My daughter is seven and will be eight in a few months. And boy, oh boy, the outbursts I sometimes experience with her. Sometimes, they are directed at me, her brother, or even a friend.  These happen mainly in the morning and at school when she doesn’t get her way.

Her excuse for the morning anger is that she is not a morning person and doesn’t like being rushed. She is also very tearful, and I think she cries when she gets so angry, and she doesn’t quite know how to control that anger. This article contains some handy information. If all else fails, get your child in therapy. An angry child becomes and angry adult, which we don’t want.

Anger Management for Kids

Everyone has angry feelings. Big emotions, including feeling mad, are normal parts of life. If we want to help our children manage their anger effectively, we first have to teach them about this big and complex emotion—what it feels like, what causes it, and effective ways to manage it.

As parents, we must teach our kids these four things.

1) What is Anger?

The first step is for kids to understand that everyone has a hard time and feels angry sometimes- and that is okay! It’s part of learning mindfulness. 

Anger shouldn’t be considered a “bad” emotion, but learning healthy ways to manage anger with healthy coping skills is important.

2) What Does Anger Feel Like?

Teach your kids how to read their bodies and identify anger signs. 

Anger may feel different to some people. For some kids, it may cause them to cry, others may feel their heart beating faster, and some may have urges to act out in physical ways. These big emotions can cause conflict in everyday life.

When a child is mindful of what anger feels like, then can stop it in its tracks with these essential skills.

3) What Causes Anger?

The best way to help your child develop tools to combat anger is to help them identify their biggest anger triggers.

Do they get upset when they lose a game? Does it make them mad when they can’t do something by themselves? Are they angry when they are tired or hungry?

Talking to your kid about what makes them mad will help them start to think logically through this emotion.

4) How do you Combat Anger?

The last step to Quieting the Storm is to teach your kid anger management activities to help them cope with this uncomfortable feeling.

There are simple activities that your kid can do to focus, relax, and think clearly – and ultimately express anger healthily. 

Tools for Calming Down

Sometimes, your child’s anger and negative emotions will cloud their ability to have conversations or focus on coping strategies.

The good news is that there are simple ways you can get them to relax and think straight.

Play therapist. Tell your child that they are in a safe place. Then, help them lower their heart rate with deep breathing exercises.

For young children, try these fun and easy-to-follow methods:

• Snake breathing: Take a deep breath; when you exhale, make a hissing noise as long as possible.
• Rainbow breathing: Start with arms at the side of your body; as arms go up (like a rainbow arch), take deep breaths, and as they go down, exhale.

Teaching little kids to cope with big feelings with fun activities is a great way to engage them.

Quiet the Storm Inside

Anger is like a storm. You can feel it rolling in, sometimes quickly and sometimes overtime. 

With a storm, we must let the rain come or do something to help (like open an umbrella). This is similar to anger. Angry kids may have to do an activity until their anger subsides. 

In closing, these simple anger management skills will help your kids deal with the unpleasant situations they will inevitably face throughout their lives. Try these anger management games next time you see anger impacting your child’s behaviour. 

When your child learns how to calm the anger storm brewing inside, they can react calmly and responsibly and start to see the light at the end of each tunnel they approach.

Anger Management Activities that Teach Coping Skills to Easily Angered Kids