Resolving Conflicts at the Childcare Center & School

Resolving conflict, also known as social problem-solving, can be taught to young children in ways that are appropriate for their development and age. Early childhood professionals and teachers can start early to help young children learn to STOP and THINK about different ways to solve a problem.

With support from families and teachers, at around age 3, children are usually ready to begin simple steps of reasoning and making choices. At about age 4 or 5, most children (with adult support) can think of more than one way to solve a problem, and predict how people will react to their actions. Teachers can also help them describe their own feelings and those of others. Children also can begin to show care about other people's feelings. By 6 to 8 years old, they can understand how others might see a problem differently than they do, and they can talk about a situation more clearly. They start to develop a conscience and worry about rules and fairness. So, early childhood professionals can bring social problem-solving skills into the classroom appropriate to the age and development of the children they teach.

The following are the steps in the IDEAL social problem-solving process (PDF):

Also, teachers need to remember that children learn from watching them deal with problem situations using respectful words and nonviolent actions.