Anger Management

There's only one person in the house who has control of their emotions all the time, and that's my husband.  G, J, and I are all pretty emotional and can be rather volatile.  At least G and J have an excuse; they are young and have yet to learn how to control their emotions.

Incidentally, this post is more about J, who will be four at the end of the month.  We are having trouble with him getting very angry at school and then stomping, hitting, and spitting.  I found something pretty awesome that we are going to try.

I was reading an article recently that resonated with me.  While my own boys haven't experienced trauma, I work with children that have.  I have spent years with kids that have parents that are dead or incarcerated.  In several cases, one parent is incarcerated because the other is dead.  Abuse and neglect aren't uncommon for most teachers, and in special education, there may be more prevalence.  I started to investigate the resources that are mentioned in the article.

One resource provided so many concrete resources, and I loved it so much that I have been sharing it with everyone I can find that may be interested.  Conscious Discipline is amazing.  Thanks to them, I've taught J some techniques to utilize in place of loud and physical behavior.  It took just a few minutes, and he's able to calm himself with just a verbal prompt.  I love that the strategies are accompanied by printables.  The strategies are good for little kids and big kids, plus kids with disabilities.  We have been using some at school for kids with Down syndrome and developmental delays.

This parenting stuff is hard.  I'm so glad there are some resources out there.  Thank goodness for the internet!  I'll let y'all know how it goes.  For now, I'm hopeful and excited.