Teachers, parents, carers, school counsellors and family support workers may find this printable friendship repair poster useful when helping children handle fall-outs, friendship problems and peer conflict. It gives children a simple five-step pathway for calming down, listening, speaking respectfully, solving the issue together and moving forward after a disagreement.
When a child has had an argument with a friend, it can be hard for them to know what to do next without blaming, withdrawing or trying to win. The friendship fix it guide sets out a clear sequence: pause, listen, speak up, solve the problem and move forward.
The poster breaks each step into child-friendly actions. Children are encouraged to take deep breaths, walk away if they need space, listen without interrupting, explain how the situation affected them, compromise and accept apologies when they feel ready.
Helpful sentence starters are included for real conversations, such as asking, ‘Can we talk about what happened?’, using ‘I felt upset when…’ statements, checking the other person’s point of view and asking how to fix things together. These prompts make it suitable for social skills work, restorative conversations and classroom relationship repair.
Most suited to primary school children and younger teens, it could be printed for a classroom wall, used in a pastoral support session, added to a calm corner, or shared with parents and carers for use at home. It is especially relevant for children who need visual reminders for managing friendship disagreements, conflict resolution and emotional regulation. Credited to Edita Stiborova.
