Conflict resolution is a topic that children should learn at an early age so that they can better fix issues in the future. However, it can be a difficult subject to teach to young children, such as toddlers. While scholastic shares more precise tips for every age group, the following five are effective strategies to help toddlers with problem-solving.

1. Stay Calm Always

In case you get irritated with toddlers, they’ll understand it. So, when you manage a conflict situation with toddlers, you’ve to put your best foot forward to stay calm or look calm to them. Breathe deeply and continue talking to them as you’d normally, regardless of how unaccommodating they behave. They’ll give a much better reaction to somebody who talks to them normally rather than shouting at them. Maintain a soft voice when speaking to make sure that the situation doesn’t intensify because if you show anger to them, they’ll probably yell back.

2. Advocate Humane Words like “Please”

“Please” is an excellent word that you can teach toddlers to help them understand how to resolve their conflicts in a better manner. Continuously remind them to say “please” rather than just taking something from someone else. When they get familiarized with methods to ask for things decently, it can also help them stay away from conflicts.

3. Elucidate Emotions and Conflict in a Manner Comprehensible To Them

As the toddlers have never encountered the topic of conflict resolution before, you must talk to them and explain it in a manner that they can comprehend. Talk over emotions with them and utilize associated facial expressions so that they can learn from those situations. Then, motivate them to talk about their emotions. Instead of picking sides, listen to the explanation of every child and do all you can to ensure all the children involved in the discussion feel understood.

4. Let Them Produce Ideas to Solve the Problem

Rather than discussing the situation and showing them the exact way to solve it, you should let them generate some ideas. Ask them what, as per them, should be the solution to the problem and help them deal with it successfully. Don’t instantly remove their attention from the thing that began the disagreement, as it can be part of an important learning experience for them. By teaching toddlers to settle conflicts by themselves, you can help them build problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

5. Divert Their Attention to a New Activity

In case you’ve tried all the strategies mentioned above to settle the conflict, and the argument is still going on, redirecting their attention is a simple method to end it. You can start playing with a new toy to help them figure out the fun elements in other objects. If you can distract and redirect them to a new object, they’ll probably forget the conflict. However, you shouldn’t use this strategy each time there’s a conflict without at least attempting to teach them conflict resolution’s basics first.

Wrapping Up

Even if you want to show frustration or yell at toddlers who don’t maintain a friendly relationship, it isn’t the most effective way to develop their skills. Always make good use of the learning experiences with toddlers and do your best to stop the issues from taking place again in the future.