Are your thoughts your friends or your enemies? Our thoughts influence our emotions which affect our behaviours. Many of us view life and, in particular, conflict from one perspective and an assumed knowledge of the other person and their motives. We see their behaviour and make our own judgements; perceptions which in turn affect our reactions. Thus our thoughts (whether …

Your Body is Your GPS The human body acts as a very clever GPS warning system. But rather than telling you about an impending traffic jam or indicating that there is a speed camera ahead, it tells you when you are in danger. The problem is, this body GPS works a little well. At the first sign of conflict, the …

In the midst of a conflict, it can be extremely difficult for children to remain calm and choose a constructive response. One of the most significant reasons why this occurs is because of their body’s automatic reactions. When children perceive a threat in a conflict situation; whether it be someone being mean and hurting them emotionally such as name calling, …

In a world of “One Punch Can Kill”, why are kids facing opposition still being taught to fight? Children who lack conflict resolution skills are like ships without rudders. Being steered by their fight or flight instincts, they resort to school brawls, absenteeism, self-harm and other ineffective “solutions” to problems they encounter. Parents whose own caregivers taught them to stand …

“She made me do it!” Many children don’t understand that although they can’t choose their feelings in the immediacy of conflict, they can learn to choose their behaviour. They may also not fully recognise that each behaviour choice they make has a consequence. Some consequences are organic and inherent to the nature of the behaviour, while some are imposed by …