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55 Anger Management Activities for Kids: How to

Help an Angry Kid
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Finding anger management activities for kids that work well is essential when your child (or one of
your students) has anger management problems.

This post is for you if you have been asking yourself some of these questions:

• How do I teach my child to control his anger?

• What activities could teach him/her some coping skills for anger?
• How do I deal with an angry student?

My 10-year-old son has special needs. He has been struggling with his feelings of frustration and
anger triggered by our relocation to a new country.

We work on anger management and coping skills at home regularly. We are not new to this, but we
are currently getting our best results ever.

In today´s post, I will share the anger management strategies we have practiced and some very useful
tools like an anger scale for kids, specifically a 5 point scale for anger.

These strategies and tools are helping us build some anger management skills for our kids.

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Post Index:

1. How do you explain to your kid what anger is and its function?
2. How angry am I? Emotion Charts / Anger Scales for Kids: A 5 Point Scale for
Anger
3. 54 Anger Management Activities for Kids:
• 30 Anger Management Activities to Practice with your Calm Down Cards
Breathing exercises, “burning energy”, distracting from anger trigger, relaxation, and other
techniques
• 8 Fun Anger / Emotions Activities
•
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14 ANGER GAMES (Fun Anger Activities)

• 3 ANGER WORKSHEETS (Educational Anger Activities)
• Calming Down Cards- Free Download

1. What is anger? Why do we feel angry? How do I explain anger to my kids?

Before we start teaching anger management activities for kids, we need to talk to our
kids about anger.
There are some anger facts that you can explain to your children:
1. Anger is an emotion. When I feel angry I may feel irritable, tense, and anxious. I may also
have negative thoughts.
2. Anger is not bad.
3. Anger has a function: your body is telling you that something is bothering you.
4. We all feel angry sometimes. Mum and Dad also feel angry sometimes.
At home, we all share examples of situations in which we have felt angry.
And my son just loves. Everybody Feels Angry!. I think he can really relate to these
kids´stories.
5. We can learn ways that help us control our anger.
Sometimes we will need to solve a problem. Some other times we will not be able to fix what
is bothering us, or we will not know exactly what is causing these feelings. In those cases, we
can still learn ways that help us control our anger.

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“What to Do When Your Temper Flares. A Kids Guide to Overcoming Problems With
Anger“ by Dawn Hueber.

It´s an amazing resource (Winner of 2008 Mom’s Choice Awards Gold Recipient: Self-
Improvement).

It is a book for you to read with your child. It provides examples and metaphors to help kids
understand thier anger and how it affects them.

• “A Cool Kid Journal“ (Anger Management Workbook + Journal + Calm Down Cards ⇒
All in One!)

We have recently developed A Cool Kid Journal. This anger workbook explores everything you will
read about in this post:
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• Understanding my Anger

• Coping Strategies for Anger (11 categories that break down into 70 strategies)

• 70 Calm Down Cards (one coping card for each coping strategy suggested in the previous
section)

2. How angry am I? Emotion Charts / Anger Scales for Kids: a 5 Point Scale for Anger.

Your next step should be to help your child express anger and to talk about the different degrees of
anger.

In order to help our children express how angry they are (or how happy!), we use an anger scale for
kids.

Visual scales are used not only within the scope of special needs but also with children in general.

Visual scales or Emotion Charts provide kids with clues that help them express the intensity of an
emotion, feeling, or sensation (anxiety, anger, pain …)

We use a 5 Point Scale for anger, and for each level, we discuss how we felt on that specific level (1
happy / 5 extremely angry) and how it shows.

I believe this step is a very important part of a successful anger management intervention.

If you want to learn how to use emotion charts effectively I recommend you read my post:

• “Emotions Chart: How to Use a Feelings Thermometer Effectively“.

In that post, I give suggestions on how to use this tool and some ideas on how to approach an
“action plan” with your kid (or student). You will also be able to download two feelings
thermometer templates.

Other useful resources:

• BASIC EMOTIONS:
If your child or student has problems identifying anger signs:

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“Basic Emotions Worksheets” will take you through the most common anger signals using
beautiful drawings.

