Many times during a child’s time in school, there are going to be confrontations with other students. It is a normal part of life that everyone has to deal with while growing up and in the adult world. In fact, going to school and having these confrontations can often be healthy for children who need to know how to handle these actions in the adult world. As a parent, it is hard to stay out of the way when two children are fighting, but unless there is anything physical going on it might be a good idea.
Fighting Between Peers
Of course, friction between individuals is never enjoyable for any party, but sometimes it is best to let grievances be open in the adult world. As children, things are much the same. Kids who have problems with others need to be able to either express themselves openly, be assertive enough to protect themselves, or simply understand how to confront others when the time is right. More importantly, many children must learn how to have conflict with others so as to not make them feel bad or resort to behavior that is in poor taste like physical assault. Children need to learn to deal with conflict themselves, after all their parents will not always be there for them.
Fighting within a peer group can be a tough thing to allow as a parent, but sometimes it is better to let things happen. Trying to protect your kid from being berated is the first instinct of any parent, but it might be doing more harm than good. While preventing physical harm between children is a good idea, sometimes it can be best to let situations play out verbally in order to develop their ability for conflict resolution.
Conflict Resolution with Children
Sometimes, parents have a tendency to tell their children to let it go or stop any kind of hostility towards another child because the problems seem trivial. However, this is not a response that children want to hear and it will definitely not provide them with any lessons they can learn from later on in life. When learning conflict resolution, it is important for children to have first-hand experience developing remedies for themselves.
As a parent, there are a few things that you can tell your children who are embroiled in conflict to help them out. No matter what conflict a child or adult is involved with, remaining calm and reducing blood pressure is always a healthy task. Tell them not to get worked up and to realize that things will be alright. Working on their temper as a side issue of conflict resolution is perfectly fine, but keep in mind that allowing the story to play out on its own is not always bad. This is a far healthier and better process for the children to go through. While they may not yet know it, they will thank you later on for allowing them to develop the right kind of skills. Be patient and your children will benefit immensely by being allowed to follow through and handle conflicts for themselves.