"A teen mom hopes to overcome her violent past"

Article here. Excerpt:

'It had been a stressful night for the 18-year-old mother of two, who organized a party for a dozen and then saw 40 show up. Her mom didn't make it, and she was left to run Pin the Tail on the Donkey by herself.

Her outburst was the default reaction of a teenager raised in a home where violence was the accepted way of dealing with frustration. And her struggle represents the challenge of teaching a youngster how to manage the stress of motherhood and break the intergenerational cycle of violence.

Thomas is working to alter her aggressive tendencies, and help at the party came in the form of Cynthia Brown, her counselor in a parenting program.

"Shantell," Brown said, "maybe we can think about a better way to say that?"

Thomas dropped the knife to hip level and relaxed her shoulders. "OK, OK, back up, everyone," she said, her voice still tense. "Back up!"

Research shows that children raised in violent homes are more likely to be violent themselves. But a growing body of science suggests there are critical stages when intervention can interrupt the cycle. And new findings in brain development, human behavior and economics suggest that early childhood is the most critical and cost-effective time.
...
If Jabari is to learn alternatives to aggressive behavior, it must be imprinted onto his brain now. Doing that starts with his mother.'