Victoria Vacknitz, Sarah Chamberlin, Alice Cao

Site Name:Angry children, worried parents: Helping families manage difficult emotions

• I believe that the article Angry children, worried parents: Helping families manage difficult emotions if an amazing resource for parents about children with anger management issues. The article starts out talking about how it is okay for children to feel angry sometimes but that the problem happens when their anger leads to them engaging in inappropriate actions or behaviors. This is something we need to make clear to parents because they are always worried about children and sometimes overreact to the situation. We need parents to know the differences between their children feeling angry in a typically way and when their children might have an anger management problem.
• Students can have the best education and techniques taught to them at school, but if that is not carried into the home then it is useless. Parents need to be working on these skills at home too to ensure that they are helping their student. Some strategies that the article describes are as follows:
  • Serve as appropriate models for your children
    • Children are more likely to do as we do than to do what we say. They are products of their environment and we need to be mindful of that when we are around them. Because of this, we need to make sure we are modeling appropriate behavior around our children at all times, especially when it comes to anger management.
  • Be empathetic
    • We need to try to consider our children’s perspective when they express their anger to us.
  • Involve your child as much as possible in the process of dealing effectively with anger
    • Have children explain to you what makes them angry, what the different options are for dealing with their anger, what the consequences might be, and what option with ultimately be most effective.
• This is a website and article that I will hold onto for when I have parents ask me for resources for dealing with their children who may have anger management issues.
• To share this information with parents, I would have an information night and share these resources with parents and anybody else that would like to come. I would share this website and others that I find helpful and talk through the different parts. I would also send this out to the PTA and the school newsletter for any parents that could not attend.

Hyperlink: Angry children, worried parents: Helping families manage difficult emotions