PregnancyNewbornInfantToddlerPreschoolerSchool AgeHealth & Medical
August 29, 2008 SEARCH drSpock 
Ask Our ExpertsMessage BoardsToolsConsumer AlertsTelevisionBooksA-Z Topics
DrSpock.com

HOT TOPICS
*Pregnancy Symptoms
*Read with Your Kids -- It's Fun!
*Take Our Quizzes
*Play with Your Baby
TOPICS
health+
-----------
feeding+
-----------
behavior-
Adolescence
Aggression
Attention Problems
Autism
Bed-Wetting and Daytime Wetting
Brains and Thinking
Child Development Snapshots
Choosing a School
Development: How It Happens
Discipline
Discipline: Specific Techniques
Eating Disorders
Emotions: What They Mean
Encopresis
Entertaining Your Baby
Fears
Friends and Peers
Growth and Growth Charts
Habit Problems
Handedness
Language: Talking and Understanding
Mental Health Care
Misbehavior: Miscellaneous
Motor Development
Pathways of Learning
Preschool
Reading Aloud: Nurturing Literacy
School Issues
School Problems
Sexuality
Shyness
Siblings
Sleep Concepts
Sleep: Specific Problems
Spoiling
Stealing and Lying
Stuttering
Tantrums
Thumb-Sucking
Toilet Training
Toys and Play
Whining
-----------
families+
-----------


Parents are talking about their children.
Join the discussion.



Aggression

by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P.
reviewed and revised by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P.
How children manage aggressive impulses
Aggression is a part of the human condition. One of our jobs as parents is to help our children find acceptable ways to express and deal with their aggressive impulses.

A child's love of his parents, along with his wish to be loved in turn, normally provides a strong motivation for the child to learn to cope with aggression. In the course of growing up, children are able to bring their aggressiveness more and more under control--provided their parents encourage this.


Ways to understand aggressiveness
Aggressiveness is often a child's response to frustration, discomfort, or fear. If we can understand the triggers, we can often help a child to feel more comfortable and behave better. Children who are too young to express their negative feelings in words have little choice but to act out. If you start using emotion words (happy, sad, mad, frustrated, etc.) at an early age, then they are more likely to use these words later on to express and take control of their feelings.

Children who experience lots of aggression--either in their neighborhoods, between their parents, or as victims of abuse-- are more likely to become aggressive themselves. "The aggressive child sees the world as an unsafe place in which there are only victims and victimizers, so he (unconsciously) chooses the latter and becomes a bully" (Spock, Baby & Child Care, page 645). In the long run, the best protection against children becoming inappropriately aggressive is to be raised by loving, peaceful parents.
 RELATED INFORMATION
*  Aggression

Related Message Boards
*Tantrums and Aggressive Behavior
*Aggressive Behavior and Bullying
*Aggressive Behaviors and Violence



Created November 20, 2000
Reviewed and revised November 20, 2000
OUR ADVERTISERS



OUR ADVERTISERS

About Us | Contact Us | Our Partners
Privacy Policy | Ethics | Advertising Policy | Terms of Service

© Copyright 2004 The Dr. Spock Company. All Rights Reserved.

THIS SITE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. The information drSpock.com provides is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your health care professional if you have a specific health concern. Mention or advertisement of any product, service, or brand does not constitute endorsement, guarantee, or recommendation by The Dr. Spock Company. Please read our full Terms of Service.