My son always had trouble controlling his anger. As a toddler he has been known to lie on the floor in the mall kicking and screaming. I thought he'd grow out of it. I wasn't too worried. I tried to live with it.
One day when I picked him up from school he once again 'totally lost it' over what looked to me like a trivial matter. He was waiting at a swing to have a turn. The child on the swing, however, did not want to quit.
This threw my son right into a crying fit: he was throwing his bag to the ground, he was smashing his fists at the wooden structure and he was screaming in agony.
No word of mine seemed to reach him. Now, I was worried. As a parent you may imagine my horror: I wanted to protect my child. But how, when above all I needed to protect him from himself?
It was clear to me that he needed help. I would not wait until he grew out of it. Something had to be done and I was the one to do it. After all, I am not only his mum but also a psychologist who researched emotions at the time.
The incident at the swing was the starting point for the Kids Emotion questionnaire and the exercises you'll find on this website. I have developed them to ease my children’s growing pain during their emotional development. It worked for them. I believe this website can help your children, too.