Are You Disciplining in Anger?

We've all been guilty of becoming emotionally involved while disciplining a toddler or preschooler. The combined stressors of parenting needy children plus tackling real-life duties like paying bills, housekeeping, and making dinner make it easy to have a short fuse.

But are you crossing the exasperation line and disciplining in anger—yelling, accentuating the negative, suppressing your feelings, spanking, or taking things too personally? "We experience an average of 30 frustrations (heart hassles or mini-crises) a day. How we respond to the daily onslaught of aggravation determines how much stress we experience," notes Anna Maravelas, therapist, author, and president of Thera Rising, a company that teaches classes in the workplace on the effectiveness of disciplinary messages delivered with anger versus warmth.