Daily Idea #137: Screaming Your Frustration

We have a rule in our house (that all of us don’t always abide by) that we don’t scream; We are loud and to others it may be louder than what they are used to, but screaming for the sake of screaming is out. And there are times when we get frustrated or overwhelmed and have that urge to scream, so what do we do?

We practice when we are calm. First, we go through various animal sounds from little animals with quiet sounds to big animals with loud sounds. (What sound does a mouse make? What sound does a monkey make? What sound does a lion make?) As they get louder and louder we try different ways to muffle the sound. Can you scream or roar into your hands or a pillow? Which makes the sound quieter? Work with different ways your children can make their noises and finally get to what sounds people make— whispering all the way up to screaming. Through all this noise making, talk through how important it is to not keep your feelings inside; it is healthy to let them all out.

With all this vocal exercise behind us, we then go through what we should do if the overwhelming urge to scream comes to call. In our house, we use a pillow to muffle the sound. My kids all love having the ability to grab a pillow and just scream into it. They feel better after getting their frustration out and we all don’t have to have our ears blown out.