5 Tips for Building Conflict Resolution Skills in Children’s Middle Years
Between the ages of 6-12, children are entering a turning point we call the middle years. During this period, they are becoming more curious. They are cultivating new skills and independence, and they begin to form meaningful relationships with others their age. For more on supporting children through this stage, we recommend Ontario’s On My Way […]
6 Tips for Building Conflict Resolution Skills in Children’s Early Years
In the first six years of their life, children are learning about themselves and the world around them. They are learning what it means to think ahead, to understand others, and be able to express themselves. Children at this age are in a phase of intense development, growing cognitively, linguistically and socio-emotionally. When adults around […]
4 Ways to Respond to Conflict as a Bystander
Between the ages of 5 and 18, I rode the bus to school nearly every morning. Each day was different; some days were calm, and others were boisterous, but most days included some kind of conflict. I did my fair share of instigating those conflicts, but I also had the opportunity to observe plenty of […]
How to Come Back to Conflict Conversations: Part 2
In conflict situations, my natural tendency is to avoid the conflict. For me, this would mean avoiding all conversation and interaction with the other party. If I did need to see them, I might act as though the conflict never happened. If you watched me in these situations, you might say, “Wow! She’s a natural.” […]
How to Come Back to Conflict Conversations: Part 1
When I was in grade four, I was in the same class as my best friend. We at lunch together, played soccer together, and we liked the same things; clothes, music, movies. We spent most of our time at school as a duo. One day, about halfway through the school year, we began to fight. […]
Making Self-care Routine This Year
A new school year is just around the corner, which has us talking a lot about new routines and new schedules. These new patterns can make us feel anxious or overwhelmed, which can feed into interpersonal conflict. One thing we’re making time for this year as a preventative measure is self-care. In the book, Heart […]
This Sentence Will Help You Start Tough Conversations
My first year as a facilitator with The Ripple Effect Education has been a wonderful experience. This year I have not only learned from the lessons and students I have taught, but I have been able to better understand what peace and conflict actually means and how I can apply it in my own life. […]
Five Children’s Books That Inspire Peace
We all have a favourite book from childhood. Mine was the Chronicle of Narnia series. My father would read me a chapter before bed every night, and we would curl up on the couch together until I couldn’t fight my eyelids from closing. Children’s books have a particular way of bringing us back into a […]
Why Peace Education is Important for Youth
In a world where acts of violence fill our newsfeeds and there is a prevalence of pain and hurt around us, peace takes root in the form of education. Peace education is important for people of all ages, but when is the most effective time to engage in peace education by learning about transformative conflict […]
Three Tips for Teaching Conflict Resolution to Kids
They say if you give someone a fish you will feed them for a day, but if you teach them to fish they will feed themselves their whole life. Today I want to talk about teaching our youth easy and practical conflict resolution strategies that they can use their whole lives too. We both play […]
