It’s important to help kids at an early age to cope with and manage their emotions and handle difficult situations. Discover these anger management activities for kids.
Every parent or caregiver is familiar with the signs when their child is angry, such as a flushed face, clenched fists, tears, and yelling. It can be a source of stress for not only you but also teachers, classmates, and siblings when your child is in this state.
Although handling an angry child can be challenging, it does not imply that anger is a negative emotion.
It is true that anger can serve as a useful tool for safeguarding ourselves from danger. The crucial aspect lies in instructing your child on how to control anger wisely and redirect it towards alternate channels when necessary. Fortunately, anger management activities for kids come to our rescue. By engaging in these activities, your child can acquire the ability to effectively handle their annoyance so that it doesn’t escalate.
Anger Activities for Kids
It is crucial to teach emotions to children for social emotional learning in early childhood. This includes helping them handle intense emotions such as anger. To effectively manage anger, it is beneficial to offer children activities that enable them to process and control this feeling. The following activities can assist them in calming down and managing their angry emotions.
1. Get Moving
Movement can be a helpful method for young children to manage the release of adrenaline that comes with feeling angry. Although these techniques may not be suitable when your child must remain seated at their desk in class, instruct them on using movement to let out built-up energy and lessen feelings of irritation during times of unrestricted play. A few simple movements that can be done anywhere are:
- Jumping up and down
- Doing push-ups on the floor
- Marching in place
- Stretching
- Jumping jacks
- Jogging in place
2. Use Touch
Your child can achieve the same result of creating feelings of calm by applying firm pressure on their own body, which activates the parasympathetic nervous system. This technique is referred to as deep touch pressure.
- Giving themselves a tight hug
- Squeezing a stress ball or clay
- Pressing the palms of the hands together, counting to four, and releasing
3. Scribble
Surprisingly, channeling anger through vigorous scribbling is a remarkably effective method. Once they have scribbled enough to somewhat calm their anger, you can prompt them to advance to a drawing activity such as #4.
4. Draw a Feelings Heart
If your child is able to sit calmly, encourage them to create a “feelings heart” and fill it in with their representation of anger. This is an effective method to prompt a conversation with your child about the cause of their anger and their other emotions. Various coloring resources are available to assist your child in drawing their emotions for self-reflection.
5. Do a Mad Dance
Encourage your child to engage in dancing as it is an excellent method for releasing tension and frustration. They can spin, stomp, leap, and twirl, allowing them to let go of those feelings of anger or frustration.
6. Deep Breathing Exercises
Meditation has been shown to have advantages for children, and the simplest meditation method, which involves concentrating on the breath, is simple to grasp. For young children in kindergarten and older, breathing exercises can be beneficial for managing anger.
Begin by demonstrating to your child how to properly breathe by placing their hands on their stomach and observing it rise as they inhale deeply. Then, proceed to engage in a straightforward deep breathing activity as an example.
- Breathe in for a 5-count
- Hold for a 5-count
- Breathe out for a 10-count
7. Anger Charades
In order for children to start expressing their angry emotions in a positive manner, they must first grasp the concept of anger and recognize its physical and emotional manifestations. This straightforward task assists in shedding light on distinct behaviors associated with anger.
Create three columns on a sheet of paper and assign them the headings “looks like,” “feels like,” and “sounds like.” Proceed to analyze anger in each aspect. For instance, anger might appear as furrowed brows, generate a sensation of heat, and manifest as shouting.
To engage in a fun conversation, express a range of behaviors that you can act out step by step. Play a game of charades by mimicking different behaviors and allowing your child to guess what behavior you are portraying and vice versa. Take it a step further by acting out scenarios that evoke feelings of anger, thereby enhancing your child’s emotional awareness.
Make sure to inform your child that you also face difficult times occasionally. It is important to recognize that it is acceptable to experience feelings of anger. It is crucial to emphasize that there exist both healthy and unhealthy methods to express anger, which can be taught through conversations or engaging in role-play within the game.
8. Emotional Thermometer
Emotions are neither good nor bad; they are universal to all individuals. Even anger, although it may appear more unfavorable at times, is a natural and beneficial feeling.
Rather than trying to avoid anger, it would be more beneficial to teach your children to recognize and deal with it. Using an emotional thermometer can serve as a helpful visual tool, allowing your child to express their emotional state in times of frustration.
In order to tame it, you have to first name it. By using emotional thermometers, children of all abilities can increase their self-awareness and communicate effectively, allowing for better problem-solving. This tool is particularly valuable for children with limited language skills or a preference for visual learning, as it does not require verbal responses.
On the web, there are various emotional thermometers available for free printing. Your child can either make their own or choose one they prefer, or they can utilize our Mightier Gizmo worksheet!
9. Create a Calm Down Space
Collaborate with your child to establish a secure space where they can retreat to when required. Establishing a “chill zone” or a designated area for calming down provides children with a constructive way to address their needs. This valuable practice is gaining recognition among teachers and parents alike.
Chill zones have the ability to create a pleasant atmosphere of concern and assistance in both the classroom and at home. Oftentimes, areas designated for relaxation will include comforting objects and visual aids, like stress balls, glitter jars, and soft stuffed animals. Children have the opportunity to retreat to these serene spaces in order to regain their focus and calm down.
The calm down area has the additional purpose of serving as a place for reflection, offering a pleasant alternative to the conventional “time-out” approach. Certain chill out zones may even include visual aids for anger management tactics and coping strategies, like deep breathing. Permit your child to select items that contribute to their feeling of tranquility to place in their designated area.
10. Externalizing and Expressing Anger through Puppets and Stories
Talking about anger can generate feelings of shame or discomfort for certain children. Externalizing anger can be the most impactful approach for children to acquire anger management skills. The concept emphasizes that anger is a sensation experienced by them rather than defining their identity. Overcoming anger can present significant difficulties for children if they believe there is a flaw within themselves or if they believe they are the issue.
Instead of directly discussing one’s anger, it can be beneficial to personify anger by naming it, such as the anger monster, and using puppets or drawings to represent it. This alternative approach allows individuals to talk about anger indirectly, potentially reducing the emotional burden of addressing their own anger.
If you want to express anger in a different way, you can try reading a story about a character dealing with anger. This can lead to a discussion between you and your child about the character’s anger, what causes it, and possible ways to cope. If your child has self-esteem issues, this activity might be beneficial.
11. Anger Worksheets for Kids
Numerous anger worksheets for children can be found online. These worksheets aid in the development of kids’ anger management skills and allow them to showcase their knowledge. Therapistsaid.com offers a variety of free resources on anger in children. Worksheetplace.com also provides multiple free anger management worksheets for the support of children and teenagers. You can easily download and print these worksheets to utilize with your child.
Finding the Root Cause
Anger is frequently a response to a disturbing underlying emotion or a feeling of vulnerability. Certain psychologists view anger as a subsequent emotion, which conceals a primary feeling such as fear, sadness, or shame.
In addition to using an anger management activity as a way to divert your child’s attention when they are already in the midst of an angry outburst, it is crucial to engage in a conversation about the underlying factors. By comprehending the underlying cause and potential triggers of their anger, they can enhance their ability to handle their emotions effectively.
Once your child has relaxed, attempt to:
- Talk about how they felt before they got angry—this can help identify and understand the source of their anger
- Listen attentively to their concerns and validate their feelings
- Talk about using problem solving skills for kids to fix underlying problems before they get bigger
