When I’m working with my younger students, we spend a lot of time learning about self regulation: naming emotions, labeling how they feel in our bodies, and practicing calming strategies. We typically spend more time on certain emotions, and anger is definitely one of those. Keep reading to find the simple metaphor and language I use to teach kids about anger so that they can recognize and deal with big feelings!
Teach Kids About Anger
What is Anger?
I explain to my littlest learners that anger is like a fire. If we don’t get it under control, it can hurt us or others. And it can spread to others!
Recognizing Anger
Keeping with the theme of anger, we talk about how anger can feel really hot in our bodies. Our faces feel hot, our chests feel hot, and we might start sweating. We also talk about other body clues like tight muscles and a pumping heart.
Steps for Dealing with Anger
So what do you do when you recognize an anger fire in your body? The same thing you’d do if had a fire on your body!
- Stop: Freeze! Do not speak or act in anger.
- Drop: Drop your anger level with a calming strategy (controlled breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, wall pushups or other tension-releasing strategies, squeeze a stuffed animal as tight as possible, etc.)
- Roll: Roll on with your day. Communicate your feelings (teach kids to use I statements when they’re angry), ask for what you need, and apologize if needed.
These are really simple steps, but it’s something kids can remember! It’s easy to think of anger as a fire, and they already know the stop, drop, and roll verbiage, so it’s not a stretch to apply it to anger too! We practice all of these steps in classroom lessons or small group activities over the course of several sessions to really get the hang of it!
More Resources to Teach Kids About Anger:
Anger Management Activities for Kids
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