Teenagers often struggle when it comes to dealing with extreme emotions, particularly anger. This phase of life is difficult as they have to manage their grades, be socially active, and deal with their changing bodies. It can become challenging for them to manage and channel out their intense anger and frustration, which is why many teenagers start acting out.
It is essential for parents to help their teens learn how to identify their anger and channel it out constructively. Fortunately, there are many ways you can help your teenager in coping with extreme emotions. Here are some tips to assist your teenager with anger management:
Understand their Stressors and Pressures
As adults, we often are so occupied in dealing with our own pressures that we forget that our kids might also be struggling. Many teenagers find the pressures of studies, responsibilities, house chores, work, relationships, and surges in hormones rather overwhelming.
Your teen might seem happy and calm one moment and down or angry the next. This is normal. You must understand their struggles and help them deal with their problems in the right way. This is one of the most crucial steps in helping teenagers in managing their anger and frustration.
Including Physical Activities in Their Routine
The best way of helping them let out their intense anger is by ensuring they take part in some physical activity. The impulse of doing something physical is extremely strong in teenagers when there are angry, which is why getting them involved in sports can help in channeling their anger out.
Identifying Triggers
You can assist your teenagers in identifying the triggers that initiate their anger. Help them in maintaining a journal where they can note down when and what made them feel frustrated. Once they learn to identify their triggers, it can make it easier for them to control, or at least avoid such situations and find healthy ways to express their emotions.
Helping Them Find Ways to Express Their Feelings
There are numerous activities that can help individuals in managing their anger, creatively and constructively. If your teen isn’t into sports, encourage them to indulge in writing, reading, theatre, music, or any other healthy activities that they enjoy doing.
Assisting in Problem-Solving Skills
Some teens don’t have problem-solving skills, and they end up resorting to aggression to ensure their needs are met. If this is the case with your teenager, you must help them develop these skills so that they can resolve their problems and deal with their emotions the right way.
If they are struggling with a challenging project or having a personal problem, encourage them to find at least three solutions to their problem and determine the pros and cons of each solution. This will help them to think more clearly and find the best option. You can also motivate them to take the assistance of a friend or a teacher.
Modeling Healthy Emotions
Children learn from adults, which is why exhibiting healthy behavior on the part of the parents helps the kids deal with their anger and other intense emotions. If you are mishandling your own anger, like resorting to screaming, yelling, hitting, or other unhealthy behavior, then you can’t expect your teenager to deal with their anger healthily.
You must learn anger management skills to teach your teenagers the right way to express and deal with their outbursts.
Avoid Treating Them Like Children
You must treat your teenager as a young adult to help in reducing some of their frustration. Understandably, you might think of them as little kids, but the truth is that they have grown up and want to be treated like adults. The more you try to baby them, the more they will act out.
However, this certainly doesn’t mean you give them free rein. Do set boundaries and limits, but let them do age-appropriate things, like hanging out with friends, going to movies, making their own decisions about school activities.
Keep Negotiations Open
Do hear your teenager out and let the lines of communication and negotiation stay open. Hear them out if they complain about punishments and restrictions you have imposed on them and try to work things out with them. Sit with them and plan the activities and even the punishments if they step out of the line. This will make them feel more in control, which will ultimately help with their anger problems.
Anger management in teenagers is crucial to ensure they find healthy ways of expressing and managing their anger and other extreme emotions. If your teenager is still struggling with anger and cannot handle their outbursts and emotions even after these tips, you must consult a professional therapist.
There are numerous expressive therapies for teenagers that give them an opportunity and a safe space to manage this emotion the right way.
