How Many Ways Can We Solve This Problem?by Kori Rodley Irons | More from this Blogger 16 Mar 2007 05:35 PM Teaching problem-solving skills is one of the challenges of parenting. If we are to send competent, capable adults out into the "real world," they need to be able to face life's difficulties and solve problems. One tool for teaching kids to be good problem-solvers is to try to identify at least three different ways to solve a problem that presents itself. Helping kids understand that problems can be looked at from different angles and that there may be more than one possible "solution" is a great way to approach coaching problem-solving. You can even make a game out of it by presenting a problem and seeing how many different solutions you can come up with. For example, say your child gets up and finds that the household is out of cereal. Instead of allowing the child to focus on what is wrong, you can encourage her to come up with all the different things she could have for breakfast INSTEAD of cereal. It's easy for a parent to just say, "Oh, have toast and a banana ." But, asking the child, "What else could you eat instead of cereal?" can be more productive. Let things get fun and crazy--Why not pizza? Why not a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Creativity and being able to look outside the "typical" are important elements of strong problem-solving skills. Some problems can be presented to the family to come up with solutions. Where a parent might ordinarily just make a decision and solve a problem on her own, presenting it to the family at a meeting or over dinner can encourage some skill development-- "I have to decide what to do about this problem I'm having at work" can be a great opening to a family discussion and a chance for everyone to help come up with three different ways to solve the problem. Good problem-solving skills make kids more resilient and resiliency is one of the keys to success in the often bumpy world of adult living. Playing "How many ways can we solve this problem?" can give your kids solid practice learning how to be top-notch problem-solvers. See Also: Modeling Resiliency and Learning to Bob and Weave Learn more about Kori Rodley Irons  Bio has been removed by administrator Relevantparenting tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags flexibility, problem solving, risiliency Discuss this article
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