Dennis Rainey: How do you handle your child when he gets angry?
Guest: Well, we handle an angry child by first of all just trying to calm them down. Get control of the situation. Because a lot of times, they are ballistic. You know, they have just totally lost it.
Dennis Rainey: Most parents have seen anger in their children. Anger is a secondary emotion. When I say that I mean that something else has caused the anger. If your child comes home from school and blows up at you, or his brother or sister, or even the dog, it's possible that something happened at school to cause him to get angry. So now, you've have an angry child, what do you do?
The time to address anger in a child is not in the midst of the argument or in the midst of heated words. You may need to give your child some time to cool off or to remind him to choose his words carefully. After the anger has died down, try to understand what hurt him and work through that issue. React to your child in love, not anger.
One final thought. A child who is angry, is like a mud wrestler. You, as the parent must stay out of the mud, and remain as objective and loving as possible.
I'm Dennis Rainey, and that's Real Family Life.
