Do You Have an Angry Child?
Do You Have an Angry Child?
Try these Strategies to Help Empower Them.
Key Points Parents Need to Know About “Anger”
- Anger is a normal human emotion, how all of us handle this emotion can be problematic.
- If a child does not learn how to manage their anger, frustration, and fears in an acceptable and appropriate manner, it can fester and damage their emotional well-being, self-concept, self-image and social and personal communication skills.
- Most of our children can be taught how to self-monitor and self-regulate their emotions, including anger, anxiety and frustration.
- For our children to learn how to put a “moment” between their thoughts and actions is an essential life-long skill they can not go without.
Try These Strategies.
- Parents and others can help teach acceptable ways to de-stress and calm down by modeling what they themselves find useful.
- Parents and others can teaching children, by modeling and role playing how to use “visualization strategies” to self-sooth by practicing with the child how to use their imagination to visualize a relaxing and/or enjoyable experience from either their memory or their imagination.
- Parents and others can teaching children, by modeling and role playing, to slowly repeat a calm word or phrase (“relax”, “breath-in, breath-out”, or “take it easy”, a pet’s name, etc.). Repeat several times in a safe environment to themselves. This can even teach and practice this with siblings and incorporate into a regular family activity.
- Famiies can practice together regularly, breathe deeply in from the nose, hold 3 seconds, breath all the way out through the lips, count to 3 and repeat 5-10 times. Make this a daily or nightly activity, build up to for 2-3 minutes at a time).
- Any and all self-monitoring and regulation behaviors must be taught during times of peace and quiet, not during times of turmoil.
“The suggestions above are not, of course, to be followed rigidly. Each child is an individual with unique needs and abilities and must be treated as such. Therefore, the information provided should be adapted and modified depending on the needs and abilities of each child, with professional assistance if warranted”. Dr. Nach