• ANGER TRIGGERS:
Sometimes being able to identify anger triggers can help prevent the situation, or if not, it
can at least help your kid look for help at the initial stages before things have turned into a
full-blown drama.
More on this topic? ⇒ “Anger Triggers in Kids: Helping your Child Identify & Deal With
Anger Triggers”

• Anger Thermometers for Kids: 11 Worksheets & Activities

3. What are Anger Management Activities for Kids?

Anger management activities for kids are structured tasks, games, worksheets or exercises aimed
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to develop anger coping skills by teaching:

• Relaxation methods

• Problem-solving abilities

• Ways to divert attention from anger triggers or situations

• Self-regulation

• Emotion recognition

• Anger management strategies adapted to specific situations

• How to appropriately channel feelings of anger

The 51 anger activities that I will be sharing in the next section include:

• 30 Anger management activities and strategies for kids (all these activities are included in
the printable calm-down strategy cards)

• 5 Anger / Emotions activities

• 14 Anger Games (Fun Anger Management)

• 2 Educational Anger Activities for Kids: Anger Worksheets

• Calm down strategy cards to support those activities/strategies and self-regulation (Visual
Support)

30 Anger Management Activities for Kids (breathing exercises, “burning

energy”, distracting from anger trigger, relaxation, and other techniques)
• Before we go through our anger management activities:
• TIP 1
Brainstorm and discuss all the things you can do when you are at each level of the
emotions chart or scale.
• For levels 1 and 2, since your kids are quite happy, they just need to keep on doing
whatever is working for them.

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• When it comes to levels 3, 4, and 5, you need to build a menu of anger management
activities that will help your kids calm down and control their emotions.
• The objective is to help them build anger management skills.
• TIP 2
Remember to practice the anger management activities you have chosen when your kids
are calm and happy. You will not be able to teach them to “stop, think and solve” (just an
example) in the middle of a tantrum.
• They need to start to automate that sequence in a happy context.

Must-Try Anger Management Activities for Kids to Practice with your Calm Down Cards

1. Ask Mommy for help

Exercises that help us relax (breathing exercises):

2. Breathing exercise 1: pretend you are smelling a flower /pretend you are blowing a candle
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3. Lazy 8 Breathing exercise (detailed explanation of this technique in my post Breathing

techniques: Lazy 8 Breathing)

4. Deep breathing while Mum counts to 10

5. Blow Bubbles

Exercises that help us relax (relaxation):

6. Progressive muscle relaxation exercises

7. Meditation

8. Yoga

9. Squeeze a stress ball with your hand / release it

Taking a break from the situation- physical space:

10. Moving to a different room from where the problem is happening

11. Step out to the garden

12. Mum/Dad take me for a walk

13. Go to a quiet place

Taking a break from the situation- move to a new fun activity:

14. Watch a favorite tv program

15. Mum tells a story / Read a Book

16. Play a game in computer/tablet

17. Play board games

18. Play with playdough

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19. Sensory Bottles
These DIY Sensory Bottles are so easy to make that even a 5-year-old could do it alone! It´s
not only a great calming tool but also a fun family activity.

20. Make a Drawing

21. Listen to music

Physical activity to burn energy:

22. Bounce-on ball

23. Jump

24. Run around the couch

Other techniques:
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1. Stop / Think / Do – Stop when you are very angry / Think about what alternatives you have
to solve the problem / Implement the chosen one

2. Start counting (1- 10)

3. Hug tight your favorite soft toy

4. Write down your worries and tear the paper

5. Think about things that make you happy

6. Have a snack

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More Activities to Help Kids Cope with Angry Feelings
Try these other activities to work on coping skills development and learning to deal with angry
feelings:

1. Prepare a calming box

A calm-down box allows your child to access all the items that facilitate emotional self-regulation
easily.

You can see how our box looks in the picture.

What items should you include in your calm down box?

Anything that works for your child.

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In our coping skills toolbox, we keep our calm-down cards,

sensory bottles, earmuffs, a worry eater, anger management
worksheets (problem-solving, feelings thermometer), and many
other items that work for us.

Grab any box that you have around the house, but make sure it is
big enough to fit all the self-regulation items that your child may
use.

Do you need some more ideas?

2. Keep an Anger Journal

An anger journal may be an incredibly useful anger management activity for your kids or students.

A journal helps record:

• thoughts

• feelings

• anger triggers

• anger warning signs

• behavioral responses

Reviewing their journal records can shed some light on:

• the role that thoughts and feelings play

• situations that may need to be avoided

• behaviors they may need to modify

• coping skill that may help them in the future, or

• when they need to start practicing coping strategies

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3. Feelings Box: Store away your angry feelings

This is a very fun anger management activity for kids.

