Take a big gulp of oxygen or count to five quietly between your teeth. No matter what measure you take, do anything you can NOT to yell at your kids.
Yelling at kids never fails to turn them off so why do so many parents do it? Because sometimes they just lose it. If you’re one of those parents who gives way to stress and anger and explodes on your children, here are some quick tips that can help you simmer down when you start to feel a boil coming on:
1) BE AWARE OF WHEN YOU ARE STARTING TO RAISE YOUR VOICE. This may be the best time to actually leave the scene and calm down in another private place.
2) FIND CREATIVE WAYS TO GET YOUR POINTS ACROSS Maybe you can stand on a chair to get your kids’ attention instead of yelling at them. Maybe your can start singing or something … find out what ELSE you can do in a heated moment. This requires that you think of what you can do BEFORE an incident occurs.
3) MAKE AN ANGER COPING KIT JUST FOR YOU: Discover different ways to keep your cool with kids. Some parents count to ten when they feel their stress mounting; some do deep breathing. Perhaps some kind of destressing activity will make you better prepared for your family stresses. Yoga, pilates, dance … there are many outlets that parents can employ.
4) EXAMINE WHY YOU GET ANGRY: Ultimately you need to decide why it’s happening and confront it so you can either deal with it or let it go.
Learning how to stop yelling at your children is difficult but it will be better for your entire family if you can stop.
SOURCE: Screamfree Parenting: The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids By Keeping Your Cool by Hal Edward Runkel.