Children of varying ages portray challenging behavior from time to time. As Sileo and Prater (2011) argue, there are parents who also have similar anger management issues and controlling them can be difficult.
As Gorman (2004) explains, one of the ways of dealing with an angry parent whose child has special needs is adjusting or changing the setting. For instance, the parent can change rooms.
Additionally, the people present at the time of a confrontation can be dispersed and leave behind only the ones the parent and the child are comfortable around. Dispersing people is essential, as it distracts the people who are involved in the dispute.
The curious nature of children also urges the child to want to know what is happening and why things are changing. Thus, the child can cool down a bit within a short time, thereby allowing the parent also to cool down. In addition, changing the setting helps the child to calm down, as they feel safer.
Another way of dealing with anger in the family is through providing a calm response. On many occasions, family members argue their points in loud voices, thereby making each other angrier.
Responding calmly can help someone calm down, regardless of the age of the people involved. Leibowitz (2012) acknowledges that a behavior can either disappoint or make an adult angry. For example, if a facilitator quarrels a child, then the parent may feel like their child is being picked on because of their condition.
In this sense, the adult may yell or display anger towards the facilitator. Acting in this manner does not help the situation, but it worsens it. If all the parties involved are angry, then it makes more sense for everyone to calm down before discussing the issue.
In the same breadth, offering choices for punishment is a good way of dealing with an angry member of the family. Giving the angry parent the right to pick the punishment for their child can ease the tension. At times, the parent may just know the right thing to do to discipline the child.
For example, my nephew would not like to eat and would become fussy when given food. His mother would often force him to eat and threaten to take away his toys if he failed to finish his food. However, we decided to try a different approach after several failed attempts to make the boy eat.
We allowed the young boy to pick out ingredients and help in the preparation of his meal. He was not only excited to do this, but he would eat easily afterward. Many parents also change rules of behavior. Lack of consistency in behavior control, even punishing bad behavior, can lead to more tantrums.
As Kingsley and Fry (2011) explain, behavior is learned; therefore, reinforcing a behavior and rejecting another one all the time can create a behavior map for the child.
Doing family activities can also help parents bond with their children and each other. For instance, family yoga can help release tension, at the same time making the bond between family members stronger.
Leibowitz (2012) agrees that games are the best way of uniting families. In addition, going out on trips or doing something that each member of the family enjoys can help lower the stress and anger levels of the family members.
Although there are numerous methods that parents and other family members can employ to reduce anger levels in the family, shouting and getting angry at each other, instead of solving the problem, will never help the situation.
References
Gorman, J. C. (2004). Working with challenging parents of students with special needs. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Kingsley, D., & Fry, M. (2011). Childhood behavioural problems. Pulse, 71(32), 21-24
Leibowitz, E. (2012). Man. Atlantic, 310(2), 35-37.
Sileo, N. M. & Prater, M. A. (2011). Working with families of children with special needs: family and professional partnerships and Roles. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.