June 24, 2017

Quote of the Week

"Do not teach your children never to be angry. Teach them how to be angry." --Lyman Abbott

Don't Punch The Pillow: 10 Ways To Calm An Angry Child

Anger is a perfectly normal emotion, and learning to manage it appropriately is one key to emotional health and well-being. If your child is having frequent angry outbursts, it’s important to get to the root of the issue and teach them calming strategies that work. Before we get into those calming strategies, let’s look beneath the yelling, hitting, and aggressive behavior and into the emotional world of a child.  Read on, for an insightful look into managing emotions for both parent and child and tactics that may well be far more constructive than time-outs and bribes.

Reading Corner

Title: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
By: Judith Viorst
Ages: 6-9

Why: "I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day."

So begin the trials and tribulations of the irascible Alexander, who has been earning the sympathy of readers since 1972. People of all ages have terrible, horrible days, and Alexander offers us the cranky commiseration we crave as well as a reminder that things may not be all that bad. As Alexander's day progresses, he faces a barrage of bummers worthy of a country- western song: getting smushed in the middle seat of the car, a dessertless lunch sack, a cavity at the dentist's office, stripeless sneakers, witnessing kissing on television, and being forced to sleep in railroad-train pajamas. He resolves several times to move to Australia.

[...] Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a great antidote to bad days everywhere, sure to put a smile on even the crabbiest of faces. --Amazon.com review

Be the Change

When your child is having a difficult time managing their emotions (or you are!), consider trying one of the tactics mentioned in this article. Rather than diverting from or punishing angry behavior, help your child recognize and name the emotion they are experiencing and learn helpful ways to self-soothe.