It happens every day, all over the world, millions of times a day. Little Johnny just got out of bed and he’s mad at the world because it’s time to go to school or maybe he just doesn’t feel like it today or whatever the case may be, he’s in an angry mood and he lashes out at his parents and siblings. You may even have done this as a child!
Don’t Overreact
When your child is screaming, do not react in anger. Yelling at them will only make the situation worse. Instead, try calmly saying their name, then stating what behavior you want from them. For example, I’m going to count to 10 and then we can talk about what you are mad about.
Stay in Control of Yourself
It’s natural for parents to feel frustrated or upset when their children are misbehaving. But staying in control of yourself is the first step in calming your child down. Here are some tips on how to stay calm: Take a deep breath and count backwards from ten. Tell yourself that you’ll stay in control if it’s not too hard. Remind yourself that this is only a phase- it won’t last forever!
Assert Yourself
These ten assertive phrases can help you set boundaries with your kids:
- I refuse to let this conversation continue until you stop interrupting me. 2. This is what I have decided and I will not discuss it anymore. 3. I am disappointed that we are arguing about this when there are so many other things in our family we could be talking about. 4.
Get Down on Their Level
One of the most effective calming strategies is getting down on your child’s level. If you’re standing while they are sitting, kneel down next to them. It will help them feel less threatened by you and give the impression that you care about their feelings. By doing this, you show them that you are trying to understand what is upsetting them, not just trying to make things better for yourself.
Distract Them
Distraction is the most common tactic for calming an angry children. It can be as simple as playing with them or giving them a toy. It can also involve taking them out of the situation that is making them angry, such as getting on the swings or running in place.
Empower them to Choose their Behavior
In order to change their behavior, we first need to empower them to choose it. Instead of saying, stop crying, say you can either stop crying or do something else. Encourage them with choices like going outside, taking a bath, playing with a favorite toy. Once they have calmed down, we can then talk about what happened that made them feel so mad in the first place. This will give them insight into their own emotions as well as help teach us how to handle future episodes of anger.
Find out what really happened before punishing
Punishing a child for being angry or throwing a tantrum will not help them learn how to control their emotions. Punishment doesn’t make people feel better, it just makes them feel worse. In order for punishment to be effective, you need the person who did something wrong to be sorry about what they’ve done. Anger is natural, but it’s important that children know how to express it in appropriate ways.
Use Positive Rewards Instead of Punishment
Positive rewards are a great alternative to punishing kids. They give children something positive to think about, rather than focusing on the negative. When you reward them for good behavior, it teaches them that good behavior is rewarded.