Do you have an angry teenager? Many times this is just a passing phase due to hormonal changes and the general obstacles of navigating adolescence. However, did you know that according to studies, teenagers who have frequent behavioral issues at school are more likely to carry these problems with them into adulthood? They angry teens are more likely to go through divorce, have financial problems, anxiety and depression as adults.
This is why it is so important to keep a pulse on their anger. If you notice the behavior escalating into defiance or acting-out at school, fighting matches at home, dropping grades, and/or the loss of friends, it’s time to get help before the behavior wreaks havoc on other children in the family, or even your marriage. Some general tips to try to get your teen back on the right path include:
1) Encouraging discussion – give your teen an open forum to express and explain their negative feelings. Allow them to complain, disagree or disapprove as long as they aren’t rude.
2) Listen and respond – try to understand their feelings. Be empathetic and if there is some validity to their complaints, try to come to a compromise.
3) Try to focus on positive attention – don’t dwell on failures or mistakes, but instead all the things he is doing right.
4) Don’t get into a power struggle – don’t try to win every fight, it will only cause more agitation.
Anger management classes for adolescents can also help turn around your teens behavior. The earlier you nip this problem in the bud, the better. Teaching good anger control skills at an early age helps cement them for a lifetime. Anger classes will teach your adolescent how to deal with stress, how to improve communication skills, how and why to take responsibility for their actions and the proper skills to stop their angry outbursts. Students learn how to retreat from a situation and think about it before responding angrily and how to look at the world in a more positive way.
Online anger management classes help parents make this experience more enjoyable for their teens. Young adults today have grown up with a world of computer technology and feel comfortable using this format. Furthermore, taking the class online instead of in a crowded classroom enables the child to have complete privacy and avoid any embarrassment they might feel in dealing with the issue. Simply register online and the class becomes immediately available on the screen in front of you. A quality class will be designed by a licensed and practicing family therapist and anger expert, so it will include the most current research and education on the topic.
One of the best aspects of taking an adolescent anger management class online is that it is always available. The student can login and out whenever he/she has free time and learns the material at his own pace. There are no deadlines, nothing to print out and no additional stress or pressure. The class is strictly an educational tool for the parent and teen to use for resource and support. You can sit with children and go over the material together from any Internet based computer device or let them review it on their own. At the end of the course, a multiple-choice final exam is issued. This helps to wrap up everything that was discussed and make sure they absorbed the material.
Give your child the opportunity to make a positive change by providing the material he/she needs to learn how!