Have You Ever Tried Reasoning With An Angry Child?

June 07, 2010 | My Blog | The Kids Coach | 4 Comments

My son gets angry as most children do. There are two main reasons why.

1. His little brother annoys him; and

2. He can’t have what he wants.

He is totally irrational and the anger takes over his body. He shouts and stamps his feet and he raises his voice. He has lost control and sight of the thing that is actually annoying him.

I am trying to teach him to recognise the emotional and physical signs of anger so he can stop it before it starts – he is only six years old. He is trying bless him. Until he can, I have taken some responsibility for shaking it out of him. I use humour, I hug him and I wait for him to calm down before talking the problem out.

How do you help calm down your angry child?

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4 Comments for this entry

Michelle (Utterlyscrummy)
June 7th, 2010 on 1:44 pm

I try and keep as calm as possible, crouch down to their level, try and get eye contact with them, use an even tone of voice and try and decompress the situation. Once the dispute/situation has been diffused lots of cuddles usually sorts out any lingering ill will.
Katie
June 7th, 2010 on 5:04 pm

I think it’s important that we teach our children that you are allowed to be angry; anger is a natural emotion, but often if it’s hidden or not allowed to be spoken about it becomes negative. I try to say to my son ‘I know you’re angry, and you’re allowed to be, but I will not change my mind’ in a very calm way. When he becomes calm I tell him why and we try to have a conversation about it.
TheMadHouse
June 7th, 2010 on 5:19 pm

I have said before my youngest suffers terribly from tantrums and anger. We too are learning to recognise the signs and help him. Sometimes an intervention does help. He has a sniffer stick – essential oils that he uses too
Samantha McGarry
June 8th, 2010 on 2:43 am

I let my 5 year old know that I understand his frustration and try and get him to articulate his feelings as much as he can. And then I do my best to explain why the situation is the way it is – and then offer his some choices as to his next ’step’. By providing a choice, empowers him to do something to move the situation forward. It may not be exactly what he wants but at least he feels part of the process. At least with a 5 yr old, you can attempt to rationalize …. but with a 3 year old (his sister), it’s a WHOLE different story!