Conflict Resolution

Last Saturday, my 7-year-old and her cousin got into a heated argument over a favorite toy car. Both children were claiming ownership and neither would budge. Instead of immediately stepping in to mediate, I remembered our family’s commitment to the Life-Ready approach. I watched from a distance as they negotiated, compromised, and eventually found a solution. The look of pride and accomplishment on both their faces when they came to me with their agreement told me we had a perfect opportunity to practice conflict resolution in a low-stakes environment. ...

If you have more than one child, you are intimately familiar with the sound of sibling conflict. It is the background noise of many households. But what if that noise was more than just a daily annoyance? What if it was a predictor of your children’s future? Research has revealed a startling statistic: in early childhood, approximately 20% of all sibling interactions involve intense negative emotions. This rate is significantly higher than that observed in parent-child interactions during the same period. Sibling conflict is not just common; it is the most frequent and intense type of conflict that most children will experience. ...