Many parents send an angry child to her room to "calm down." After all, what else can we do? We certainly can't reason with her when she's furious. It's no time to teach lessons or ask for an apology. She needs to calm down. But it's worth considering whether that's the best option in dealing with anger. Imagine being angry at your partner. What if they said "Go calm down; come back when you can talk about this politely."  Would you feel heard? Would you start to calm down? Or might you explode? 

What can we do instead? We can help our children learn to manage their anger responsibly.