Ask all parents and they will tell you that anger outbursts are something that is bound to happen as a child grows. Like adults, children also feel anger, and that is normal as long as it occurs infrequently and does not disrupt the child’s life or people around them.

Dealing with anger bursts in children is no easy task. We offer you here some ways to deal with an angry child:

Remain Calm

When a child is angry, arguing with him or yelling at him will only escalate the situation and make it worse. The best (and most difficult) thing you can do when a child is angry is to keep calm. This allows your child to calm down quickly so you can reason with him and have a productive conversation.

Act!

There is a huge difference between keeping calm and not acting at all during an angry outburst. Worse yet is if parents gave in to the child’s demands when he throws a fit. If you freeze or do what the child demands, it will teach him that tantrums are a good way to get what he wants. Your best option is to remain calm but firm and not letting the child get what he wants.

Do Not Get Physical

Getting physical with a child during an anger outburst will likely make the whole situation worse, and will only teach the child that violence is a viable option to solve disagreements, which is something you do not want to do.

Talk to Your Child

Talking to your child to try to get down to what caused the anger outburst and discussing alternative ways the child can use to diffuse her anger is extremely important. It can also show the child that it is okay to have feelings and you respect them. Talk to your child only when you both have calmed down.

Discipline Behavior

Tell your child that while it is okay to feel angry, it is absolutely not acceptable to act in certain ways. Make sure your child knows what is unacceptable and what the consequences for bad behavior are. Be firm and consistent in disciplining the child, and always make sure they understand that the punishment is for the bad behavior and not for feeling angry.