Anger Management Games
For Children With Anger Issues

Anger doesn't have to be a heavy or negative subject. As a matter of fact, it is much better for adults to be calm and light-hearted in dealing with children's anger.

If you have anger control problems, or if you're depressed from anger suppression, you may not be successful in supervising anger management activities for children. There is anger management help for you here, if you need it.

You'll learn some child anger management activities here. Let the games begin!

Name It, Aim It, Claim It!

This is an easy and educational anger management game that you can teach and demonstrate. Most children (including us when we were children), did not get any education about emotions.

Here's your chance to learn by teaching. Here are the steps to this simple but powerful game:

Child Anger

• Name It! This is where you are teaching children the language of emotion. Books like this one provide the basic language you need to accomplish this, and I'll give you a summary here. Basically the words for anger are, I'm angry or I feel anger or I'm mad. You'll notice we're not saying, "S/he made me mad" or anybody "made me" anything. We're trying to teach responsibility here. It's also good to name the other emotions, like scared, afraid, sad, hurt, etc.


• Claim It! This is another step in taking full responsibility. To help with this part, encourage your child to say only, "I'm angry!" instead of "I'm angry at her!" The focus is helping the child claim ownership of their emotions, so that they can learn to act responsibly. If they're caught in blaming others (the "blame game"), then they have to wait for the other person to change before they can feel good again. Acceptable language might be, "I'm angry because..." or "I get mad when..." I realize these are subtle distinctions, but I assure you they are important.


• Aim It! Now we get to the action part of this anger management game. Ideally, this is where you help the child find some kind of constructive action that allows them to express and/or release the built up energy of their emotion. Examples of healthy actions to "aim" the anger are, relaxation and breathing, physical activity, writing down how you feel, and talking it out with the other person.

This is a great game for parents to play with their children every time anger comes up. This will only work, however, if the child is calm enough to focus and cooperate with the game.

If your child is extremely upset, you will need a different type of anger management game. Read on.

Games Involving Anger Release Exercises

Here are some examples of anger management games that give the child more of a physical outlet for anger, which can be very beneficial at times. The following is an excerpt from the book entitled, Anger.

• Supervised play with toys, or play therapy in a professional setting, can be very effective in helping children release anger. The violence that occurs between the toy characters is non-destructive, and can be very informative to the therapist and/or the parent who is observing. This can also include drawing pictures, or throwing clay against a wall or board where no harm can be done.


• Hitting pillows or a mattress with a harmless object such as a nerf bat, tennis racket or bataca bat. This can be done in a playful manner, and the child will still receive benefit. In therapy, I often call it the anger game, so that children feel safe in approaching this anger management activity.


• Children may sometimes benefit from the temper tantrum technique described in detail in this book and this CD program. Parents should use their own judgment as to when it is necessary to contract for the services of a professional for this type of exercise.

Let's face it, there's nothing funny about anger, so coming up with some good anger management games and anger management activities can be challenging. It's still a good idea, because of the way that children connect and communicate through play. And remember you are your child's best anger management resource.

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