Playtime isn't always fun and games when you're a toddler. It
can be tough to share your toys, take turns and compromise,
especially when your language skills are still fairly limited.
So it's not surprising that play dates often dissolve into a
heap of tears, a tug of war over the Elmo phone, or worse, a
slugfest. Your instinct as a parent may be to jump right in, but
that's not always the best course of action. "It's healthy to
give kids an opportunity to learn through trial and error how to
resolve conflicts," says clinical psychologist Sharon Fried
Buchalter, author of Children Are People Too (People Too
Unlimited). "It forces them to begin working things out on a
basic level." The key is to teach them from a very young age how
to handle potential conflicts before they arise. Here are some
tried-and-true techniques: Set ground rules Establish from the
get-go that in your family's home, there is no hitting, teasing
or name-calling. If we don't like the way something is going, we
use our words to express it