It is easy for a parent to lose control and get angry with children. It is because a parent tends to react emotionally and easily get impacted by their kid’s behavior. Many times parents react without thinking what their anger will do.
Here are some things you can do to prevent getting angry at your child:
1. Angry at your Baby?
Babies tend to cry a lot, ruin your sleep, vomit on you or pee on you and as a parent who has already done everything you can, sometimes you might get frustrated. If you start getting angry because of your baby and then have the guilt of being a bad parent, the essential skill to do is understand why are you angry. Are you angry because of lack of sleep? Are you angry because you are hungry or tired? Are you angry because you have spent your entire day managing your baby? Whatever problem you identify, address it. Take a break; let your partner manage things. Go out for fresh air or get some sleep.
2. Angry at your toddler?
Calm is contagious. Toddlers can create a lot of hassle and embarrassing situations especially when they are not getting what they want. Their will is to irritate you enough until you get angry, they start crying and then you do everything they want just to shut them up. Play it smart and remain calm even in situations where anger is seeping in. Show no signs of emotion and pretend to be numb. When you won’t react, your kid will calm down too.
3. Angry at your teenager?
The biggest problem with teenagers is that they talk back and can get in an argument like anything. Then you yell at them and it gets worse. But no one wants to be angry; it is something that instinctively happens. So here are few ways of dealing with anger:
- Stay in control: Make a commitment to yourself that every time your child sets you off, you will not react. That small amount of time it takes between an instant reaction and a thought out the reaction is what makes the difference.
- Expect the worse: We get upset or angry when your kid is not doing what you expect them to do. So expect the worse. Your kid will fail at things or defy your orders. Have more productive ways of punishing your kids.
- Take a deep breath: Counting and taking deep breaths when you seem to be getting angry is a good calming technique.
- Use endearments: It is hard to remain angry when you are talking to them using endearments like “dear” and “sweetheart”. It makes it easy to remember all the positives.