Strategies for Controlling Anger

In addition to becoming aware of anger, it is crucial o develop strategies to effectively manage it. These strategies can be used to stop the escalation of child anger before they  lose control and experience negative consequences. An effective set of strategies for controlling anger should include both immediate and preventive strategies.

Immediate strategies for controlling anger include taking a timeout, deep-breathing exercises, and thought stopping.  Preventive strategies include developing an exercise program and changing your irrational beliefs. These strategies will be discussed in more detail later in this guide.

One example of an immediate anger management strategy worth exploring at this point is the timeout. The timeout can be used formally or informally. For now, we will only describe the informal use of a timeout. This use involves leaving a situation when a child  feels his or her anger is escalating out of control. For example, a child may be playing a game and become angry with another player.  He or she may feel that someone is playing unfairly.  Rather then engage in a shouting match, the child could be encouraged to take a brief break from the situation.  He or she could take a walk around the playground as thoughts are gathered and the child's anger level calms down.

The informal use of a timeout may also involve stopping yourself from engaging in a discussion or argument if you feel that you are becoming too angry. In these situations, it may be helpful to instruct the child to actually call a timeout or to give the timeout sign with his or her  hands. This lets the other person know that you wish to immediately stop talking about the topic and are becoming frustrated, upset, or angry, and wish to get your anger under control.

This leads us to the next section: "The Anger Meter"

Click here to see how child anger management can be achieved through using music