Most teenagers experience regular outbursts of rage and aggression during their adolescent years. It’s common for them to feel angry and even frustrated for a variety of reasons. Learning how to deal with a teenager with anger issues can help prevent them from raising violent tantrums or making bad life decisions.
Major Causes of Teenage Anger
There are numerous issues that could spark a teenager’s fury. These include:
- Low self-esteem. If children lack positive reinforcement growing up, their self-esteem could plummet and cause them to develop severe anger issues.
- Conflict within the family. Parents who engage in unhealthy arguments may trigger mental health issues among their kids.
- Victim of bullying or unhealthy peer pressure. Talking to teens about mental health can help you discover whether they’re being bullied or negatively influenced by their peers.
- Traumatic events. Teenagers who have gone through traumatic situations in life are more likely to develop rage and hostility.
- Adoption issues. Couples who get divorced often drag their kids through tough adoption battles that may scar their childhood and leave them with unresolved anger.
- Death of a loved one. It’s hard for kids to deal with the death of someone close. Some teenagers might even resort to self-harm and other destructive habits.
- Substance abuse. Teens who smoke or consume hard drugs for recreation are more likely to develop anger and mental health issues than those who don’t.
- Divorce. With divorce rates spiraling through the roof, learning how to improve teenage mental health can help them develop into responsible adults.
- Abuse & grief. Teens who come from abusive families tend to become quite troubled and irritable. Grief can also cause them to fall into depression.
How Can You Help an “Angry” Child?
If your teenage kid suddenly becomes angry, moody, and unpredictable, there are several ways you can help. These include:
- Understand What Triggers Them
Finding your child’s triggers should be the first step towards dealing with their outbursts. For example, if they tend to throw tantrums during bedtime, you could try laying out their pajamas, putting away their toys, and reading them bedtime stories just before tucking them in.
- Check Whether Their Surroundings Are Toxic
In case your child is getting bullied at school or on the internet, you can utilize reliable tracking apps such as mSpy to ensure that their frantic behavior is not coming from outside your home.
- Limit Their Technology Use With mSpy
mSpy is a dedicated monitoring app that can help with parental control and supervision. With this app, you can track how your kids use their phones, view who they talk to on Snapchat by using the app option snap login without password and even block certain applications remotely.
- Don’t Give In
Avoid giving your children what they want whenever they’re exhibiting fits of rage.
- Remain Calm and Consistent
Maintain your cool and patiently talk to them about what they’re going through. Remember, kids learn a lot from their parents ─ being a good role model will certainly influence their behavior for the better.
- Ignore Negative Behavior and Praise Positive Behavior
Don’t be quick to punish your teenage kids whenever they become moody and throw tantrums. Instead, praise their good habits frequently using affirmative phrases such as “Great job finishing your food!”
- Use Consistent Consequences
Kids ought to learn the repercussions of positive and negative behaviors. These consequences could be in the form of timeouts for breaking cutlery or extra screen time for completing their homework.
- Wait Until Their Meltdown Is Over Before Reacting
It takes a great deal of patience to deal with an angry teenager. A crucial element of teen anger management involves waiting to talk until the child’s meltdown has subsided.
- Build a Toolkit for Calming Down
Come up with a list of self-soothing activities that your child can participate in whenever they get angry. These engagements could include slow breathing and taking a walk outside.
Uncontrollable Anger Is Prevalent Among Youth
Research shows that close to two-thirds of adolescents in the U.S. have had an extreme anger attack involving the destruction of property or violence towards other people.
Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) is a common condition found among teenagers that is symptomized by frequent overpowering anger attacks that can’t be linked to other mental disorders.
On average, IED shows up in late childhood and persists through the individual’s middle years of life. This syndrome is associated with the subsequent onset of substance abuse, depression, and numerous other health issues.
Conclusion
If your kids’ environment is toxic, then they’re highly likely to become angry and defiant. It’s important to check their surroundings regularly and remove anything that could harm their mental health. Hopefully, the teen problems and solutions discussed above will help you manage your child’s anger issues more effectively.
