Alternatives to Yelling at your Kids
You are a good parent.
You are in good company as every parent will yell at their child in their lifetime, as we are all human. Don’t feel as if you are a terrible parent, you’re not!
Alternatives to yelling:
When you find yourself about to start yelling, try some of these interventions and see what happens. You may be surprised. It is called redirection. Redirecting is a technique that works very well, by taking the attention away from the negative behavior and redirecting it toward a new situation. Most of the time, the kids will just stop and look at you in amazement and then break into laughter and join in. You have managed to disarm a potential emotional explosion!
- Bang arms on your chest like a monkey
- Start clapping and jumping up and down
- Get out the pots and pans and make a band
- Run around the house
- Start dancing and singing
- Do jumping jacks
- Make animal sounds
- Start talking nonsense words
- Get the phone and start taking pictures
By Dr. Cindy Bunin, LMFT
