Does Your Child Rage?

Rage like behaviors can be a problem in many childhood conditions.  One that stands out in younger children is Intermittent Explosive Disorder.  This is a condition represented by the recurrent behavioral outbursts.  With one of the marked factors is the persons inability to control the aggressive impulses as manifested by the following:

• Verbal Aggression (e.g., temper tantrums, tirades, verbal arguments, or fights.)
• Physical Aggression toward property, animals, or persons.

 Some of the characteristics that identify this condition are:

• This condition usually expresses itself in a mild or unprovoked situation.
• The outburst comes out of nowhere (They are impulsive and/or anger based).
• The recurrent aggressive outburst causes marked distress or problems in functioning in daily life.
• This is a childhood condition that manifests before the age of six.

What can you do about this behavioral problem in your child?

• Create clear concise expectations and rules for the child.
• When you transition with the child (run errand, go into a store, etc.) clearly identify what the child can and cannot do in this situation.
• When redirecting a child like this stay calm, don’t react, look them in the eyes, talk in a calm tone of voice.
• Give consistent feedback to them that they are meeting expectations.
• If you do consequence with time outs, or groundings, don’t give a time frame.  Let the timeframe be when they can acknowledge their poor behavior and they can give you better choices they’ll make next time.
• Spend quality time with this child.  Let them know how much you value and enjoy the child.
• Teach cues to provide the child when they are starting to lose control to help bring them back to a controlled state.
• Model to the child how you want them to speak, problems solve, and address conflict.