Conflict resolution is a topic that I cover several times throughout the school year with my students. Learning how to peacefully resolve conflict or a disagreement between you and someone else is an essential skill for both children and adults (especially when we are going on week 4 of being shelter in place with the same people).
In order to resolve a conflict peacefully, there are 3 important steps that need to be followed:
First, when conflict does arise, it is important to take a deep breath before reacting in a negative way toward the other person. As I have mentioned, taking deep breaths has been proven to lower stress levels and blood pressure, so this is a great strategy to calm yourself before saying something to the other person that you might regret. Second, it is important to stop and listen to what the other person is telling you so you understand what made the other person angry or upset. It is easy to make assumptions about other people if we don't take the time to understand where their negative feelings or disagreement is coming from. Lastly, compromising is a crucial step in resolving a conflict between you and someone else. Compromising is where both you AND the other person get something that they want from the situation. For example, if you wanted to play one game and your sibling or friend wanted to play another game, you can compromise by playing one game first and the other game after. I also like to use "rock, paper, scissors" as a fair way for students to make a decision peacefully for who goes first in a game, if I give them options of different activities we can do together, etc. Kids LOVE "rock, paper, scissors". I-Statements Using I-Statements gives students a great outline of how to peacefully express how they are feeling and why they are feeling that way to another person. Here is a great I-Statements worksheet you can review with your child that teaches them how to have this conversation with a sibling, other family member, or peer. When you review this worksheet with your child, have your child practice the "I-Statements" bubble and the parent can practice saying the "Empathetic Response" bubble to your child. Then, switch it up and have your child practice the "Empathetic Response" and the parent can practice the "I-Statement". You can make up a conflict scenario or use a conflict that has happened frequently at home in the past. Ubongo Kids Conflict Resolution Video Here is a fun video for your child to watch to give them an even better understanding of what conflict resolution looks like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqNID0Es5qg
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