Do you remember what happened the last time you got into a fight as a youngster, either with your siblings, someone in your apartment or in the classroom? Chances are that an adult intervened, be it elders at your house or apartment, or a teacher, if you were at school.
A scientific study by researchers at Hiroshima University in Japan, with participation from early childhood educators from both Japan and the U.S., however, suggests that this might not always be the best strategy to deal with the situation. Their findings, which have been published in the Early Childhood Education Journal, suggests that a hands-off approach when children fight might not only serve the purpose, but also create opportunities for autonomy and encourage ownership for solutions.
The research, which was an attempt to explore and understand why Japanese early childhood educators do not intervene in such situations, offers a new possibility that can be implemented in other countries based on their cultural and regulatory requirements.
Mimamoru approach
It stems from a pedagogical strategy that the Japanese called mimamoru. A portmanteau of the Japanese words mi, meaning watch, and mamoru, meaning guard or protect, it corresponds to a method of teaching by just watching.
As a result, adults in Japan, including educators, intentionally allow kids to handle their own disagreements, thus promoting learning through voluntary explorations and actions. Even though it isn’t part of Japan’s official curriculum, it is used as a practical guideline by many practitioners.
Children's goodness
While the mimamoru approach might seem counter-intuitive and even look passive, it trusts in children’s inherent goodness and their ability to learn from social interactions, both good and bad, that take place every day.
The researchers, however, stressed on the fact that watching doesn't take precedence over the safety of the children and that intervention should take place if squabbles are taking a rather violent turn.
So while fighting constantly does no good, there might have been a learning opportunity when we were inadvertently drawn into those occasional tussles as a child. You might also want to use the mimamoru strategy the next time you are taking care of any group of children.
