Peer Conflicts in the Classroom. If teachers and parents learn to understand children's earliest peer conflicts, they will be in a better position to help young children break the current cycle of widespread violence. Traditionally, many adults have viewed conflicts between children as undesirable and have tried to prevent them or to intervene. Parents too can focus on helping their children develop such strategies. Nonaggressive physical strategies include taking a toy or entering a play space.
Verbal strategies range from simple opposition to complex reasoning and negotiation.
Researchers have explored the relationships among the issues, strategies, and outcomes of children's conflicts. Conciliatory behaviors are associated with peaceful outcomes and with continued interaction following the conflict. Physical domination often leads to ending the interaction. In free play settings, adults resolved conflicts more frequently than children, including at least 60 percent of conflicts that involved physical harm and social order. This and other studies suggest the possibility of a developmental sequence.