The Orange Rhinoceros: How Do You Stop Yelling At Your Kids?

The orange rhinoceros challenge is a method used to help parents stop yelling at their children.

This technique was developed by a mother who wanted to change her behavior towards her son through self-discipline.

Other qualities, such as patience, understanding and good communication between parents and their children, also play a role.

The life of parents is full of challenges and one of them is communicating with their children.

There are times when the pressures of everyday life make it easy to lose your temper and we find ourselves yelling at our children.

What’s so wrong with yelling at your kids?

Obviously you have to admit that losing control and yelling at your children is not a practical method.

Usually yelling has no positive effect on children. Even when a child obeys, he does so out of fear rather than respect.

This behavior can also mark them for life. It instills in children the habit of yelling at others and imitating their parents.

But if you find yourself yelling at your child, you can do something to change this bad habit. This technique is known as the orange rhinoceros.

The origin of the orange rhinoceros

This challenge came from a mother from the United States named Sheila McCraith. She was ashamed when, without realizing it, she discovered that she was yelling at her four children all the time.

This upset her so much that she wanted to change her behavior. In the meantime, she has discovered two important things:

1. She could suppress her urge to yell at her children in front of strangers.
2. What children think and feel is much more important than the opinions of other people.

This realization led her to admit that she had a habit of yelling at her children a lot, but she wanted to stop.

So she got the idea to create a challenge for herself. She called this challenge the orange rhinoceros.

As for the color, orange evokes determination. And strength and determination were just what she needed to overcome her unwanted habit.

How does the orange rhinoceros challenge work?

The challenge of the orange rhinoceros is to resist for a period of time to yell at your children.

Of course, the mom came up with additional tips that enabled her to stay focused on her goal.

These tricks include:

• capture your determination to stop yelling at your kids
• track your progress
• write down every time you reach a goal you didn’t yell at your kids

According to this particular woman’s experience, she was able to not yell at her children for four full years. So, it is safe to say that this is an effective method.

How do you apply the orange rhinoceros technique?

The orange rhinoceros technique is a type of behavioral therapy that consists of practical and somewhat strange suggestions.

Before inundating your kids with a long list of criticisms and arguments, try the following measures:

1. Take a deep breath.
2. Walk away. Go to another room or go outside to the porch.
3. Shake your body.
4. Listen to music.
5. Close your eyes and imagine that you are in a calm and quiet place (beach, field, spa, etc.).
6. Wash your face with cold water and count to ten.
7. Place orange colored objects or a piece of orange cloth in your house to remind you of your purpose.

Change your behavior with the orange rhinoceros challenge

While it is true that parents have power over their children, this comes with great responsibility. Remember that you are an example for your children to follow.

Of course, accepting the orange rhinoceros challenge isn’t just a magic formula for change. But you can work on and  accept the following aspects :

• Recognize that you have a problem communicating with your children.
• Understand that you need willpower to change.

• Set realistic goals for yourself. For example, you can start by challenging yourself not to yell for one day and then go from there.
• Share your determination with others so they can encourage you to reach your goal.
• Identify the situations where you have developed the habit of yelling at your family.
• Anticipate and prepare for these situations. Avoid them if possible.
• Do your best to control your reactions no matter where you are or who you are with.

It is true that as a parent, certain situations can be overwhelming and cause you to become frustrated with your children. But constant yelling is not a healthy habit to raise children with.

So, if you find yourself falling into this trap, we want to encourage you to take the orange rhinoceros challenge!