History Main / WouldHurtAChild

** Signy, sister of Sigmund (and therefore the aunt of Sigurd the Dragonslayer), is an even more cruel example. She casually offs the sons she bore with her husband, deeming them unfit. When she gives birth to her ''brother`s son'', she willingly drives a needle through his arm, and he doesn´t blink. ''THAT'' is the son she deems to be fitting.

* Some culprits in ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' set their murderous sights on younger people, although their age usually never drops below teenage years- the youngest victim having been 12 when [[spoiler: Kristoph Gavin]] gave her poisoned nail polish (though she didn't actually use it until she was 19). And then there's prosecutor [[{{Slimeball}} Gaspen Payne]], who encourages the judge to give a ''nine-year-old boy'' the '''death penalty''' because he wants Phoenix Wright to suffer under the [[LoonyLaws Defence Culpability Act]].

* Some culprits in ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' set their murderous sights on younger people, although their age usually never drops below teenage years. And then there's prosecutor [[{{Slimeball}} Gaspen Payne]], who encourages the judge to give a ''nine-year-old boy'' the '''death penalty''' because he wants Phoenix Wright to suffer under the [[LoonyLaws Defence Culpability Act]].

** Regarding the death of David and Bathsheba's firstborn, David became the TropeNamer for the UriahGambit by abusing his Kingly authority to [[MurderTheHypotenuse murder Bathsheba's husband]] in order to make her available. Nathan the prophet strongly implied that had David not repented for this sin, ''David himself'' would have died instead of his firstborn son (who was the product of David's adultery with Bathsheba). Because ''someone'' had to pay with their life for David's sin[[note]]There is no redemption from sin without the shedding of blood: this is the reason why the Son of God died on the cross for all sins later on[[/note]] and since David repented, the child had to pay. Because David had more or less raped Bathsheba, that was why ''she'' wasn't killed.

* This is attempted in the ''Machinima/YogscastMinecraftSeries'', specifically in ''Shadow of Israphel'', when the titular antagonist [[spoiler:hunts down the Antioch bloodline and murders Peculier's mother, later trying to target him and his sister Isabel as infants. This forces their father to make a HeroicSacrifice and stop him]].

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'': Church makes it very clear that he is [[FantasticRacism disgusted]] by Tucker's alien son, Junior; if the other characters weren't constantly stopping him, Church would have gone through with his plan of stepping on Junior's neck and killing him.

** According to ''Literature/BookOfJudges'', the Canaanites are notorious for burning their children for their idols, resulting in God telling the Israelites to [[KillEmAll purge all of the gentiles in Canaan]] so they would not be tainted by idolatry.

* ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'': Whenever one of the combatant is a minor, expect this trope to apply to their opponent.

** Pale Night is a powerful demon lord who takes this UpToEleven. Many eons ago, she tricked Morwell, the queen of the eladrin, into a vile pact that resulted in an entire generation of eladrin children being trapped in the Abyssal layer of Androlynne; since then, Pale Night and her forces have been hunting them down one by one at her leisure. To this day, armies of eladrin try to protect the children (who remain forever young due to the pact) and find a means for them to escape. Morwell's current consort Faerinaal leads the armies presently, and even though his predecessor (and the one before that one) perished doing so, less than a third of the children survive to the present day.

-->-- '''[[AntiHero Sol Badguy]]''' (to an unconscious [[PirateGirl May]]), ''[[VideoGame/GuiltyGear Guilty Gear Xrd]]''

A SubTrope of KickTheDog. Frequently a cause of AdultFear. BurnTheOrphanage is a particular form of this. See also ChildHater, who hates kids but isn't necessarily physically abusive and NiceJobBreakingItHerod, which is often an extreme version. If they're not stopped in time by the heroes, this overlaps with DeathOfAChild. Contrast ImprobableInfantSurvival and WouldntHurtAChild. Compare KidsAreCruel, ChildrenAreInnocent. Related to EatsBabies and ChildEater. Usually applies to the SadistTeacher. If a villain who is quite capable of bothering adults prefers to spend his time as an antagonist for kids or teenagers, it's fair to say PickOnSomeoneYourOwnSize. For the role-reversed example of this trope, see DoubleStandardViolenceChildOnAdult, in which case it's a ''child'' physically harming an adult for comedic effect.

** King Herod did this in order to try to kill USefulNotes{{Jesus}}. [[NiceJobBreakingItHerod It didn't work]].

-->'''''That's''' therapy for you: mowin' the lawn while cryin'.''

* Many of killers Music/{{Macabre}} sings about have hurt, killed or raped children. Most infamous being Albert Fish, who they multiple songs covering the horrific acts he preformed on innocent children.

[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]

** King Herod did this in order to try to kill Jesus. [[NiceJobBreakingItHerod It didn't work]].

*** Regarding the death of David and Bathsheba's firstborn, David became the TropeNamer for the UriahGambit by abusing his Kingly authority to [[MurderTheHypotenuse murder Bathsheba's husband]] in order to make her available. Nathan the prophet strongly implied that had David not repented for this sin, ''David himself'' would have died instead of his firstborn son (who was the product of David's adultery with Bathsheba). Because ''someone'' had to pay with their life for David's sin[[note]]There is '''''no''''' redemption from sin without the shedding of blood: this is the reason why the Son of God died on the cross for all sins later on[[/note]] and since David repented, the child had to pay. Because David had more or less raped Bathsheba, that was why ''she'' wasn't killed.
*** Also, God floods the entire world and destroys two whole cities, and children and babies would've been killed in both instances.

** There are multiple incidents in the Bible where God orders the complete slaughter of various civilizations, which undoubtedly included young children.

** According to ''Literature/BookOfJudges'', the Canaanites are notorious for burning their children for their idols, resulting in God telling the Israelites to [[KillEmAll purge all of the gentiles in Canaan]] so they would not be tainted by idolatry. In the end, they were [[PunishedForSympathy punished for not doing so]].
** In Samuel I, King Saul is ordered to exterminate the Amalekites: every man, woman, child, and animal. He is removed from God's favor when he disobeys by sparing the Amalekite King and by adding the Amalekite livestock to his flocks.
* Many [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek myths]] punish a parent by slaughtering their children. Probably the best known example is {{Theatre/Medea}} with the addition that the children in question were ''her own'' and their deaths were to get back at the philandering Jason.

** Signe, sister of Sigemund (and therefore the aunt of Sigurd the Dragonslayer), is an even more cruel example. She casually offs the sons she bore with her husband, deeming them unfit. When she gives birth to her ''brother`s son'', she willingly drives a needle through his arm, and he doesn´t blink. ''THAT'' is the son she deems to be fitting.

** “2 Cruel 4 School” covers a mass shooting at a school, which got multiple kids as young as six killed.

* An infamous instance came during an episode of WWE ''Smackdown!'' in 2004, when – during a storyline involving Lita, Matt Hardy and their baby – Gene Snitsky brought a wrapped towel to the ring while Lita was in the ring, claiming it was Lita's baby. After taunting Lita with harm toward the baby, he took the towel, dropped it and then punted it into the crowd!

* Some culprits in ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' set their murderous sights on younger people, although their age usually never drops below teenage years.

[[caption-width-right:350:"Cursed children of a hateful mother—may you die with your father and his house!"]]

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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5e6a7726_b5af_41dc_82cf_9f1b4cf46b23.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:”Ready Ike?, Kick The Baby!]]

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[[caption-width-right:350:Or a chick in this case.]]

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[[caption-width-right:350:Or a chick in this case]]

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