Anger is a normal human emotion and even children feel it. It is completely expected for kids to get angry sometimes. However, it is not common or healthy for children to feel excessive anger, to not be able to manage their anger in non-violent ways, or to feel anger very often. If you see that a child can’t control anger in a healthy way and is becoming a danger to others, it may be time for a neuropsychological assessment for children in northern New Jersey.
Understanding Anger
To understand why it’s not normal for children to experience so much anger, it’s important to understand what anger is. Anger is an alarm in the brain that goes off when the brain senses a threat. Originally, this was a survival instinct that got us ready to fight off a threat. These days, anger isn’t something we have to handle physically in most cases, so instead we have learned to deal with it in healthier ways.
However, the most important thing to realize is the cause of anger – feeling threatened. A child that shows signs of excessive anger is communicating to you that they are living with a lot of fear and anxiety. Anger comes with many physical responses, such as increased breathing rate, a rise in blood pressure, and more. All in all, excessive anger is dangerous for a child’s health, dangerous for those around the child, and a sign that something is emotionally troubling the child.
When is Anger a Problem?
So how do you know when a child is just a “bit of a hot head”, and when they need neuropsychological assessment? Even babies show signs of anger, so it can be hard for us to realize when anger has become a sign of a problem. In general, children should be learning to manage their anger in socially appropriate ways by the time they get into elementary school. They should not be injuring other people, destroying property, or being explosively angry by this age. If they disrupt your home regularly with this type of behavior, it is a sign that an evaluation could be very helpful.
Get In Touch to Learn More
To learn more about how we perform neuropsychological assessments for children in northern New Jersey, or about how an evaluation could help your child, contact Dr. Joshua Shifrin at 123-966-0309. You can also follow them on Twitter for latest news and update!
