Teen anger management can lead to countless nights of fire hot arguments between unyielding teens and parents. These fights ranging from fights about broken curfews to school related issues are only a cover up for the real problems that parents and teens need to deal with–self esteem.

The problem is that when parents have low self esteem issues , these traits can be unintentionally be passed to teenagers.  If the core issue of self esteem in parents and teens has not been dealt with, teen anger management issues can result. How do parents and teens work on these issues regarding self esteem, so that parents can be better equipped to handle their teens normal adolescence behaviors?

I recently talked to a family who has successfully altered their behavior resulting in fewer heated arguments.  And although fights do occur, the family has learned different techniques to diffuse the situation. One of the strategies the family employed was the use of Cognitive behavioral therapy.

CBT helped the family by teaching the mother and father different ways of dealing with explosive situations. These are ways that were foreign to the parents, but once employed, it relinquished pent up stress by teaching the parents how to “think” their way through the anxieties produced by all members involved. It wasn’t easy, results were not immediate, but with time and patience cooler heads have prevailed.

What is it about cognitive therapy therapy that’s giving parents their parenting powering back? Cognitive therapy works by gradually introducing parents to the fears they run from. A lot of times these are deep seated fears that parents had before having children (fear of not being perfect is one). When a parent is gradually introduced to these fears coupled with the knowledge of how to finally get back in control of anger management issues, they can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

There is another aspect of CBT that has allowed parents to adjust their negative attitudes, and that is the importance of proper breathing techniques. Shallow breathing has been shown to exasperate anxiety provoking disagreements that can easily turn into full blown fights. When parents breath from their abdomen, they achieve the balance it takes to think rationally before dealing with out of control teens.

Looking for other ways to help you deal with your out of control teen? This website is full of tips and techniques to give parents the power to control their teens in a way that all parties come out ahead.