A film for all parents who have angry kids or are angry themselves.
Meet a father in the middle of a challenging bedtime routine, where Lego bricks are flying, and he grabs his eldest daughter hard by the arm. How will he manage to fix things once they’ve gone wrong, and how will he get the kids to the bathroom to brush their teeth? Want to learn more about anger?
Read the book with the same title, “Angry Kids, Angry Parents” by Anne Hilde Vassbø Hagen and Joanne Dolhanty.
Anger helps us stand up for ourselves, set boundaries, and protect ourselves from threats and injustice. But anger can also show up as rejecting rage, screaming, biting, hitting, and kicking. Anger and aggression in children cause great concern for parents, and there is a high demand for knowledge and advice. What is anger? Why is this emotion so challenging? What does a child who is threatening and has a dark look in their eyes need? How can even the most discouraged parents regain confidence that they can manage their child’s anger?
The key lies in understanding how anger works and that there are often vulnerable emotions behind aggressive behavior. A raging child is often embarrassed or ashamed, and anger can be an expression of grief, loneliness, or fear. Adults need to become aware of what feelings the child’s intense behavior triggers in themselves, and how they can work with their own emotions that may hinder them from being there for the child in a good way without becoming aggressive in return. Anger is an emotion with a bad reputation. We also want to remind people why anger is an important feeling. Having a healthy relationship with anger can prevent mental health issues.
This film is made in Norwegian by Anne Hilde Vassbø Hagen, and translation and therapist voice in this English film is done by Dr. Joanne Dolhanty.
The film is made in collaboration with Rådet for psykisk helse, and financed by Stiftelsen Dam.
Want to learn more? Read the book Angy Kids, Angry Parents!