Anger Management for Kids: A Therapist's No-Fail Guide to Calm

Inside: Discover research-backed tips and strategies on anger management for kids from a child and family therapist.

My 4-year-old comes downstairs and asks for candy at 6:30 am and collapses on the floor sobbing when the answer is no.

My 7-year-old feels left out of her sister and brother’s game and lashes out calling them both stupid.

My 9-year-old comes home from school with a ‘frowny face’ and crossed arms but ignores my inquiry into how her day was.

If you struggle knowing how to support and guide your child through anger, don’t worry, this one-stop comprehensive guide on anger management for kids has got you covered (and also you’re not alone!)!

Table of Contents

Let’s start with square one when it comes to anger management for kids

Before you can give your child the right supports for effective anger management you need to know where their anger stems from and what variables or situations seem to precipitate anger.

Learn why anger serves a purpose for a child and what factors most commonly underlie anger issues with kids in >> Parenting an Angry Child? 10 Underlying Reasons You Shouldn’t Ignore

Start HERE- Universal principles to help an angry child

Helping your child learn to deal with anger in a healthy way is more than a single technique or phrase. There are several basic principles that will build a strong foundation for your child’s ability to cope with anger and other intense emotions.

Learn how to lay this strong foundation that will last a lifetime in >> How to Help a Child Deal with Anger Now and Throughout Life

Now that you have a basic framework in mind, it’s absolutely necessary to take a deeper dive into one of the topics on anger management for kids…and it’s also the BEST thing you can do to help them calm down by far.

Learn which intervention is much easier said than done, but is the quickest path to calm for your child in >> The Best Thing You Can do to Help an Angry Child

Here’s: 75 Calm Down Strategies for Kids (that work!)

Practical tools and strategies to help kids manage their anger

Once we have this foundation down we can move on to helping kids explore anger in more concrete ways. These are 7 of the anger management activities I use the most with kids.

Read >> The 7 Best Anger Management Activities for Kids

Here is a master list of the 50 Most Epic Anger Management Tools for Kids

The ability to manage anger and other emotions in a positive and goal-directed way are called self-regulation. Learning to self-regulate is a skill your child will work on their whole lives!

Research consistently shows that self-regulation is necessary for social-emotional and academic success and well-being and is one of the most important skills for our child to develop.

There are steps you can take to help your child build emotional regulation skills today >> 6 Guaranteed Ways to Boost Your Child’s Emotional Regulation Skills

I’m going to hit you with a hard truth. Many parents make the same common mistake when it comes to helping your child calm down. I hear it at least once every time I’m at the store (and sometime it may even pop out of my own mouth- oops!)

Do your child a favor and stop making this mistake when it comes to anger management for kids >> Stop Doing This One Thing to Help Your Child Calm Down

Coming Soon: Best Anger Management Books for Kids

Anger management for kids is an ongoing process

Helping a child better control anger requires support and guidance from their caregivers.

Let’s be honest, most of us adults are still trying to master the art of handling our emotions in healthy ways.

Providing a strong foundation of emotional intelligence skills, emotional regulation practices and tools to help calm down when angry you’ll be giving your child the start to a healthy relationship with anger and avoiding a toxic one.