ADHD and Anger in Children (by understood.org) is a great article about the connection between ADHD and anger, which in our house definitely seem to go hand-in-hand. This article breaks down the reasons why anger might be a strong emotion for a child with ADHD and what we can do to help.

Helping your child identify how his body feels before he ‘explodes’ is useful way to prevent angry outbursts in the future. A program such as Zones of Regulation can be useful for kids and adults to figure out how it feels he is moving toward the ‘red zone’ and strategies to use beforehand to prevent an angry outburst, as well as what to do when you are slated your on one to calm down.

As a caregiver, keeping our own anger in check is also a great strategy and modelling how we do that, through deep breaths, taking a break etc, can also be useful for our kids to learn from. JP is very hard on himself after he has a tantrum, so I think showing him I have strong emotions that are hard to handle sometimes too and talking about how I feel afterward and how I learn from those times is beneficial. I also find that when I lose it and have an angry outburst myself, apologizing and talking about what I should have done and will do next time is also a great way to teach my kids.

What resources and strategies have you found work best for kids dealing with anger?