Adolescent to parent violence has historically been a silent problem, absent from official discourse surrounding domestic violence, parenting or youth justice. In recent policy and legislation, adolescent to parent violence is increasingly being recognized as a form of domestic violence; however, this conceptualization bears significant response implications. In this paper, the challenges of responding to adolescent to parent violence within a domestic violence framework are considered, including the characteristics of the parent–child relationship, parental responsibility in criminal justice, blurred victim/perpetrator boundaries and the potential criminalization of children. Whilst recognizing the need for a criminal justice response, the paper argues for a more nuanced, holistic and family focused approach, which avoids the responsibilization of parents or young people.