Strategies for Managing Conflict in Advance

This week I share some strategies for managing conflict in your interactions with your child. Use these positive strategies to prevent conflict in advance:

One Strategy for Managing Conflict at Home:

A behavioral rewards chart that lists behaviors which have previously led to conflict with a place to record positive behavior with a star, happy face, sticker or checkmark.

When our children were young, bath-time, picking up toys, brushing teeth were chronic sources of conflict. I made up a chart listing 4 or 5 of these daily activities with a place for stars for successful completion. A certain agreed upon number of stars might mean a Happy Meal from MacDonald’s, a movie, special time with a parent or a play date.

One Strategy for Managing Conflicts at School:

In my classroom I had a weekly raffle of gift certificates or items donated by local merchants. I awarded tickets for task completion, packing up on time, or staying on task. I had a list of the behaviors that I was looking for posted in the classroom. Every Friday I would pick a random raffle ticket and give out a prize. On Monday, I would start over with an empty container for raffle tickets and a fresh start.

One General Strategy To Minimize Conflicts at Home:

Use an old fashioned egg timer, kitchen timer or phone timer to set how much time is allotted for a behavior such as completing homework, getting dressed for school, and picking up toys.

Remember that these are just tools for you to use whenever you can prevent a power struggle. Enjoy your child! Next week I will review strategies for managing conflict in the heat of the moment. Wishing you success in managing conflict one day at a time.

With love,

Karen