Children attacking their parents. No parent wants to think about it. And most parents probably think their kids wouldn’t do it. But it happens more than you may think. Last month, a man tried to kill his mom after she offered him a sandwich. Another man killed his father with a weed-wacker. Now, high school student John Granat allegedly bludgeoned his parents to death after they discovered he was growing marijuana.
The 17-year-old was by all appearances a typical high school student. He was described as being a nice, sweet, and quiet kid who recently took up weight-lifting, reports the Chicago Tribune. And as a lot of high-schoolers start getting into trouble, Granat was no different.
Recently, Granat's parents found marijuana the boy was growing in the family home in Palos Township and they threw it out, reports the Tribune. Granat was enraged and allegedly made threats to his friends that he would kill his parents. This was not the first time he had made threats against his parents. However, this time, Granat followed through.
The teenage years are extremely emotional. Your kids may experience extreme happiness and extreme sadness in the span of minutes. It's often hard to know just what your kids are thinking. But when your child starts making threats of harming himself or others, you should take these threats seriously.
You should honestly evaluate the relationship between yourself and your child. If there are deeper problems than just teens being teens, you may want to seek an intervention and talk to a family counselor.
Extreme acts of rage like the case of John Granat killing parents are tragic. However, there were warning signs prior to the murder. It's unclear if steps like family counseling could have prevented the deaths, but parents should take threats made by their children seriously.
Related Resources:
- Find a Chicago Family Law Attorney (FindLaw)
- Teen charged with parents' murder gave conflicting stories, police say (FindLaw)
- Stop Domestic Violence (FindLaw)
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