cover image Healthy Anger: How to Help Children and Teens Manage Their Anger

Healthy Anger: How to Help Children and Teens Manage Their Anger

Bernard Golden. Oxford University Press, USA, $28 (336pp) ISBN 978-0-19-515657-7

Golden, a teacher at Chicago's Illinois School of Professional Psychology, assures parents it's okay if their kids get mad, agreeing with the common view that""anger is not a sign of emotional instability. It is a perfectly natural emotion."" As any parent of a teed off toddler or antagonistic adolescent knows, if the tempest isn't to be tamed, it needs to be redirected. Parents will find advice on how to do just that, but they must be willing to slog through some lengthy and fairly scholarly passages on identifying the emotions associated with anger and recognizing the motivations behind it. Although the table on assessing the frequency of a child's anger expressions (which includes on its list neediness, vandalism, anxiety, scapegoating, lateness, substance abuse and sexual promiscuity) may be ill-suited for younger children, it should help parents of angry teens. For parents seeking a quick fix, Golden's geometric diagrams and guidelines based on psychological theory (e.g.,""The notion of suppressed, repressed, or hidden emotions is especially important in regard to anger"") might perplex. But those interested in learning about the deep reasons behind their children's anger should find enlightening data here.