If you have children you already know that children make it their life’s mission to do exactly what you tell them not to do. While I understand telling a child not to get angry is an exercise in futility, there is a better reason why we should not tell children not to get angry.
Anger is an emotion. Controlling one’s feelings so you don’t allow yourself to express that emotion is a recipe for disaster.
I know. For I did this (not expressing emotions) for decades till one day I figured out that it was one of the dumbest thing I could ever do.
Rather than controlling the expression of anger, let’s help them understand it, and show them how to channel it in a better direction. Anger is a force, a destructive energy by its very nature, unless you mold it and learn how to harness it for growth and productivity. The Chinese call it “Chi” or “Qi”. If you don’t like the direction its flowing in, mold it and send it in a different direction.
So rather than telling children to stop getting angry, provide them a framework to process that anger.
