Five Tips On How You Can Help Your Child Learn To Control Emotions

Adults get angry… it’s a just a fact of life. There are times people are in a bad mood and something will just set them off for no apparent reason. Of course, there are instances where a person’s anger is justified. Some people have short fuses; other people barely ever lose their cool.

Children can also be angry… for whatever reason they’re mad about. Anger is an emotion that is quite natural. As a parent, it’s not your job to keep them from having this emotion. If you did this, you’d cause greater problems down the road because it means you’re doing everything for them. Rather, your job as a parent is to teach them how to rein in that anger in a socially acceptable manner.  How can you do this?

Your child is going to watch how you react to things. If you know you’re getting angry, you should find a constructive manner in which to deal with it. The last thing parents want their children to do is get violent, yell and/or scream. Thus, you will need to calm down yourself the same way you want your child to calm down when he/she is angry. Remember, they have a tendency to copy your moves, actions and words.

When you notice your child is upset and angry, it’s a good to ask them why. Your child may explain and, at the end of it, realize that the reason for being angry was pretty stupid. However, if the emotion is validated, talk to him/her to so that they can calm down and come up with a solution to help them overcome it.

When people are really angry, they need to release that energy before they can actually move past it. Just like you, your child needs an outlet that isn’t going to hurt him/herself or someone else. Allow your child to pound Play Doh, scream into or hit a pillow or run around the house to get that pent up negative energy out.

When an older child gets mad, sometimes writing it down can help them deal with their emotions. Once their problems are seen in black and white, they can handle them in a rational manner and work them out to where it doesn’t bother them any longer.

Your child may not want to hear you singing but it can diffuse the emotion. You don’t have to sing an actual song… make one up! Let him/her sing it with you, which can help them to calm down. This outlet is an appropriate way to deal with his/her anger and allows them to handle the problem when they feel better about the situation.

It may pain you to see your child angry. However, caving into their anger only sets up a scenario for problems down the road. Rather show and teach them how they can handle the anger and rage so that they can positively deal with it later in life.