While leaving the experting to the experts, my just-a-patient opine:

Cultural right and wrong is NOT natural instinct. We are not born knowing the distinction. Children learn and act out/imitate what we show them far more than what we tell them.

So opineth The Arf. . .

I mean, arfie has a point. This prompts a pretty deep discussion about objective morality and categorizing things in opposites. How do we know right from wrong in the first place? How do we know up from down? How do we tell the difference between a good experience and a bad one? We barely can. It's all learned.

I don't think you wanted the conversation to go that way, but it's still something to consider.

I think people can end up doing stuff they don't like and aren't necessarily proud of as a means of coping with trauma. We do what we can to survive.

The important thing is to acknowledge it when you screw up, apologize if necessary, and learn what you can from it as you sort it all out.

Recognize the behavior patterns that are related to the trauma and if they are bad or unhealthy, try your best to find ones that are more productive and positive.

I've been working on it myself. You're not alone.

Trauma can cause all kinds of things..... A person is traumatized and a child has no power at all sadly

Acting out is a good way of getting attention even if it's not positive attention someone is listening ….

Gentle hug.....xo

Children's reactions to trauma

http://www.naspcenter.org/safe_schools/trauma.html

Putting the age-old debate between nature and nurture aside, I think the old adage that "hurt people hurt people" applies to us all. I was once an early childhood teacher for kids 2-4 years old and it seemed to me to operate among them. That's why I loved that job, because healing the hurt early could stop the cycle of violence.

Kids have challenging behaviors for a whole lot of reasons from tired, hungry, sleepy, to language delays, social skills delays, seizure disorder, all sorts of side affects from medicines, a "stage", scary dreams, change in routine, etc, etc, etc.

And yes...trauma.

Is this your child? Or another child that you know that you're concerned about?

Depending on age, you might start with your pediatrician, your child's teacher/school, and go from there. If your child is in preschool, you can ask to have them evaluated by the "preschool screening" (all states have some version of it....you can ask your peditrician about it.)

I honestly think that it's really normal for them to "act out" because the behaviour substitutes the vocabulary they haven't learned yet. That goes for young and older children...even some adults.

SO many variables involved in any answer. Age, history, behavior patterns for their family/age/culture... type of trauma, etc.... Basically, ask an expert who has access to the full information, b/c all we can do is wish the child(ren) healing.