Do you have an angry teen at home? Best ways to tame her temper

If you see your teenager smashing things against the wall or yelling each time she is unable to have it her way, it’s a sure-fire sign of anger issues.  While some express it verbally, others are prone to physical aggression. Unmanaged anger will land up your youngster in difficulty in school, relationships and in work space later in life. So, it is important to know how to deal with this emotion. Expressing anger in a socially acceptable manner is a skill that teens need to pick up. Here are 4 strategies to arm your youngster with anger management skills. 

Help her identify the signs of anger 
In most cases anger manifests itself through some physiological signs, the most common ones being increased heartbeat and flushed face. Spotting these signs early on will help your youngster take control of her anger before things blow out of proportion. Encourage her to take deep breaths or start counting to 10 the moment she spots these signs.  

Set strict ground rules 
Anger is a natural emotion. It is okay to feel angry. But aggression isn’t. Help your child understand this while making sure that you are not dismissive of his anger. Set clear boundaries about the expression of anger. Clearly enumerate the actions that are not allowed. okay for sure. Discuss with him about the consequence of violence and verbal aggression. 

Inculcate problem-solving skills 
In some cases, anger stems from our inability to find solutions to a problem. So, teaching your teen basic problem-solving skills is very important to keep anger at bay. Encourage her to think of three possible solutions whenever she is in trouble, assess the risks and benefits and choose the one she thinks is best.  Once she becomes adept at troubleshooting, she won’t need to lash out.  

Be a role model 
Show and tell is one of the best ways to inculcate skills. Set an example of anger management for your youngster. Whenever you feel angry with him, take that as an opportunity to teach him socially appropriate manner of expression. You can say something like this, “I am really angry that you do not restrict your screen time as discussed. I am going to take a break now for a while. We need to talk about this when I come back.”