Strategies for Managing Anger in Children
8th August 2020
Like other human emotions, anger too is a normal and healthy emotion. However, it becomes indeed difficult for many kids to recognize the difference between feeling angry and being aggressive. With absolutely no knowledge about how to deal with their emotions, the kids with their frustration and anger pent up, become defiant, disrespectful, and aggressive, often throwing temper tantrums.
Childhood aggression such as fighting, spitting, and teasing must not be left unchecked as it can lead to serious issues. For example, anger and aggression have been known to give rise to academic problems, peer rejections, and poor mental health in adulthood. It has been found that aggressive behavior stems from a variety of uncomfortable feelings, like sadness or embarrassment. When they are hurt, they respond angrily because it is easier or it masks the hurt, they are feeling. So, as a teacher counsellor, help your learners explore why they are feeling angry.
Teachers (even parents) need a bunch of strategies or student counselling techniques to help these young children handle difficult emotions like anger before they escalate further creating unnecessary trouble. Here we provide a few helpful tips you can share with your students to help them defuse, reduce, or redirect their anger.
Model Appropriate Anger Management Skills
The best way to teach children how to deal with anger is by being a role model. Show them how you deal with your emotions when you feel angry. If kids watch you lose your temper, they will likely do the same. But, on the other hand, if they see you deal with your disappointments in a kinder, gentler way, they will pick up on that, too.
Other anger management strategies for the child may include:
- Ask themselves why they are angry
- Express his/her anger verbally
- Count up to or down from 10
- Talking and listening to someone
- Focus on their breathing
- Taking a walk or step away
- Self-talk such as, “Calm down,” “Maybe it’s not that bad,” or “Let it go”
To know more on student anger management, you may get enrolled in counselling training courses for teachers to keep yourself one step ahead of others.