Guiding Your Child Through Social Strife Resources
Social strife refers to times when we, or in this case our children, experience disagreements or fights with their peers. This looks different depending on how old a child is, and it is normal at every age, but it can be emotionally challenging while it is happening.
D34 Curriculum
To help our students navigate these situations, District 34 uses Second Step. The Second Step curriculum is a social skills program used to teach our students social-emotional competence and foundational learning skills. Through this curriculum, students learn how to apply the STEP Problem-Solving Model to approach social strife.
STEP Problem-Solving Model
S - say the problem
T - think of solutions
E - explore the outcomes
P - pick a solution
Guiding Your Child
As parents, your role is to act as a guide, helping to support your child by providing safety as they learn. By using the STEP model, schools and families can navigate these situations together.
What skills should I encourage?
- "Keeping your cool"
- Walk away, deep breathing, count to 10
- Positive self-talk
- Reframing the situation
- Perspective talking
- Stop and think before jumping to conclusions
- Compromise on solutions
What else can I do as a parent?
- Help to calm your child before trying to support problem-solving
- Validate their feelings
- Follow your child's lead
- Encourage your child to seek out school resources if needed
Who to Contact?
If you have any questions or are looking for additional resources available to you or your child, contact your school's Assistant Principal for Student Services.
Attea: Heather Santella
Glen Grove: Megan Moran
Henking: Becca Brown
Hoffman: Dan Polonsky
Lyon: Amanda Spychalski
Pleasant Ridge: Luke Larmee
Springman: Megan Chin
Westbrook: Martha Rode
You can also sign up for Virtual Office Hours with your school's social worker and/or psychologist to brainstorm ways to support your child's social and emotional learning.