UK kids brush each other’s teeth, cook together to manage anger

Anger management classes for children seem to have taken a new turn - the classes include children brushing each other’s teeth, cooking together and grooming.

Occupational therapist Jason Vickers said that handing over all control to someone else to have their teeth brushed helped the youngsters understand how to behave with empathy.

“It is all about trust. The course is designed for young people experiencing difficulties in self-expression, managing emotions and making good choices in difficult situations,” the Daily Express quoted Vickers as saying.

“The youngsters often had a history of bad behaviour and our aim was to show them how they can change that by learning coping mechanisms and strategies.

“Often body language of others passed them by and they ended up in trouble. Teaching them to be gentle can help with people liking them and them also liking themselves,” he added.

The workshops, designed by final year occupational therapy students from the University of Salford, included one-to-one ­sessions to help improve confidence and self-esteem.

“This is about ­teaching these youngsters appropriate social behaviour, how to be assertive in the right way and giving them skills to cope in the world,” said Vickers

“Many children do not understand why they get angry and upset but we show them ways of dealing with this and how to calm themselves. It is all about keeping control.”