Parenting: Kids and Bad Temper – as part of the expert series by GeoBeats. Hi, I am Dr. Laura Markham of ahaparenting.com, and we are talking today about how to help kids manage their anger. Well, the first thing to know about anger, is it is actually a defense. That sounds pretty psychologically jargony, right? But what I mean is, when we are angry, we are trying to not feel something else that is under the anger. So, our four-year-old may be angry at the two-year-old, but guess why? Because our four-year-old is terrified that we love the two-year old more! Or, our eight-year-old is really angry at his playmate, but guess why? Because he was excluded from a game, or humiliated on the playground, right? So whatever is going on with your child in terms of anger, there is always something behind it. So, the way we can help kids with anger is to accept their anger. Everyone has a right to their angry feelings, that is the first thing. It is not rude when your child is angry. Your child is angry! So, the first thing we can do is accept the anger and let our child tell you about whatever they are angry about. If they are two, they might not be using words. They may be showing you in the form of a tantrum, right? If they are four, they are able to start using their words, but they may still be pretty physical about it. By the time they are twelve, they might be slamming a door or yelling at you, in which case you say, “Sweetie! I never talk to you that way. You must be so upset …
Nikolas runs into Patrick in the park. They both have their respective children with them. While Emma plays with Spencer, Nikolas asks Patrick for parenting advice. This leads them into discussing what kind of parent he wants to be to the new baby, and his relationship with Elizabeth.
