The path to getting where you want isn’t always linear and there are obstacles along the way but there’s a brilliant lesson that comes along with them. They help children to practise their
problem-solving skills and put their creativity to good use. It’s a valuable skill as they will undoubtedly run into problems in their everyday life and having them can help them to be more independent. We’ve teamed up with an early years educator to share ways in which you can help your child to develop theirs.
There are various steps to problem solving and we do them regardless of whether we think about them or not. The first step is to define the problem. Without knowing what you’re faced with, you can’t really move forwards. This is the research stage. The next is to understand the cause so that you can work out how to get to the bottom of your problems and solve them. Once you have, you can put all of your ideas together and compare them before testing one of them out. Knowing the process can help children to deal with problems in a logical manner and not be thrown.
Play Games
To work on their problem-solving skills, your child will need to put theirs to the test and that means coming head-to-head with challenges. Games have obstacles for children to overcome which exercises the prefrontal cortex (the area of the brain that is responsible for problem solving). These can be games of any sort – video games, board games or even riddles that they have to decode and solve.
Work on Communication
Communication has a big role in problem solving as we’re not always able to fix things ourselves. It’s important for children to know this and that it’s okay to ask for help.
