Tattling Vs. Problem Solving

"Mom!  She stuck her tongue out at me!" 

Ever heard something like this?  This would be an example of tattling.  As parents we want to protect our children from everything, but the truth is, we cannot.  Because of this reality, we need to teach our children how to be good problem solvers.  Before we get into that let me define two types of problems for you.  "Big problem" are things such as punching, setting fires, kicking, breaking something, etc.  "Small problems" are things such as sticking out a tongue, tapping, calling names, and not sharing.  Our job as parents is to teach our children some strategies to use to deal with the small problems and when to get help. 

Here are some things your child can do on her own to deal with a small problem:
**Walk away
**Ignore
**Ask the other person to stop
**Find someone else to play with
**Work out a deal (Ex. "If you play this game with me, I will play your game with you".)

Your child also needs to know about bullying.  If small problems go on and on after strategies have been tried, then the problem has turned into bullying, which is a big problem.  When there is a big problem, your child needs to know how to get an adult that they trust to help in the situation.

If you teach your child these things early, they will be much more confident as they get older and encounter more situations.