http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/14/justice/w ... index.html?

The younger boy had been in "a short dating relationship" with the girl, but he told authorities that "she's rude and always made fun of me and my friends," court papers said.

Since when do 10 year olds date??

Not that it's the most disturbing part of the story, but it sort of jumped out at me.
Scary that kids this young think that murder is the way to solve their angst.

No emotion, no remorse...Like in sociopathic?

It doesn't answer the "why" of it, though.

Most kids today are savvy, but their brains are still forming and are notably immature ~ I don't believe most 10yos understand the concept/finality of "death" ~ while they may be exposed to repetitive deaths on TV/movies/video games, they also see the same actors come back the next week ~ they don't know how to channel/deal with their anger, and that anger can erupt into violence in a flash ~

roseanne, my 5th grade kidlets talk about their girlfriends/boyfriends ~ ~ my own first "date" was in 5th grade ~ a boy who lived a few houses away asked me to go to a school fair/carnival on a Saturday afternoon ~ I clearly remember my dad inviting him in, asking if he wanted a glass of milk, and then reading him a list of "rules" ~ I also clearly remember refusing to speak to my dad for a few days after for "treating me like a baby" ~ LOL!

Sooz

I also clearly remember refusing to speak to my dad for a few days after for "treating me like a baby"

But you didn't want to kill him.

Why do children think it's okay to kill? Because we teach them it's okay. Somebody stealing your tv set - shoot him. That guy over there looks scary - shoot him. Kid walking up your driveway - shoot him. Stranger walking in your neighbourhood - shoot him. Some guy doing his "stand your ground thing" - shoot him. When you glory in your guns, don't be surprised when your guns come to get you.

That's true, oskar ~ what got me equally angry was my dad thinking my reaction was "cute" ~

Please don't misunderstand ~ I'm not excusing the inexcusably bad behavior we see so often today, but I wasn't exposed to the same influences that kids are bombarded with now ~ I grew up in a culture that now seems almost like a time-warp ~ while many kidlets identify "right from wrong", they live mostly in the moment ~ their growing brains don't yet have the maturity/capacity to process morality, let alone the legality, of their actions ~ parents/adults deserve a big share of the blame, but so does our inescapable violent culture ~

Sooz

While I'm not sure any 10yo kidlet has the capacity to "think it's okay to kill", jim's quoted post expands on my own thoughts ~

Sooz

The answer, IMO, is that we tell them it's perfectly ok to do so and here's one of the ways we tell them.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scot ... lence.html

Agreed, oskar ~ and just imagine the subliminal confusion created in a growing/immature brain when the character/actor they watch blow up one day is back, good as new, a day or two later ~

Sooz

On a personal note ... I've reached the point of over-saturation with violence on TV ~ there are a few programs [like Criminal Minds] that I used to watch regularly that I cannot/will not watch now because they've crossed some line in my own mind ~ the violence is too gruesome and seems almost gratuitous ~ I'm at a place in my life where I want to be entertained, not horrified ~

Sooz

Allowing kids to watch/play those violent shows/games pretty much says, "This show/game is Mommy and Daddy approved".

In video games, death is never final.

I think another problem is that we insulate our kids so much. Terrible things go on in the world and we don't want our kids exposed to it. The neighbor down the street dies, we never tell our kid. A funeral coming up? Don't take the kid, it will be too much for them. I heard so many of my friends say they weren't going to tell their kids about Sandy Hook because it would just be too much for them.They never understand death. Older generations didn't do this. Kids were also exposed to death through animal, whether pets or from living on a farm, they would get an idea of death.

Are these the only issues? No, of course not, but I think they are part of it.