to do more to encourage parents to seek help.

“We need to break down that taboo so parents realise it’s OK to admit that they are struggling.”

Ms Downey, co- author of the self-help book Parenting A Violent Child, said a “very conservative estimate” was that one in ten parents will experience some form of abuse from their child.

She said: “Parents are desperate for their child to like them and love them, so when a child says they want something and a parent says no and that child gets upset, the parent feels guilty.

“They immediately want to repair the relationship.

“But the moment you give in you are on a downward spiral.”

Data released to us under freedom of information rules by 35 of the 43 police forces in England and Wales shows officers probed 10,051 cases of domestic violence against adults by children in the year 2015/16.

Of these cases, 874 led to cautions being issued and 1,459 to juveniles being charged with offences.

The youngest offender was a sixyear-old boy from Norfolk.

I n Humberside, police investigated a seven year old while Durham police’s youngest suspect was eight and officers in Merseyside quizzed a nine-year-old.

Any child under ten is below the age of criminal responsibility and cannot be arrested or prosecuted for an offence. But police can record the crime and the youngster can be made the subject of a child safety order or placed under t he supervision of social workers or a local multi-agency team.

In London, 233 children were charged with domestic violence offences, the highest number in the country.

The Greater Manchester and Merseyside forces each recorded 112 cases of children being charged – the second highest number of prosecutions. Anastasia de Waal, chairwoman of the parenting support charity Family Lives, said: “One of the biggest problemsoblems with this kind of violence is that parents don’t know what to do about it so, too often, don’t do anything.ything.

Aggression on

“A combination of shame that their own young childrenhildren are engaging in violent behaviour towards them, and a feeling of helplessness can lead to o silence.

“Central to tackling ng juvenile aggressive behaviour is seeking advice and support from om available services, such as Familyy Lives.

“The evidence shows ws that understanding thee cause of a child’s s aggression and then