Frustration
Learn why ADHD and learning disabilities can cause frustration and anger. Get tips to help kids and adults with managing emotions, as well as tantrums and meltdowns.
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Tips and strategies
- Quick tipName the behavior and emotion.
During heated moments, kids may not realize how they’re acting. Be specific: “You’ve been complaining for over an hour” or “You seem very sad.”
- Quick tipJot it down.
When kids get frustrated, take note of it. Keeping track of the behavior can help you understand what’s causing the frustration.
- Quick tipUse a frustration signal.
Come up with a signal that means “I need a break to calm down.” Kids can use it to alert parents, teachers, and others around them. If you struggle with self-regulation, explain the signal to others so they know what it means when you use it.
Podcast
School refusal: When kids say no
School refusal is real, and it’s trying to tell you something. But how do you figure out what that is?
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Frustration trackerPDF
Frustration pattern finderPDF
Frustration outreach and supportPDF
Feelings wheelPDF
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All articles
- Brain breaks: An evidence-based behavior strategy
- 8 tips to keep your child from burning out
- Take your (hyperactive) child to work day
- A day in the life of a child who struggles with flexible thinking
- ADHD, anxiety, and anger: How they’re linked
- What if I lose my cool or let my child down?
- Behavior challenges: Conversation starters to use with your child’s teacher
- Sometimes I resent my child. Is that normal?
- Tantrums over gifts: Why they happen and what to do
- 6 steps you can take to keep from losing your cool
- How competence anchors can help kids overcome fear of failure in school
- 5 lessons about failure from my life with learning disabilities
- What to do when your teen resists your help
- This is what job hunting with ADHD feels like to me
- Understanding sensory processing challenges in your child
- Download: Log to find out why your child gets frustrated
- Download: Anxiety log to find out why your child gets anxious
- Trouble with flexible thinking: Why some kids only see things one way
- 6 unexpected signs that your child is frustrated at school
- How brain breaks can help kids with homework frustration
- Why kids act out
- 9 ways to show empathy when your child is struggling
- When older kids still have tantrums: What to know
- How to respond when kids say “I can’t do it”
- Why kids in fourth grade often get angry