8 Effective Ways to Teach Conflict Resolution to Children
Conflict resolution skills in children are critical to their development. These abilities aid in the systematic resolution of conflicts and the development of communication skills in children.
We've got eight great conflict resolution strategies to help your child deal with disagreements.
Whether your child struggles to cope with frustration, finds it difficult to find solutions, or verbalizes his feelings, he will learn how to deal with conflicts through these tactics.
8 Effective Ways to Teach Conflict Resolution to Children
1. Start introducing the Stoplight Method.
Allow your child to close his eyes and imagine a stoplight. Tell him to take deep breaths and think about something soothing when he sees the red light. When the light turns yellow, ask him to assess the situation - can he handle it on his own? Is he in need of adult assistance? Request that he come up with two solutions.
Finally, when the light turns green, instruct your child to select a conflict resolution strategy that he believes will be most effective. Practicing this method while your child is calm will aid in his memory of the procedure.
2. Stating and Understanding the Challenge
If your child appears to be panicking, calm him down. When he is calm, talk to him and let him explain the situation. Instill the value of honesty in your child and encourage him to admit his role in the conflict. Understand his point of view, but don't be biased.
3. Clearly show Empathy
It is completely normal for young children to become overwhelmed with strong emotions over tiny difficulties such as arguing with their friends or having a minor disagreement within their buddy group. Although these scenarios may appear insignificant to you, they are significant to your child.
Do not discourage your child by telling him or her that it is not a big issue. Empathize with them instead. Demonstrate to your child that you are aware of and understand what he is going through.
Inform him that you are there for him. Parents should not always solve their children's problems, but rather give them a safe area for them to seek solace.
4. Develop a Good Apology
Encourage your youngster to apologize if they are at fault in the argument. It is typical for children to reject their mistakes. You should instill in them the value of admitting and apologizing for their faults.
You can suggest several methods of apologizing to them, such as writing letters or just writing the words "I'm sorry for my mistake."
5. Practice Expressing Emotions
In disagreements, young children are ready to react or blame someone. Encourage them to practice expressing their emotions and having constructive dispute-resolution conversations.
Teach your child to say "I feel" anytime he is upset by his peers. This focuses on how someone's behavior impacts them without appearing to blame someone.
6. Listening and Reflection
Teach your youngster that other people and their feelings are important after he has expressed his side of the disagreement. To end a disagreement, both sides must reach an agreement.
So, teach your youngster about active listening and reflecting on their behaviors. Tell your youngster that dispute resolution will occur when they listen to other people's perspectives and feelings. Then advise him to think about his behavior and whether he has ever hurt the feelings of another person.
7. Solution Generation
While you may feel compelled to advise your child on what to do in order to address his difficulties, it is best to let him discover answers. This will assist him in becoming a better problem solver.
Encourage your child to attentively listen to what the other person in the conflict has to say and to accurately paraphrase each other in order to come up with answers. Encourage him to speak up and listen to the other person.
8. Proceed
Moving on is more difficult than the previous steps, but if your child and the other person have come up with a solution, moving on should be easy for them.
However, your youngster may find it difficult to move on at times. Not having sufficient closure, when the other person did not care about your child's feelings, or when the other person continually brought up the conflict are examples of situations.
Even in such cases, instruct your youngster to be the bigger person and to go on. Moving forward could be as simple as shaking hands or hugging the person.
Conclusion
Conflict is a natural element of life. By teaching these conflict resolution skills, you are preparing your child to deal with difficult situations by encouraging them to overcome obstacles.