Helping Kids Resolve Conflict

In today's world, parents are so afraid to see their child be unhappy. As a parent/caregiver, do you feel the need to:
1. Fill the silence
2. Overcorrect
3. Pave the way so there are no obstacles.

Unfortunately, this will backfire. You may have the best of intentions, but it’s important to set your child up for success. Building frustration tolerance, developing problem solving skills, and teaching delayed gratification are all very important in today’s technologically advanced world.

Instead of fixing and solving —> validate their feelings and sit with them.

Instead of “Let ME build the lego set for you” —>
Say “It’s really frustrating when you can’t figure it out, hmm” then pause and give your child a chance to process and sit with their frustration.

Instead of “Don’t cut the potatoes like that!” —>Continue to model slicing the potatoes and they will pick up on how you are doing it. Or offer some guidance, “they will cook more evenly when sliced the same size.”