Aggressive and self-destructive children exhibit a long list of behaviors that severely challenge parents and educators: provocations, angry outbursts, risky and self-destructive acts, violence against others, self, and property, school dropout, truancy, sexual promiscuity, drug abuse, lies, theft, and blackmail are some of the behaviors that baffle and shake even the most patient and loving parents. Maybe you feel that your attempts to change your child’s behavior, even those that are warmly recommended by professionals, misfire. Maybe in the past you have sometimes wavered between giving in and hitting back. Under those conditions, even the smallest disagreement may risk flaring up into a major eruption. Understanding the process of escalation turns out to be one of the keys for coping with such situations.