2 Awesome Ways To Help Your Kids Manage Their Anger

How many of these techniques are you already using with your kids?

When to Teach These Techniques

Before we get into some great tips for getting kids to control those little horns they have hidden in their head, here are three things you need to know if you want them to roll these techniques out the right way:

Tell them when they're calm: Don't teach your children these tricks when they're already mad. Tell them after they've blown a gasket or when you're simply talking to your little one about feelings, which you should do often. Emotional intelligence is important!

Demonstrate the tricks yourself: Ready to lose your cool? Your kid is watching. Bust out a technique or two to show your kid you can control your temper too. Remember, kids learn by what we do more than what we say . . .

Remind, remind, remind: If your child gets mad, forgets to use her tools, and then calms down, grab her while she's mellow to remind her of these tricks she could have used instead of losing control. Eventually they will become second nature to her.

Now for the tricks!

1. Countdown to Calm Down

It's really tough to not let that impulse to scream, yell, or what have you when you're angry but if you teach your little one to count down when in the heat of a meltdown it might give your kiddo some time to calm a little before making a bad choice.

Countdown so you can calm down . . . it's easy to remember and kind of catchy!

2. Ask For a Hug

If your junior is ready to blow his top off, tell him that when he's really mad it's OK to ask for a hug. This may seem strange to you, but we started this with our daughter and now I see that most of the times when she is angry, there is some sadness underneath. A hug makes her feel better even if she's not going to get her way or is upset with me or her dad. The more she started asking for this, the quicker her meltdowns ended and the faster the tears and squeezes came on. And while no mom wants her child to cry, usually the tears are a sign of getting out all those yucky feelings your kiddo is struggling to deal with and soon enough, there's peace in the “homeland” again.

You can find the rest of this list on Pop Sugar Moms. When you're finished, leave a comment and share what works for you to calm your angry kids.