Used a system for coding 3rd-party participation in verbal conflicts to analyze routine family conflicts observed during dinner. Data from 52 families, with children ranging in age from 3 to 22 yrs, show that (1) girls were more likely than boys to intervene in all family disputes except marital conflicts; (2) mothers and fathers rarely sided against each other when intervening as 3rd parties; and (3) the 3rd-party strategies most commonly used corresponded with family roles: Fathers used authority strategies, mothers used mediational tactics, and children used distraction.