Details of a simple 4 step conflict resolution approach to support conflict in children's play.

1. Conflict Resolution Technique
Here are four handy steps on how to successfully support children to resolve conflicts by
themselves:
 Acknowledge everybody’s feelings
 Gather information giving all parties equal opportunity to speak and say
what the problem is. Draw a line under what has happened for example
“I’m sure we can find a way of working this out.”
 Ask children for solutions to the problem, possibly offering a solution if
they can’t think of any
 Review the solution and check everyone is OK.
Having a process to work through conflicts helps children and young people relate to each
other. It also gives you a consistent approach to responding to children’s behaviour. Alt-
hough it can take time it is important to find ways to help children resolve conflicts for
themselves because:
 it gives them ways of dealing with similar events in the future
 it helps them understand other people’s feelings
 it is good practice for everyday life outside the play setting
Supporting conflict resolution can have long term benefits. It can lead to children being able
to manage situations for themselves. Here are some tips to help support children:
 allow children to solve their own differences where possible
 expect children to respond differently to different situations
 explain that some actions are unacceptable
 keep calm and hold your temper
 make sure children feel they have been treated fairly
 remember you are an adult - do not get drawn in
 know your limits and get help from another
member of staff if you need it