Encouraging Your Child To Solve Problems Independently

Having a child that can manage problems on their own terms can be hugely helpful for their development. They’re able to handle issues on their own, they can practice being resilient and they’re arming themselves with skills they can use while they’re growing up.

In this guide from a private school in Somerset, we take a look at the ways you can bring your child up with the knowledge they can handle problems independently.

Help your child identify problems

The first step towards learning how to work with problems is by effectively identifying them. That way, your child has already begun to acknowledge an issue and is now working to rectify it. They’re now able to take a step back and think about the situation for a moment before proceeding. These problems can be that your child’s forgotten their lunch one day, or they’re stuck on particular questions in their maths lessons.

Look through solutions together

By doing this you’re laying down a process that your child should try and follow as they’re navigating a problem. There may be a few solutions you’d want to consider, such as seeing if your child can talk to a teacher about their issues, or if there’s a contingency plan you and your child can put together if they’re feeling overwhelmed. It may seem like these solutions feel silly, but you’d be surprised how much they will help your child work on their problem solving skills.

Allow for mistakes and learning from them

Not all of the planned out solutions could work, so it’s worth reassuring your child and seeing where you can work on back up plans. Remind your child that not everything they try can work and it’s okay to make mistakes. Give them the care and support that your child needs at the time to get them focused on the next problem that arises, to improve their confidence and resilience.