Helping Youth Resolve Their Anger

Anger is a normal, human emotion. But it’s unhealthy when it spirals out of control. The Salvation Army’s Red Cap Anger Management Program helps youth understand what triggers their anger and develop strategies to help them feel more in control and better able to deal with the various situations they face.

“There is an urgent need to understand why kids are angry and what can be done about it,” says Tammy Smallwood, Program Coordinator for The Salvation Army’s Red Cap Anger Management Program in Scarborough, Ont.

“There is an urgent need to understand why kids are angry and what can be done about it.”

Red Cap is an anger management program geared to youth ages 8 to 12. The goal of Red Cap is to have participants come to the point where they will automatically stop as they learn to positively deal with their anger. Exercises such as counting backwards from 10 or taking three deep breaths can help them cool down and cope in a positive manner.

“If we don’t help children with their anger, it will get worse,” says Tammy. “Red Cap helps us get to the root of the anger and gives them tools that will help them break the cycle of negativity.”

Tammy says she has worked with children whose anger has escalated because they were called ugly, ridiculed for wear glasses or picked on for being weak in a particular subject at school.

“Red Cap helps them to be stronger than the negative influences that are out there.”

“Problems begin to arise when people do not deal with their anger properly,” says Tammy. “Poor coping skills can lead to hurtful conduct such as vandalism, self-harm and violence.

“A lot of children don’t know how to deal with negativity so they resort to physical force. Red Cap helps them to be stronger than the negative influences that are out there.”