Do you remember one of my earlier blogs, I talked about the difference between being in your thinking part or your lizard part of the brain?  When your child becomes upset and angry, he or she is in the lizard part of the brain—there’s no thinking going on; just reacting.  That’s why its important for parents to remain calm when dealing with angry kids.

Successful parents will not engage in a conversation with an angry child.  They wait until the child is calmer, back in the thinking part of the brain.  If your child is yelling at you or talking loudly, you might do something like:

“I can see you’re really upset about this.  I want to listen to you so I can understand better why you’re angry right now.  When your voice is as calm as mine, I will listen to ...   more »