Children often have the misconception that anger is an emotion that should not be felt.  They feel that getting angry is a "bad" thing.  It is important for the child to understand that anger is a completely natural way to feel, it is a part of what makes us human.  It is not anger that gets us into trouble, it is what anger can lead us to.  It is very important when discussing child anger management to make sure the child understands this concept.  Typically anger is a response to those situations where we feel threatened, we believe harm will come to us, or we believe that another person has unnecessarily wronged us. We may also become angry when we feel another person, like a child or someone close to us, is being threatened or harmed. In addition, anger may result from frustration when our needs, desires, and goals are not being met. When we become angry, we may lose our patience and act impulsively, aggressively, or violently.

Children often confuse anger with aggression. Aggression is behavior that is intended to cause harm to another person or damage property. This behavior can include verbal abuse, threats, or violent acts. Child anger, on the other hand, is an emotion and does not necessarily lead to aggression. Therefore, a person can become angry without acting aggressively.

A term related to anger and aggression is hostility. Hostility refers to a complex set of attitudes and judgments that motivate aggressive behaviors. Whereas anger is an emotion and aggression is a behavior, hostility is an attitude that involves disliking others and evaluating them negatively.

Children are learning more every day.  They often struggle to deal with the imperfect world they are in.  It can be very difficult for a child to learn proper management of his or her anger. 

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