Help your rugrat rein in his rage with prime pointers that’ll work whether junior is at home or in public.
It’s hard for anyone to exercise self-control, let alone little kids who are still learning how to navigate the big bad world.
When your child goes ballistic, they are usually not doing it deliberately. It’s often a combination of trying to assert themselves and not being able to find the right words to say how they feel or what they want.
When their feelings are discounted and not addressed immediately, your child’s anger can turn into aggressive behaviour.
To prevent this from happening, guide your kiddo to learn how to manage his emotions. Doing so will help him or her grow up to be a more emotionally intelligent and resilient adult.
Here are top tips to get you started…
Infographic Paulyn Ng
Calm-down techniques to try
1. Take deep breaths
Breathing deeply increases the oxygen supply to your brain, stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system, so as to regulate your heart rate and digestive system.
2. Count to 10 slowly
Impulse control is challenging for adults, let alone kids. This simple tactic, which also works well on adults, allows junior to stop, think, cool down and then act on the situation with a level head.
3. Do some hand actions
Often kids don’t realise how much of tension they’re carrying in their bodies when they’re upset or angry about a situation. Doing several hand movements will help them release some of the pent-up feelings.
4. Use words to express their feelings
It’s human nature to react before thinking, especially when we’re overwhelmed with emotion. So, remind your kiddo to use words instead of lashing out.
5. Ask for help
Getting your kiddo to figure out a solution to the problem ― by approaching an adult for help ― is a good way to distract and calm him. He won’t feel isolated when he knows he has a strong support system and it’ll give him a sense of security.
6. Do their favourite activity
Doing something fun is a great way to diffuse a tension-filled moment. Instead of telling your child to “get over it” or ignore his feelings, redirect their attention to their favourite activity, which will also help calm them down.
7. Ask for a hug
Hugs can never go wrong and they always make things better!
Main photo: iStock
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6 ways to help junior deal with anger