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Controlling One's Emotions- Anger Management |
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As a former children’s therapist I have had my share of
dealing with kids who have difficulty controlling emotions. Here I will
share some anger management children can really use. These approaches
will break the process down into manageable step for you and for the
kids.
It is very important to keep an even keel
when dealing with an emotionally charged situation. This is much harder
than it seems but if you take this approach consistently you will see
great progress in the anger management children can use. Make sure that
you keep calm and in control at all times.
When you are in
control of your emotions you are modeling behavior for your kids.
Modeling is a very important aspect of teaching and learning. If you are
trying to enforce anger management children can use you should
demonstrate that you practice anger management yourself.
Now that
you have your bearings you can begin using some behavioral strategies
targeted towards anger management children can use. Many kids are
visual. They lean by seeing and they really pay attention to visual
cues. You can begin the anger management for children by using a type of
visual cue.
An example would be to make a gesture that alerts the
child that he needs to take a step back and take control of his
emotions. Many parents use a simple “stop” sign with their hands.
Younger children may benefit from seeing a red stop sign that you hold
up. Stopping is the first step in anger management children can use.
The
next step is for the child to take a deep breath. You can add another
gesture or image to this step. I like to use a yellow sign or card with
the word “breathe” on it. Next the child counts to ten. This gives him
time to focus on something else while he calms himself. Anger management
children use can be quite simple.
After the child successfully
completes the steps then it is time to talk. This shows that you are
giving value to his feelings and that you want to take the time to sort
things out.
This anger management children use also encourage the
child to talk instead of acting out. Once the child learns to put his
emotions into words he will be less likely to exhibit negative behaviors.
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