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September 2008

Theme: “The Social Life of Preschoolers”

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Diaper Diplomacy

Mon

2008

"You can't come to my birthday party!"

"You're not my friend!"

"No!!!!!!!!!!"

THUD!

However your little ones express themselves during a struggle with their friends or siblings -- whether it's one of the older preschool friendship-ending fiats or one of the younger set's yelps and hits -- as soon as something is voiced, it has become your problem too. Convene a little session of the Parent U.N. because you've got some diplomacy to do. Instead of the shape of the table, you may be navigating the struggles of the size of the cookie. But the stakes feel just as high in your house.

So, what do you do? When you find yourself witnessing a showdown, what exactly do you do? Do you let them work it out themselves? When can they start that? Do you address the older one first? The guest? When do you distract, and when do you draw the line?

There are, of course, no easy answers, and your answers will evolve during the course of your child's little person-hood (and sometimes during the course of the day!). But here are some touchstones we try to keep in mind:

"Conflict resolution techniques only work when both children are able to articulate their story and their feelings." (the brilliant Betsy Brown Braun, who is going to be writing a guest article right here later this month!)

"A mother or teacher can often solve any momentary tangle by humorous verbalization, by shifting the scene of play, or merely suggesting some interesting elaboration of any current activity." (Louise Bates Ames)

"And if we want our discipline to be effective, we need to know what a two year old is like, what possibilities he has for control of impulse, and what a five year old is like and what equipment he has for cooperating with our discipline." (Selma H. Fraiberg)

"Preschoolers may be capable of generating some of their own solutions. You can encourage this by saying, 'It looks like you're both still holding on to that shovel. You both really want it. Can either of you think of a way to solve this problem?'" (Laura Davis and Janis Keyser)

And you, what helps keep the peace in your house?

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