In Your Anger, Do Not Sin

Yesterday we discussed why it was important to teach your child to communicate emotions.  We touched on the fact that many times we allow our children to act out in frustration or anger because we are just to tired to deal with the behavior yet again.  This is not a good behavior pattern to allow.  Anger is a very destructive emotion if not dealt with or communicated properly.  An adult who does not know how to appropriately manage their anger will have a difficult time both in marriage and holding a job.

We must teach our children to properly communicate anger.  Every one of us is going to feel frustrated and angry.  This is why the Bible tells us, “In your anger, do not sin.”  When our children are exhibiting angry behaviors we must take the time to talk them through it.  The smartest time to do this may be after the fact depending on the age of the child.

We must also teach them how to communicate, by example.  We each need to ask ourselves, what do my children see when I am angry?  Are we able to process and talk through things when we are upset or do we take out our anger on those around us?  Remember we must teach communication intentionally and one of the biggest ways children learn is by observing those closest to them.

Teaching Your Children to Share

One of the most important aspects of communication is the ability to share ones feelings. Although this seems such a basic form of communication it can be easily overlooked in the training of our children. Yesterday we talked about how our current culture is so distracted and fast paced that we cannot take our job of training our children to communicate for granted.  It must be something that is done very intentionally.

When children are younger we are constantly reminding them to, “Use your Words”, in order to help them communicate. As they grow older we may allow them to try and communicate through emotions,  such as anger or frustration, because we have grown weary of the time it takes to deal with their behavior .  However, when our children are acting out in frustration or anger, we need to remind them to use their words.  If our children are not trained how to communicate their feelings both positive and negative, it can lead to some destructive behavior patterns.  Bottling up emotions can be very dangerous.  When you are teaching your child how to communicate their feelings, you are also beginning to help them learn how to process through their emotions.  Emotions that are raw and un-processed can also lead to destructive behaviors.   We must be constantly in tune with our children’s day to day so that we can remind them to “use their words. “