We are all familiar with the 2 year old temper tantrums and feel sorry for parents as they try to coax angry (and often very cute) children to calm down.

We feel less sorry for parents of older children who “lose it” in public. These kids are often ridiculed and teased by their peers and in fact goaded as they provide ready entertainment in the classroom.

 

We tend to label parents of these children as laissez-faire, ineffective and uncaring and yet the reverse is often the course.

Some kids have huge problems coping with big emotions and need help to handle their anger. They don’t want to be out of control and desperately need intervention.  It is as if they have more triggers than other kids and need to desensitise them.

We help students with anger management problems within our individual and group learning sessions and employ a range of very practical measures to help children self-regulate.

Please email me on victoria@vcprograms.com for specific advice and recommendations, or call Victoria Carlton programs on 92777596 or 0409911135.

We also have our EQ4KIDZ and ART FROM THE HEART programs to help children understand their feelings and develop a more positive mindset and higher levels of resilience. We help these children grow an extra “skin” so they can lengthen the time from stimulus to response.

They CAN all be helped but it takes time, patience and persistence. Their parents need support, empathy and encouragement- not unhelpful criticism.

These links have some helpful ideas:

https://raisingchildren.net.au/toddlers/behaviour/crying-tantrums/tantrums

https://childmind.org/article/why-do-kids-have-tantrums-and-meltdowns/

 

We are 3 weeks into term and kids have been excited about getting back to school, seeing their friends, meeting their new teachers and so on.

They have been bringing their brand new text books and reading books along to show us and even excitedly showing us homework programs and exam dates. There is ALWAYS some excitement about the start of the school year- they are filled with hope and optimism and the scent of new beginnings.

I love this time- each year it feels like the regeneration of the earth after the Autumn summer rains!

However, sadly any inherent problems start to emerge again.

Some of our children are already feeling dejected as they face the disappointing results from beginning of the year testing, realise the homework HAS to be done and that they still experience problems.

A number of young children have told me, “I am dumb, Vicky. I’ll never be good at school work,” and similar statements.

We are weaving lots of positive mind-set activities into our teaching sessions in an effort to build resilience and positive, I CAN attitudes.

To sum up, there IS magic in these early school days but let’s be well aware of the hurt and disappointment starting to emerge from low-performing students. Let’s make sure they get the support and empathy they need rather than the negativity and blame that unfortunately often comes their way.

Any readers who would like to discuss problems with their children, please email me on victoria@vcprograms.com so I can offer you some helpful ideas and support.