Problems of misunderstanding ! Children are known to learn through experience. This is true in case of their fights too. Now, fights among kids is something inevitable. It could be a fight between classmates, siblings or some issue with their parents. As parents you need to use all your conflict resolution skills to restore normalcy. How do you do it? Well, it is something that you will need to get to know through a trial and error approach.
Change of place
One of the best ways to stop a fight between kids is to take them away to a different place. A new setting would help calm down their nerves. A nearby park would be an excellent place, for nature has this calming influence. There are many places that you can take them, for example, a mall, an ice cream parlour, a restaurant, or a departmental store, etc., basically any environment that can divert their attention and help them calm down is fine.
Distraction is a good bet.
Problems of misunderstanding ! Distraction would work well, especially with the younger kids. For example, showing them their favourite toy would immediately grab their attention and would most certainly mean the end of a fight!
Learning conflict resolution
Team activities can help teach children valuable lessons on conflict management. Team sports or even board games, for example, where they will be forever second guessing their opponents moves or strategy. As they grow up, this will help them learn that others could have different perspectives and that it is perfectly okay. This will help them resolve issues with their friends in an amicable way.
Similarly, children need to teach about empathy and sharing right from a young age. Small things such as sharing a cookie or a pencil with a classmate, goes a long way in developing the trait of sharing in them, which develops a heart of giving others. Parents also need to teach their children about the importance of empathy. Be a story teller, bed time stories on the topic are a good way to teach them about empathy.
Positive approach
Problems of misunderstanding ! One of the keys to effective conflict resolution with respect to children is to encourage them to express their innermost feelings freely, without any hesitation. As parents we need to give them a patient hearing. If your child is throwing a temper tantrum, try and get to the root of the problem. Did someone snatch your kid’s toy? Or did a sibling do some damage to his bicycle? Or did the elder ones say something which the younger kid didn’t like? The key here is to talk and go to the root cause of the misunderstanding. Instead of scolding them for the conflict, adopting a positive approach will help. Try giving them solutions. Try spending a few minutes brain storming a few ideas. This will not only help resolve a conflict, but also strengthen parent-child bonding, as well as make the child feel more responsible, which in turn would also boost their self-esteem.
At the school, a lot of emphasis is laid on the development of positive character traits in students. Our experienced teachers use a variety of activities such as painting, essay writing, quizzes, debates, etc. to teach them about the importance of these traits, apart from academics, making us a favourite for parents searching for the best CBSE school in Coimbatore.