Student-parents at CSUN,

For the last couple  months, I’ve experienced something new with my 2 year old that I haven’t experienced much with my older boys, and that’s getting angry.  She’s recently learned how to express the emotion of anger.  At first I though it was sort of comical, but after she started to using this method as a form of trying to get me to do what she wanted, I realized that this could become a real problem.

This realization took me to the internet, to explore different ways of dealing with the issue. AskDrSears.com is an excellent informational website that offers answers to any questions regarding raising children.  The site was developed by William Sears, MD and Martha Sears, RN, whom have written over 40 pediatric books and have been featured on several shows, including Oprah,The Today Show and dateline.

There are six suggestions that they give, in order to help deal with a child who gets angry.  The following is a brief explanation of these:  1. Help your child have inner peace – stay connected with your child, a child that feels disconnected, may feel as if they have a void that they’re unable to fill.  2.  Don’t let your child keep the anger inside – encourage the child to recognize the anger and help them to work through those feelings.  3.  Avoid thinking the child is “bad” – when a child acts bad, there could be an underlying reason causing the actions, try to identify what those factors might be.  4.  Laughter is the best medicine when it comes to anger – humor diffuses anger and can keep the situation under control.  5.  Model appropriate expressions of the anger – make sure the behavior doesn’t leave both of you angery, a parent needs a clear head when dealing with an angry child.  6.  It’s alright to mess up and be angry sometimes – teach the child that everyone makes mistakes sometimes.