A “Feelings Box” is a place to store away those feelings that may

overwhelm your child.

I’ll drop a link below to a feelings box tutorial. The title reads
“Worry Box,” but we also use our feelings box to deal with our
angry thoughts and frustration feelings.

This excellent coping tool allows your children to:

1. Express their feelings (write them down or draw them)

2. Take control of the situation.

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3. Park feelings or emotions that they may not be able to cope

with at the present moment until they are ready to deal with them.

4. Emotions Playdough Activity

This is another fun tool for social and emotional development.

Since we are brainstorming anger management activities, let’s

assume you ask your kid or student to represent an angry face
using playdough.

These are some suggestions for this activity:

• Discuss facial expressions of anger / How do we know your

playdough boy/girl is angry?

• Start conversations about our angry feelings

• Brainstorm healthy ways to express anger

• Discuss coping strategies

These emotions playdough mats are labeled with 14 different feelings, emotions, or moods: sad,
happy, tired, surprised, scared, angry, shy, bored, loved, excited, lonely, hurt, worried, proud

The following activities are not specific to anger but are interesting tools to work on emotional
development.

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5. Break Cards

Break cards are a versatile visual cue that your kids can use
to request a break from an activity or a situation when things are
getting overwhelming for them.

A break card assists the child/student to self-regulate their

emotions, actions, or bodies.

In our post on how to use break cards at home, school, and in

special education we share helpful advice and free printable break cards.
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6. Emotions Charades

This activity is a tremendous social-emotional learning resource.

It helps kids:

• communicate emotions using their body language (players can’t talk, so they need to act out their
feelings)

• learn to identify other people’s emotions

We play this game with our Emotions Flashcards.

One player picks an emotion card from the deck.

The player represents the emotion for the other players to guess without using words. Take turns doing
this.

If you don’t own feelings cards, you can write down a list of feelings, cut them into individual pieces,
and put them into a jar.

7. Emotions Memory Game

You also need Emotions Flashcards for this one.

Place the cards facing down and take turns lifting any two cards. If the cards match, keep them and
proceed to turn another two. If not, leave them facing down and let the next player take a turn. The
player who gets more pairs at the end wins.

If you play it this way, it is just another Memory Game.

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But, you can turn it into an emotional development opportunity by adding some simple questions.

For example, if your child matches a set of cards representing anger, you can prompt:

“You match the anger cards. How do you feel when you are feeling angry? How does your body tell
you about it? How can you tell other people are angry?”

8. Explore Anger with a Fun Anger Thermometer

We have created 11 helpful anger thermometer worksheets for

kids that include fun anger activities to help your child explore:
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• What are those strong feelings called (label those emotions)

• Anger signs and triggers

• Calming strategies

9. Anger Iceberg: Explore Hidden Anger-Related Feelings

The anger iceberg is a metaphor that highlights that the

expressions of anger that are so easy to notice may be hiding
other complex emotions.

On the tip of the anger iceberg, we represent what we can see: our
anger signs

Beneath the surface, we explore underlying feelings and emotions

that may be disguised as anger (frustration, shame, hurt, embarrassment, jealousy, or guilt)

Fun Anger Activities: 14 Anger Management Games for Kids

Playing has an important role in children’s physical, cognitive, emotional, and social learning.

Since kids learn better and engage more when playing, adding anger management games to our anger
management activities list is a no-brainer.
Around the age of 6 or 7, children incorporate games of rules into their repertoire. Those games

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require them to cooperate, follow rules, compete, think about the other’s point of view and anticipate
other people´s actions.

A lot of those skills are put to good use when using anger games to learn anger management
techniques, anger cues, anger-provoking situations, and how to express anger appropriately.

Read about fun anger management:

• Anger Games: Super Fun Ways to Learn Anger Management Skills

Anger Management Worksheets / Educational Activities

I’ve also produced two anger management worksheets for kids.

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These worksheets cover two important milestones when we are learning to develop our anger
management skills:

• Being able to identify our anger signs

• Learning about our anger triggers.

Getting Help for an Angry Child

If your kids’ anger management problems are difficult to manage you need to seek professional help.

Tantrums and meltdowns may be absolutely normal.

But there are also cases in which those episodes are very intense or happen too often.

Your doctor will also assess if they are developmentally appropriate.

Some of the reason why aggressive behaviors may be present can be:

• Learning disabilities

• Autism

• ADHD

• Sensory processing issues

• Anxiety

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