Anger Management for Moms

By Rachel Olsen

Anger is an intense and often negative emotion we all experience from time to time. As parents we frequently find ourselves angered or frustrated by our children's behavior. It is important that we work to manage this anger in healthy ways. Here are five tips for doing so:

1) Take a "parental time out" to cool down and think things over.
2) Calmly verbalize your feelings. For example, "Mommy is feeling frustrated with the way you acted and I need a few minutes to calm down. Then we'll talk."
3) Realize that anger is a secondary emotion and try to isolate the primary stressor - perhaps fear, sadness or fatigue.
4) Stay in the present avoiding statements such as "You always do this to me," "How many times do I have to tell you?!" or "When will you ever learn?"
5) Make household rules and their consequences clear, consistent, and well known to all.

This can go a long way in preventing misbehavior and dealing with it effectively when it does occur.If you do lose your cool with your kids, be sure to acknowledge your mistake and ask their forgiveness. Then discuss together ways each of you could behave better, under similar circumstances, in the future