Many adults have learned to ignore their feelings of anger, or to express these feelings by hitting or yelling at someone. Therefore, adults often deal with a child's anger by demanding that he or she stop being angry. They might send a child to his or her room until the child can behave better, and sometimes, an adult may hit a child. However, these actions do not help children learn to handle strong emotions such as anger. Although feeling angry is a part of life that no one can avoid, we can teach children positive ways to cope with anger.
Adults can teach children the difference between feeling angry and acting on anger.
In the short run, life at home will be easier when children learn how to work through anger. In the long run, children will continue developing ways to cope with anger as they become teenagers and adults, and will pass these skills along to their own children. Give children several choices so they can pick those that work best for them. Remember that some angry episodes take longer than others to solve. Or, play with play dough, clay, or bread dough, which can be rolled out, pounded, twisted, and pulled apart.