Monday, April 14, 2008

Social Skills Tips

I thought I would post some helpful tips from a wonderful SPI Specialist, Yasaman Parsi!

Anger/Conflict Management

There are many different reasons why children get angry and/or have conflict with others. Anger is not a bad emotion, it's just how it is managed that can create problems. One way to deal with the emotion of anger is to talk about it with your children before it comes up so that when it does come up, they know what to do with it and how to manage it.

One way to do this is to have your child remember a time when he/she became angry. Talk about how they felt, what their emotions were.

Then discuss ways they could have managed that anger such as:
  • Walking away
  • Counting to 10 slowly
  • Talking to someone who is not involved in the problem
  • Taking a walk/Climbing a tree
  • Listening to music
  • Breathing slowly
  • Giving yourself a "time out" to think things over

Have them try to list some other ways they could have managed the situation at the time they were angry or having the conflict. Then discuss with your child why it is important that we learn how to manage our anger. What are some negative consequences of actions that come out of anger? What are some positive consequences that come out of thinking things through?

Source: http://www.educationworld.com/

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