One of the most fundamental things to understand about humans is that we are all different. Every person and consequently every child is different. It is because of this that our reaction to a situation is unique as the individual is; therefore, parents cannot expect the same response to a particular difficult situation from two different children – remember we and children are all different!
Not only will each child respond differently but as parents we will respond differently. As parents how we respond is down to our own beliefs, morals, values, upbringing from our own parents, peer pressure and society to name but a few. Children on the other hand are youngsters – they are what they are young! They have yet to learn what life and society expects of them. They may not understand or be able to differentiate between what is socially acceptable and what is right or wrong in a particular circumstance.
Consequently the way in which a child displays his or her anger is also dependant upon age and what they have learnt as part of there development. For example a very young child may show signs of anger by throwing or breaking a toy, whereby a teenager will adopt a more subtle approach such as sulking or putting space between an authority figure (typically a parent) and his or her self perhaps by withdrawing to the bedroom for hours on end. In these situations nothing gets resolved and the child’s anger slowly but surely festers into resentment and even more aggressive feelings towards its parents.
It is because of the difference in how children at different ages, levels of development and because each child is different, that anger management techniques and programs for children are different to those used for adults. Child anger management solutions and programs are specially designed for children as the ones for adults revolve around participation in support groups and involve group discussions and group analysis. Children do not typically respond well to such group discussions and analysis due to being less mature mentally, or in the case of teenagers not willing to participate in the first instance and not wanting to discuss or be open about there anger problems with other people.
The best course of action for anger management therapy with children is to make it fun and enjoyable using a series of interesting activities. These activities will again be dependant upon the age of the child. Very young children for example respond well to coloring, puzzle and quiz worksheets depicting angry situations with possible negative and positive consequences with more emphasis on the good results from managing anger right. This combines fun and games for the child and provides an excellent method for teaching good values and re-directing anger. This is because worksheets and games methods work well to bring out acceptable behavior traits in children as opposed to adult lesson plans that require logical thinking and a comprehension of society right and wrongs.
While there is a maze of information available to help with anger management for children you may find it extremely hard to find the best solution to help with your own child’s specific anger management needs. Much of the information tends to focus on a broad brush approach – one size fits all. Remember we are human and we are all different so one size does not fit all. There are however a few anger management for children programs that take a different approach by looking at the root cause of the anger issue for each individual child.
By understanding the child’s individual needs it is then possible to follow the correct route to remedy the anger issues. Get your child’s individual anger management solution right the first time and have a happy child and a less stressed family as quickly as possible.
