The 50 Most Epic Anger Management Tools for Kids

Inside: Learn how to help your child control their anger with the 50 Best Anger Management Tools for Kids from a Child Therapist. 

I’m unloading the dishwasher listening to my four and seven-year-olds playing in the next room. I smile as I hear my creative little beings choreographing another dance ‘recital’ in the living room.

I start thinking how much I loathe unloading the dishwasher and ponder what we’ll have for dinner when loud shrieks cut through the air.

“You said I got to perform first!”

“I never said that! You’re a liar!”

“Fine then, I quit!”

My seven-year-old storms out of the room tipping the stage (a plastic stool) over on her way out.

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Dealing with anger is universal for kids

You want to help your child learn to manage their anger but you don’t know where to start. 

You’re tired of tempers flaring, and the disruption it causes to family life.

As a healthy part of development, all children will struggle to manage their anger at times, but some kids inherently struggle more to navigate through intense emotions.

Whether your child is going through a developmental leap (hello toddlerhood and teen years!) or could be referred to as an ‘angry child‘ who consistently requires more support to deal with anger this list of anger management tools for kids has got you covered.

Breaking down anger for kids

Anger is a complex emotion and helping your child begin to understand it’s many different components is the most effective approach to anger management for kids.

Areas to explore are:

1)How anger serves us as an emotion

2)How anger manifests physically in our bodies

3)What situations bring out our anger most often

4)The consequences of unmanaged anger

5)How to cope with anger in healthy ways

These anger management tools for kids approach all the aforementioned areas and are geared toward all different age levels from toddler to teen.

related >> What to do When Your Angry Child Refuses Coping Strategies

50 Best Anger Management Tools for Kids

Anger management books for kids

Picture books are hands down the best anger management tool for younger children. Did you know using books to teach is an actual therapeutic technique called bibliotherapy?

This technique has been around for hundreds of years as learning through reading offers kids a powerful opportunity to project themselves onto the characters and themes present in the story.

Stories are an enormously powerful way for you to inspire, teach and influence your child’s behaviors and attitudes in relation to intense emotions and to help your child deal with anger.

Train Your Angry Dragon: Teach Your Dragon To Be Patient. A Cute Children Story To Teach Kids About Emotions and Anger ManagementHow to Take the Grrrr Out of AngerCool Down and Work Through Anger (Learning to Get Along®)Angry Octopus: Children Learn How to Control Anger, Reduce Stress and Fall Asleep Faster.The Angry Dragon: (children books about anger, ages 3 5, picture, preschool, kids books)When Sophie Gets Angry–Really, Really Angry…When I Feel Angry (The Way I Feel Books)When Miles Got MadI Hate Everything!: A book about feeling angryZach Gets FrustratedLucas Tames the Anger Dragon: Feeling Anger and Learning Delight (Help Me Understand)Dealing with Feeling AngryI’m Mad (Dealing with Feelings)Llama Llama Mad at MamaSometimes I’m BombalooMouse Was MadSchool Reader Level 2: If You’re Angry And You Know ItJilly’s Terrible Temper Tantrums: And How She Outgrew ThemHold Your Temper, Tiger

Anger management workbooks for kids

Workbooks serve as a fantastic anger management tool for teens and elementary aged kids. They provide an interactive experience and help promote critical thinking and self-reflection on our behaviors and emotions in relation to anger.

Studies have found that writing things down allows more cognitive processing time and helps us to retain information more effectively.

What to Do When Your Temper Flares: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Problems With Anger (What-to-Do Guides for Kids)I’m Not Bad, I’m Just Mad: A Workbook to Help Kids Control Their AngerCoping Skills for Kids Workbook: Over 75 Coping Strategies to Help Kids Deal with Stress, Anxiety and AngerThe Anger Workbook for Teens: Activities to Help You Deal with Anger and FrustrationMindfulness for Teen Anger: A Workbook to Overcome Anger and Aggression Using MBSR and DBT SkillsSelf-Regulation and Mindfulness: Over 82 Exercises & Worksheets for Sensory Processing Disorder, ADHD, & Autism Spectrum Disorder Paperback – September 21, 2017Calm & Alert: Yoga and Mindfulness Practices to Teach Self-regulation and Social Skills to Children

Anger management activities and games

Play is the language of children and one of the best calm down strategies for kids! Using fun and creativity to promote good anger coping skills is a fantastic way to engage strong willed kids or kids who might be resistant to exploring their anger issues.

These fun anger management games and card decks will help greatly in teaching a child emotional regulation skills.

Play is the highest form of research. – Albert Einstein

Letting Go of Anger Card Deck: 54 Cards to Help Teens Tame FrustrationTemper Tamers In a Jar®: Helping Kids Cool Off and Manage AngerMad Dragon: An Anger Control Card GameDon’t Go Bananas – A CBT Game for Kids to Work on Controlling Strong EmotionsAnger Defuser: The Fun Anger Management Game for Kids and TeensMy Feelings Game. Fun Educational Family Game to Help Kids Express Their Emotions and Learn self Regulation. Endorsed by Dr Temple Grandin and Other World Renown clinicians and Educators.Chill Skills In a Jar®: Anger Management Tips for TeensChildswork / Childsplay The Stop, Relax and Think Card GameStop, Relax & Think: A Game to Help Impulsive Children Think Before They ActThe Talking, Feeling and Doing GameAngry Octopus Color Me Happy, Color Me Calm: A Self-Help Kid’s Coloring Book for Overcoming Anxiety, Anger, Worry, and StressRAINBOW OF EMOTIONSInside Out Box of Mixed Emotions

Parent support with managing anger

You might be surprised to hear the best way to help an angry child is for parents to practice healthy attitudes and behaviors with anger themselves. 

These are resources I routinely recommend for the parents of clients in my therapy practice.

The best predictor of a child’s well-being is a parent’s self-understanding  -Dr. Dan Siegel

The Anger Workbook for Women: How to Keep Your Anger from Undermining Your Self-Esteem, Your Emotional Balance, and Your RelationshipsAnger: Taming a Powerful EmotionAnger: Handling a Powerful Emotion in a Healthy WayAnger: Wisdom for Cooling the FlamesEmotional Intelligence 2.0The Anger Trap: Free Yourself from the Frustrations that Sabotage Your LifeMindfulness for Anger Management: Transformative Skills for Overcoming Anger and Managing Powerful EmotionsThe Cow in the Parking Lot: A Zen Approach to Overcoming AngerNo-Drama Discipline Workbook: Exercises, Activities, and Practical Strategies to Calm The Chaos and Nurture Developing MindsParenting from the Inside Out: How a Deeper Self-Understanding Can Help You Raise Children Who ThriveThe Conscious Parent: Transforming Ourselves, Empowering Our Children

Anger management tools for kids lay the groundwork for emotional intelligence

Helping your child better understand and cope with anger provides them an enormous ‘protective factor‘ or “a characteristic at the biological, psychological, family, or community level that is associated with a lower likelihood of problem outcomes or that reduces the negative impact of a risk factor on problem outcomes.”

What tools have you tried to help your child cope with anger?

P.S. Are you raising a child who has big emotions, trouble with listening and challenges you at every turn?

This free guide is for you. Click here to find more cooperation and less conflict.

Other related resources:

ADHD in kids and Anger

How to Raise an emotionally intelligent child

10 Everyday Ways to Improve a Child’s Behavior and Mood