Psychology :: Young kids harmed by peer and sibling hitting

If the kids in your family come to blows this holiday break over who gets to play with the new Elmo TMX, parents may need to do more than just dismiss it as ?kid?s stuff,? according to a new study by University of New Hampshire researchers.

The study suggests that parents and other child authorities have underestimated the impact on younger children of being hit by peers and siblings. ?Kid’s stuff: The nature and impact of peer and sibling violence on younger and older children? was published recently in the journal Child Abuse and Neglect.

?Most of us have just assumed when a 6-year-old child gets punched by a friend or hit with an object by a sibling, it is far from the same as an adult punching another adult or a teenager another teen,? said lead author David Finkelhor, director of UNH?s Crimes against Children Research Center. ?We resist calling it an ?assault,? and we assume it is less likely to cause injury or long-term distress.?

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