Have You Tested These 7 Anger Management Activities For Teens?

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Anger is a normal emotion. In fact, expressing anger is healthy as long as it’s done in a way that doesn’t cause any harm to others and the person involved. It’s a different story, however, once we start to talk about anger in teenagers.

A kid who’s sweet in one moment can turn into an unruly troublemaker the next, and you wonder what exactly you did that resulted to the door-slamming. The truth is that several factors contribute to such unpleasant adolescent behavior.

THEY FEEL YOU ARE NOT FOR THEM

One of the first reasons your teenage child seems to be grumpy all the time is that he feels you are against every decision he makes. He is starting to become more independent and may view authority as oppressive. This is why you will see him spending more time with his friends than staying at home.

THEY FEEL THEY ARE STUCK AT THE MOMENT

Since your teenager thinks he’s already old enough to do what he pleases to do, he gets frustrated when he realizes that he still has to submit to your authority. His whole life he has been dictated by your decisions, and now he thinks it’s about time that he makes his decisions himself.

But then he is faced with the painful reality that it’s not yet his time and as a result, he rebels, thinking it’s the best solution to his current situation.

THEY ARE EXPERIENCING SOCIAL ANXIETY OR CONFUSION

Your teen feels he’s expected to be more responsible, but for some reason, he struggles to make good judgments. Add to that the challenge he feels in reining his impulsive behavior. This usually results in confusion, which leads to frustration and then to anger.

THEY ARE EXPERIENCING HORMONAL CHANGES

Puberty plays a huge role in your child’s anger management issues. The physical and physiological change is simply confusing and uncomfortable for teenagers. Moreover, Penn State researchers found that teenagers, especially boys, experience emotional issues that can cause some problems when puberty arrives earlier or later than normal.

THEY ARE EXPERIENCING HEAVY SOCIAL PRESSURE

Teenagers are constantly concerned with what other people think. They strive to be what they believe others want them to be, and when they fail, the result is exasperation. Of course, peer pressure also has a good side, but when you’re a teenager, all you ever think about is how to hold up an image that will make you either fit in or stand out.

THEY FEEL THEY HAVE A MIND OF THEIR OWN AND SHOULD BE LEFT ALONE

By now your child has already discovered that you are not perfect. He sees you, his parents, as authoritative figures who don’t know what they are doing. He believes he can think on his own and should be allowed to make decisions without being judged. He can’t understand why you just won’t let him be and gets angry about it as a result.

Of course, there’s a scientific explanation as to why teens can’t seem to control their anger. They are experiencing different biological development stages and sometimes the part of their brain that holds emotions such as anger are at their peak, while the part that should tell them good from bad may lag behind.

So every time your teen gets anger, he just doesn’t know yet that it’s not good for him and the people around him. The good news is there are activities your child can engage himself with that may help him cope up with the stress he’s going through. Your role as a parent is to understand that anger is perfectly normal and that your child is not your enemy.

Creativity

Your child definitely has some creativity in him. Help him use it as a means to relieve himself of anger.

1. Painting

Whether your teen loves to draw and paint or not, you can encourage him to get in touch with his creative side through painting. Painting will not only help him tap into his past hurts and learn to release them but can also help him let go of stressful situations he’s currently going through.

One particular painting activity he can try is “Surfing the Angry Sea.” This is a good exercise where your kid can picture his anger as a wave and paint it. Ask him to paint himself in the picture, too, riding the wave instead of letting it crash over him. If your child feels overwhelmed by his emotions, he might paint the wave so large in comparison to himself.

2. DIY Stress Tools

Working on arts and crafts projects may help teenagers express their anger in healthy ways. It can shift moods in a short period. One of the most popular stress tools nowadays is the fidget spinner.

It’s originally designed as a stress-relieving tool and works well when you’re dealing with anger issues. It’s even found to help with anxiety and ADHD. There are a lot of videos over the internet today that teaches how to make homemade fidget spinners. Here’s a short one you watch with your teen:

Activity

Staying active is another way your child can cope up with stress and anger. Here are suggested activities for him.

3. Sports

A study shows that sports training may lower a child’s aggression. It not only helps quell negative emotions but also helps your child develop sportsmanship among other positive characters.

Team sports, in particular, can train your child in dealing with people from different backgrounds. If your teen doesn’t seem to have any sort of opportunity to release his anger, encourage him to try sports, whether it’s basketball, football, or baseball. Just make sure you support him all the way and be with him in every game.

4. Exercise

Multiple studies demonstrate that exercising on a regular basis can help with clinical depression, and recently, another study has discovered that it may have a beneficial impact on anger. The subject of the study were males in the collegiate level, but we all know that exercise releases happy hormones and is good for people of all ages - especially teens!

5. Dance

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Dancing is a form of exercise, so it should have the same effect of dispelling anger as any type of aerobic exercise, too. When the body feels good, the mind does, too. Whether or not your child knows how to dance or loves the idea or dancing, encourage him to learn some moves to deal with his anger issues.

I found this story of a 16-year old boy whose life was transformed by krumping, a form of dancing that involves high energetic movements. It’s old news, but the fact that it turned a teenager from street life to dance life is very inspiring.

Mindfulness

Learning what triggers anger is the first step to overcoming it. One way your teen can do it is by actively paying attention to his emotions through mindfulness.

6. Relaxation

Anger causes breathing and heart rate to increase. Teach your teen that every time he feels like bursting into a rage to deliberately slow his breathing and systematically relax his tense muscles. If he can relax in this manner, he will be able to maintain control more effectively.

Here’s a quick video giving instructions on how to do deep breathing exercises for anger management. It’s expressly designed for kids with ADHD and autism, but the techniques should work for teens as well.

7. Meditation

Meditation is a great way for your angry teenager to focus and become calm. Whether it’s done in the form of prayer, breathing exercises, or listening to music, meditation can train his mind to stay positive and relax. It can also reduce his anxiety and help him create a sense of contentment.

Encouraging your child to meditate even just for a few minutes a day can help him gain emotional balance and deal with his anger. Mindfulness meditation is especially effective in helping teenagers process their inner landscape.

Ask your child to relax and encourage him to label any kind of thoughts and emotions going through his mind. This will give him a new perspective on his thinking process and help him be aware of his feelings.

Here’s a great video you and your teen can watch. It presents step-by-step instructions to help your child calm his mind release stress.