Anger Worksheets For Kids

How to use the What I Should Have Done Anger Worksheet for Kids:

The What I Should Have Done Anger Worksheet is a simple anger worksheet for kids that comes in the form of a writing exercise.

The writing exercise is divided into five sections. The child engaging with it will work on each section individually and in the order indicated on the sheet(s).

It is divided and sequenced accordingly:

1. Think about an incident that made you act out in anger. What made you feel angry in the first place?

• This section is straightforward. The kid needs to sift through recent memories of when they acted out in anger and select a particular incident. They are encouraged to be as specific and descriptive as possible so the therapist can get a decent picture of what triggered them.

2. What did you do when you felt angry?

• The kid needs to mention what they did in response to what triggered their anger.

3. What happened when you did what you did? What did you feel about what happened?

• This is the opportunity for the kid to acknowledge the consequences of their actions, both good and bad. It also asks the kid to talk about what they felt about the consequences. This is a good way for mental healthcare professionals to learn how kids feel about what they do in response to their anger, especially when the worksheet is reissued a couple of times on the same kid.

4. Looking back, could you have handled this better? If so, what could you have done instead?

• This is the opportunity for the kid to reflect on what happened and if it was possible for them to act differently. If, upon reflection, they realize that they could have done something different in response to their anger, they can identify what they could have done instead.

5. If you could have handled it better, what would happen instead?

• This part is about making kids realize that there are better outcomes if they handled their anger better and acted in a way that didn’t hurt anyone or themselves. If they could identify what they could have done differently, they can specify better outcomes.

When would it be best to issue the What I Should Have Done Anger Worksheet for Kids?

The best time to issue the What I Should Have Done Anger Worksheet for Kids is during the middle of your therapy or anger management sessions with them. To be more specific, what we mean by “in the middle” is that you’ve already gone past the phase when you and your patient were still getting to know each other. That phase isn’t the best time to issue this worksheet because the kids don’t know you yet, and since “stranger danger” is a common phrase taught to kids by their parents and guardians, they may not exactly be willing to open up to you yet.

Issuing this during the middle of your program is the best time to do so because this is the phase where trust and rapport have been established, and they are starting to open up to you. This is usually (and should be) the phase where you’re starting to teach them the likes of problem-solving, critical thinking, and conflict resolution, but in a way that they can digest. Issuing the What I Should Have Done Anger Worksheet for Kids during this phase is great because you can see how they can apply what you’re teaching them in thinking and writing.

What are the benefits of using the What I Should Have Done Anger Worksheet for Kids?

It can help professionals understand what triggers the anger of the kids they’re handling.

Since this worksheet asks kids to write about an incident where they felt angry and acted on their anger, mental healthcare professionals will have a good opportunity to get to know their kid patients better because they will become aware of what environments the kids are usually in (the most obvious ones being home and school) and what tends to take place in those environments that trigger their anger. Knowing these triggers will help professionals determine what to focus on and how they can provide support for the children as they go through their therapy, counseling, or anger management program.

It can help kids learn to reflect on their actions.

The purpose of the What I Should Have Done Anger Worksheet for Kids is to help children reflect on what they did when they were angry, and if it had terrible consequences (in the context of them being children), they have the opportunity to think about what they could have done instead, which is a step forward in becoming emotionally intelligent.

It can help kids learn better and healthy ways of coping and responding to anger.

To jump off the previous point, by thinking about what they could have done differently and what possible better outcomes those alternative responses could lead to, children engaging with the worksheet have the chance to start devising other ways of responding to the same situation (if they were to occur again) and others that could potentially trigger their anger. By having a plan that they could possibly apply to certain situations, they can respond better to triggers and/or solve problems that arise from them.