Series of Interventions- Interrupting escalation of anger

To interrupt the escalation of student anger, the parent can:

1. Divert the child's attention from the conflict. If the child is showing only low-level defiant or
non-compliant behavior, the parent may be able to redirect that child’s attention to a more positive topic. The parent may, for example, engage the child in reading a high-interest book or allow that child to play an educational computer game. (adapt as you will for home- remember these are geared towards school but same techniques work friend or acting defiantly toward adults, the parent may want to briefly remove the child from the room (antiseptic bounce) to prevent the child’s behavior from escalating into a full-fledged confrontation (Long, Morse, & Newman, 1980).

2. One strategy to remove the child is to send him or her to the ask for help or send to room for a moment, with the expectation that (by the time the child returns to the situation) he or she will have calmed down.

3. Allow the child a cool down break. Select a corner of the room (bedroom- bathroom works well with-adult supervision) where the child can take a brief respite break whenever he or she feels
angry or upset. Be sure to make cool-down breaks available to all children, to avoid singling out only those children with anger-control issues.

a. Whenever a student becomes upset and defiant, the parent offers to talk the situation over
with that child once he or she has calmed down and then directs the child to the cool down
corner. (E.g., “Angelo, I want to talk with you about what is upsetting you, but first you
need to calm down. Take five minutes in the bedroom or bathroom and then come over to me and we can talk)

Adapted from Pasco County Schools