How to teach kids conflict resolution

Michael Pritchard, Humanist & Child Advocate, explains the best way to teach children how to be mature and resolve their own conflicts by themselves
How To Teach Kids Conflict Resolution - Michael Pritchard
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How to teach kids conflict resolution

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The way to teach conflict resolution is to teach about anger and anger management, and to be able to put yourself in check. I tell the kids that anger past 30 seconds is ego. Live in your heart. Nobody can get your goat unless you tell them where it's tied. And sometimes if you don't let go you get dragged. When you're angry, you don't make good judgments. When you're raging, when you're really irritated with somebody, you're not thinking logically. And especially with young boys, because testosterone hits them 7 times a day in the amygdale section, they're irrational. They're like out of chemical balance. Anywhere between 11 and 17, these boys have conflict resolution problems because they're so angry. But who are they most angry with? Themselves. That's what people don't get. They're trying to figure it all out. They're chemically imbalanced. And it's a neurological thing. And to try and teach them to breathe, to meditate, to transform, to take 2 minutes of complete silence and just let go. And to teach them that sometimes if you don't let go you'll get dragged to where you don't want to be. And over the years of being a cop, I've seen so many really violent things happen because they've escalated. And violence doesn't have a zip code. Ask Michael Jordan, Bill Cosby, Gerald LaVin. Every one of them had $1B in the bank and lost a family member to an angry young man. What we have to do, and the most powerful gift we get is to understand that young person's - you know, when we teach hostage negotiation to police officers and to federal agents, we don't say what made you angry? No, we say, what made you sad enough to do this? What caused this? The Petri dish of all this violence is unaddressed grief. The grief turned to anger. The anger turned to rage. The rage turned to violence. And violence has two directions - out towards others or in towards the self. The conflict resolution, the gift is to sit and be with them to help them.

Michael Pritchard, Humanist & Child Advocate, explains the best way to teach children how to be mature and resolve their own conflicts by themselves

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Michael Pritchard

Humanist & Child Advocate

Michael Pritchard is a nationally acclaimed keynote speaker praised by the Wall Street Journal, CNN and Time for his ability to use humor to inspire and educate his audiences on communication skills. Michael Pritchard is a big guy with a warm heart who as one student described him, “truly walks as he talks.”

He began his career on both the comedy stage and as a juvenile counselor in San Francisco’s Youth Guidance Center. In 1980, Michael Pritchard won first place in the San Francisco International Stand Up Comedy Competition as well as winning the prestigious California Probation Officer of the Year.

Michael’s offers from Hollywood rolled in including a guest appearance on an Emmy Award winning episode of “Taxi”. His sensational standup comedy billed him with Robin Williams, Jerry Seinfeld, Dana Carvey and Whoopi Goldberg playing venues as Caesar’s, the Comedy Store, Universal Ampitheater and opening for such names as Diana Ross, the Grateful Dead, Kenny Rogers, Mike Mc Donald and Boz Scaggs. But Michael rejected offers from Hollywood to focus on using his comic talents for inspiring youth and adults.

Drawing from his counseling background, Michael Pritchard began using humor to inspire, teach communication skills, anger management, diversity, conflict resolution and overcoming burnout and stress.

His broad base of audience from corporate employees, healthcare workers, government and state officials have honored him with countless standing ovations and numerous awards including: President’s Volunteer Action Award, Commendation - Office of the Attorney General , Paul Harris Fellowship - Rotary International, Toastmaster’s International Speaker, Outstanding Performance - Federal Executive Board , Josephine Duveneck Humanitarian Award and the Key to the City of San Francisco.As a result of his work, Michael Pritchard has been featured on CNN, NBC’s “The Today Show”, “The Tonight Show”, CBS “Sunday Morning” with Charles Kuralt, “Time” magazine and “People” magazine.

His seven educational series for PBS and distribution has been seen by millions and focuses on youth guidance in the areas of violence prevention. “The Power of Choice” “You can Choose”, “Big Changes, Big Choices”.

Forming Heartland Media, he continued with “Red Ribbon Week” and “PeaceTalks” teaching students to make positive choices.“SOS: Saving Our Schools from Hate and Violence”, featured in both Time magazine and on CNN, filmed after the tragic Columbine disaster. His new series: “Lifesteps” builds the social and emotional intelligence in youth and has already received the Parents Choice Award

For his work in promoting nonviolence with youth, Dr. Michael Pritchard was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Hartwick University and winning, 2001 Lewis Hine’s Award for Service to Children & Youth Certificate of Appreciation and the 2002 Marin Community Foundations Beryl Buck Fund Award for achievement in Promoting Nonviolence.

As an extension of Heartland Media, he established Heartland Media Foundation building character and emotional intelligence, violence prevention, inciting motivation and leadership in both youth and adults to improve schools and communities. The foundation provides youth guidance programs, including video, print curriculum, and live presentations by Michael Pritchard to aid in schools and communities where the funding is limited.

In the fund raising capacity, Michael Pritchard has help raise millions of dollars by donating his time and talent to events and various charitable organizations including: Boys and Girls Club – Ronald McDonald House –Salvation Army - Jewish Family Services – SF Giants Community Fund – American Heart Association –Women’s Wellness Forum – Special Olympics - CASA Court Appointed Special Advocates - Bread & Roses – Recreation Center for the Handicapped –– DARE –– Texan’s War on Drugs –– Vietnam Vets of America - Guide Dogs for the Blind

More Parenting Videos from Michael Pritchard >
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