Perhaps not a pleasant one, but still a reason: sometimes, children do not know how to draw their parents’ attention to them other than misbehaving, as parents do not grant them with enough warmth and love. Such misbehavior can be a sort of revenge. Such children may find attention in being mean, vicious, and violent, and thus making their parents feel bad. The solution here might be to try giving the child what they need: comfort, love, care, attention (KidsGrowth.com).