Just like adults, children also face conflicts and we must help them know how to manage them. Today at Logos International we give you a series of techniques for conflict resolution from a positive point of view.
We must be aware that, on many occasions, the problem does not lie in the conflict itself, but in the lack of tools to manage conflict resolution, which can limit the development of social and even cognitive skills.
Benefits of conflict resolution techniques
There are many benefits to be gained by teaching children different conflict resolution techniques. They must have certain social and emotional skills to be able to resolve them.
Proper conflict management creates an ideal situation that helps the child to:
- Perform a recognition of their emotions.
- Develop their capacity for empathy.
- Prioritize situations.
- Reinforce their self-esteem.
- To feel confident when facing certain situations.
- Decision making.
- Knowing how to listen and dialogue.
- Stimulate reflective and critical thinking.
- Develop creativity.
- Have a more relaxed body expression during the conflict.
In addition, conflict resolution in children means that they spend time together looking for possible solutions to differences and stressful situations, which also improves their relationships with each other.
Steps for conflict resolution
Normally, conflict resolution is based on a process of mediation and empathy, but other steps can also be highlighted to help resolve conflicts. Among them:
- Identify the conflict: it is important that children identify the problem that originated the conflict and that they are able to express it.
- Recognize emotions: it is vital that they recognize their emotions and identify them in order to solve the conflict. It is good to generate a round of questions in which the child can express how he/she feels, what makes him/her feel that way or why he/she reacts the way he/she does.
- Generate solutions: creativity and collaboration are key to generating solutions. It is important to ask the children questions that allow them to come up with possible solutions, for example: What can I do to help? What would other children do in that situation?
- Evaluate and test each solution: when there is a process of evaluation of the solutions proposed, children feel listened to. This process allows them to evaluate each of the proposals, based on the advantages and disadvantages of each option.
- Remembering the steps: the opportunity should be taken to remember the steps of conflict resolution techniques. This way it becomes a daily habit.
- Evaluate what happened: reinforcing positive feelings will help maintain emotional control in the face of future conflicts.
5 tips to solve it
The most commonly used techniques for conflict resolution are usually dialogue, cooperation and empathy. In addition, there may be some scenarios that favor an ideal environment to provide solutions. Therefore, the following tips should be taken into account:
1. Relax
It is important for children to be calm in the face of any conflict. No coherent solution will emerge while they are upset or emotionally fragile.
2. Know how to apologize
Encouraging children to apologize, depending on the situation, will help repair relationships with others and open doors for dialogue and possible solutions.
3. Reinforce empathy
When the child is able to put himself in the other person's place, the resolution of the conflict will come faster and will be more effective.
4. Adults can serve as role models
Children definitely learn more by example (imitation) than by words. If he observes in his parents or teachers that there are different ways of dealing with problems, he will try to imitate it, and of course, this will help to solve any problems between children.
5. Dramatizations
A good way for children to practice and incorporate conflict resolution is through role-playing or hypothetical situations. These activities allow children the opportunity to value different perspectives and make them see it as something natural.
The ability to resolve conflicts is essential for the control of emotions in and out of school. It is a process that involves a large number of cognitive skills such as creativity, memory, comprehension or attention, among others.
At Logos International, a private school located in Las Rozas, we give great importance to conflict resolution and we implement methodological or curricular adaptations to ensure the success and coexistence of our students.