I am writing to ask what an appropriate (ethical and constructive) response to the following situation would be:
- A child is a 7 year-old boy
- The child has been playing with my daughter and has drawn an image apparently depicting a violent scene
- When asked about what he has drawn, the child said that "This is S's head. S has been poisoned. This is his body, head (separated) and guts".
- Due to a number of factors that I cannot go into here, I believe that parents of the child are likely to disregard this situation (perhaps this is the right course of action - I am not qualified to tell)
I appreciate that to interpret this situation it is necessary to talk to the child to understand what he meant, what made him draw this, as well as become familiar with the child's background. I am not asking for analysis here.
I would greatly appreciate any advice that would help me understand what actions need to be taken by:
- parents of the child
- parents of children that play with the child