Show Me Your Mad Face

Children get angry for many different reasons. Young children may throw tantrums when they are tired, frustrated, or unhappy. Teens may use anger to either get what they want or get out of doing something they don’t like, such as homework or chores. Exhausted or frightened by frequent outbursts, parents often try to avoid doing or demanding anything of their children that might trigger their anger.

Author Connie Schnoes, however, tells parents not to shield children from situations that make them angry. Instead, all children must learn that feeling angry at times is a normal emotion and there are appropriate ways to control and express anger without hurting themselves or others.

Her book helps parents:

• Recognize angry behavior in children and act before it becomes a problem
• Understand a child who is often angry and learn what that anger might represent
• Teach children to stop using angry and aggressive behaviors and learn new, positive ways of behaving and expressing anger or frustration
• Know when it’s a good idea to seek professional help for a child who is often angry

Using many examples from her clinical practice and her own family to highlight her helpful advice, Dr. Schnoes offers hope to parents worn out and worried by their children’s explosive, angry behavior.