Kill The Cub Before It Grows Into A Lion

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The phrase, "Kill the Cub Before It Grows Into A Lion", is a poignant metaphor for the importance of addressing the issue of chronic anger in children before they reach adulthood. When anger in children is left unchecked, it can easily morph into a destructive force, wreaking untold havoc on their personal relationships, mental health, and other aspects of their lives. As children develop into adulthood, it is natural for them to experience feelings of anger and frustration. However, when these emotions are not properly managed and channeled, they can become entrenched, ultimately defying the child's worldviews and behaviours. Angry children often struggle to form healthy and enduring relationships with their peers and family members as their irritability and hostility can be off-putting and damaging. As the children mature into adulthood, their habits of anger can be increasingly entrenched, leading to a range of negative consequences. They may struggle to maintain stable employment as their irritability and short-temper can make it very difficult for them to work effectively with colleagues and supervisors. 

Angry children's personal relationships may also be strained, as their anger can lead to conflicts and emotional distress for those around them. Angry young boys and girls who grew into adulthood with chronic habits of anger cannot easily be successful marriage partners. They are not tolerant to their spouses and neighbours! They lack humility and empathy. They do not know how to come down from their high horses to apologize to people whom they have offended. They are also impatient and incorrigible. Almost everybody hates to have anything in common with them. Furthermore, chronic anger has been linked to a range of health problems, including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and decreased immune functions. When left unchecked, anger can become a corrosive force, eating away both mental and physical health. In order to prevent the destructive consequences of uncontrollable anger, it is essential that children receive guidance and support in managing their emotions. This can involve teaching healthy coping mechanisms such as deep breathing, physical exercises, or creative expressions. Parents, caregivers, educators, and mental health professionals must work in cohesion to create a supportive environment that encourages children to express and manage their emotions in a constructive manner. 

By killing the cub before it grows into a lion, we can prevent the devastating consequences of childhood anger and provide children with the tool they need to thrive. By addressing the issue of anger head-on, we can help children develop into happy, healthy, and well-adjusted adults, capable of forming strong relationships, achieving their own set goals, and leading fulfilling lives. Ultimately, it is our responsibility as society to provide children with the support and guidance they need to manage their emotions and reach their full potential. In a nutshell, children who exhibit chronic anger issues are vulnerable to the following lifestyles:

1. They may resort to unhealthy coping mechanisms such as substance abuse. Angry children may turn to substance abuse as a way of coping with their emotions, thereby leading to addictions and other related health and antisocial issues.

2. Anger leads children to aggressive and hostile behaviours, including physical combats, verbal abuse, and violent outbursts.

3. Angry people always make impulsive decisions which lead to reckless behaviours, financial mismanagement, and damaged marriage relationships.

4. Angry children face relationship challenges right from early childhood to adulthood stages of life. They do not know how to tolerate offenders in their working places. They are against everybody. Everybody is also against them. They cannot show empathy to anyone. They are unable to form and keep healthy relationships with husbands, wives, colleagues, and employers, in motion. Hence, they face social isolation or toxic partnerships.

5. It has high risk mental and physical health concerns. Chronic anger contributes to the development of anxiety and depression. Unmanaged anger has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, including high blood pressure, heart attacks, and strokes. It can also weaken the immune systems, making the individual more susceptible to illness and mortality. 

6. Unmanaged anger can lead to frequent conflicts with family members (an example is fighting husbands and wives), friends, and colleagues.

7. Angry people may have problem empathizing with others, thereby leading to emotional distance and strained  relationships.

8. It causes impulsive decisions and reckless behaviours because most decisions taken in anger are rash, wrong, and unprofitable since there was no thoughtfulness before taking those decisions. That is why angry people are vulnerable to financial mismanagement, indebtedness, bankruptcy, and foreclosure.

Chronic anger in adults (which, of course, begins in early childhood) can have severe biological implications, increasing the risk of various diseases and health conditions. Find the following examples below:

1. Unmanaged anger can lead to high blood pressure, increasing the risk of heart diseases, stroke, and kidney malfunctioning.

2. Anger can disrupt heart rhythms, potentially leading to arrhythmias, heart palpitations, and cardiac arrest.

3. Angry people are vulnerable to myocardial infarction. In this situation, chronic anger increases the risk of heart attacks by damaging the coronary arteries and disrupting blood flow. 

4. Anger causes dementia, including Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.

5. Anger triggers off migraines and headaches by causing vasodilation (enlargement) and vasoconstriction (reduction) of the blood vessels.

6. Anger leads to Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), which is characterized by abdominal pains, bloating, and disrupted bowel movements.

7. Research has empirically proved that anger causes Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) which has symptoms of heartburns, regurgitation, and difficulty in swallowing. 

8. Unmanaged anger also causes fibromyalgia which is characterized by widespread muscle pains, fatigue, and sleep deficit.

All the above health risks can be mitigated by learning effective anger management techniques, practising stress-abating activities, and seeking expert advices from qualified medical personnels. Some international agencies and organizations have indeed emphasized the importance of managing anger in children before they get to adulthood. If chronic anger is not successfully tamed at childhood age, it will be a herculean task to do it during adulthood. Lions are easily killed when they are cubs than when they are matured! The NHS reported that anger is a common emotion in children which can become a lifetime problem if it is not controlled during childhood age. To successfully address the issue of anger in children, the NHS has recommended the following strategies:

1. Parents, caregivers, and educators should help children to identity the cause of their anger and tackle it head-on.

2. Endeavour to teach your children to express their feelings through words.

3. Encourage activities such as deep breathing, physical exercise, and games to manage anger.

4. According to Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory, all children learn by observing and imitating their parents and other people in the environment where they find themselves. Therefore, it is imperative that parents, caregivers, and educators model healthy lifestyles and behaviours for their children to emulate. In like vein, the Mayo Clinic has suggested that teaching children anger management skills can help them develop healthy relationships, achieve lofty academic success, and maintain good mental health.

In summary, "Kill the Cub Before It Grows Into A Lion" underscores the importance of addressing the issue of children's anger in a timely manner to prevent its devastating consequences in adulthood. A stitch in time saves nine!

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