5 Effective Ways To Teach Your Child Problem Solving Skills

Problem solving is a very important skill that your child needs to develop. We all face a variety of problems, both big and small, in our daily lives. If your child doesn’t develop problem solving skills and they rely on you to fix everything for them, they will really struggle in later life. In the early days, they will find it harder to learn at school but as they get older, they will find it harder to do things like managing money, navigating relationships, and finding work. The sooner you can help them to start developing their problem solving skills, the more successful they will be in later life. These are some of the best ways to encourage problem solving skills in your children. 

Let Them Make Mistakes

This is by far the most important thing to remember. We’re all protective over our children but if you are a helicopter parent that watches their every move and intervenes every time they are about to make a mistake, they will never learn. All of their problems will be solved by you and they will not be able to develop their own problem solving skills, so you have to let them make their own mistakes from time to time. When they do make a mistake, use it as a learning experience and explain to them how they could approach things differently next time around. This is so much more valuable than solving everything for them. 

Play puzzle-based games

Puzzle-based games are an excellent starting point to introduce children to problem-solving. These learning games require players to analyze the situation, strategize, and think critically to find solutions. Whether it’s assembling jigsaw puzzles, solving logic riddles, or navigating through interactive digital puzzles, these activities engage their minds in a fun yet challenging way. As your child successfully overcomes obstacles in these games, their problem-solving abilities will naturally improve.

Play Board Games

Board games are a great family activity that gets everybody away from the TV for a while and creates more social family time. But they’re also a great way to encourage problem solving skills. Some board games are based solely on luck, but most of them require problem solving of some kind. Check out these great games, for example, which all help to get the brain working and teach your child how to solve problems. Board games that you all play together is a great way of developing their skills because kids learn by example, and seeing the way that you tackle problems will help them to work out their own way. 

When your children are a little bit older, you should consider teaching them how to play chess and playing with them. Chess offers a new problem each time you play and there are almost endless ways to get around it. They have to adapt their strategy as you make your moves, so it’s a great way to develop more advanced problem solving and critical thinking skills in older children. 

Play Video Games

Video games get a bit of a bad reputation and some parents think that their child shouldn’t play them at all. But the truth is, video games are actually good for a child’s development as long as they are playing the right games and you limit their time with them. They’re particularly good for problem solving because a lot of games have puzzles in them. Even the games that don’t have puzzles require you to get past obstacles and overcome challenges. Take, car racing games, for example; you have to make split second decisions about how to get past your opponents and take the lead, or how you should take a corner. Playing these video games is a great way to develop problem solving skills naturally, and it’s never difficult to convince your kids to play games. 

Read Books

A lot of kid’s stories have a strong focus on problem solving so reading books together is a great way to develop their skills. For example, in the Harry Potter books, the children are constantly faced with new challenges and they often face them alone, without the help of the adults around them. Reading stories like this to your children will give them good examples of the thought process involved in tackling a new problem. After reading, you can talk to your child about what you have just read and ask them how they would have faced those problems. This encourages them to start thinking about their own problem solving strategies. 

Share Your Problems

If you share simple problems with your child and get them to weigh in, you help them to develop their skills further. For example, if you are going to do a DIY project, get them to come and watch (as long as it is safe, of course). They can observe as you solve problems and you can explain to them what you’re doing and why, so they understand how you came to your solution. 

If you start doing these things now, your children will have better problem solving skills and that will help them in later life.