Conflicts in Children's and Adolescent Environments

The book "Conflicts in Children's and Adolescent Environments" is written by specialists from the Finnish reconciliation service "Aseman Lapset ry: ssa". It contains the basic principles that, ideally, all specialists working with children in government organizations — child protection services, police, children's clinics, schools, foster care, as well as in non-profit organizations — should follow.
The authors discuss conflicts from the perspective of the Kenneyin economic model, invented by the "knowledge management guru" Dave Snowden. To resolve a conflict, it is necessary to understand which zone it is in. All conflicts are divided into simple, complicated, and complex. The latter are conflicts for which there are no simple ready-made solutions; these will have to be found in the process through trial and error, and they will only be suitable for that specific situation.
The authors present their extensive experience working with conflicts and government organizations responsible for working with children in a simple and accessible language with numerous examples and quotes. They pay special attention to how to recognize hidden conflicts, taking into account factors such as the vulnerability of the adolescent — social, linguistic, psychological — which may make them more prone to conflictual behavior.
The phenomenon of "problematic" children, who are difficult to love, is considered; practical advice is given for professionals working with children on how to ask open resource questions that lead to restorative dialogue; the exceptional importance of the ability to listen to the adolescent and build trusting relationships with them and their parents is emphasized.