Peacemaking in the Home
"Daddy, Sammy's wearing my hat." "Hannah broke my crayon."
"Charlie ate the biggest half." "Jerry has MY truck."
Most
of us feel like referees when sibbling quarrels or
squabbles
occur and it can be an exhausting job for parents.
Children
need to learn problem-solving techniques so often times it
is best to let the squabbles remain 'between the kids'.
But, at times parents need to put a stop to the bickering,
especially if physical or emotional harm seems to be
lurking
in the midst of the tension.
Here are a few peace keeping strategies that might be helpful to consider: 1. Let children claim some toys that belong to them alone. A child shouldn't have to share everything. 2. Practice peaceful conflict resolution with your children. Give them words to use to solve problems and practice during calm moments in your home. 3. Pay attention to trigger points that are likely to promote squabbling among sibblings: boredom, frustrations, tiredness. 4. Try to ensure you spend one-on-one time with each child so they feel they are getting special atteniton. 5. Work out a system of logical consequences when behavior gets out of hand. Toys that cause strife may be put away for a few days or even a few hours. Or, children can be directed to play in separate rooms for a period of time. Fostering peacefulness is time consuming. It takes work on a parent's part but it is worth the effort.
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