Tag: Problem Solving

What is Problem-Solving And Importance of Imparting Problem-Solving Skills in Overall Child Development

Posted on by Pallavi Prakash Kumar in Parenting, Problem Solving in Young Kids
Blog on 'What is Problem-Solving And Importance of Imparting Problem-Solving Skills in Overall Child Development'

In today’s unpredictable world of accelerating changes, we are faced with challenges and problems every now and then. While education and qualifications prepare one for the job market, what really prepares a person for this world? Is it the nitty-gritty of routines, everyday tasks, puzzling relationships, or unexpected blockages? What do you think works in this messy mesh?

Having tons of questions about different things is common. In this backdrop, solving problems, understanding the facts, and a reasoning ability appears to be a skill that smoothens everyday living. Enhanced creative thinking in the direction of sorting out both routine and unimagined hackles helps.

So, what is problem-solving? What is the need of learning it consciously? Why suddenly such a thing has come into existence, and how does it work?

Problem creators are common, but problem solvers are very rare! So, let’s turn it all around for our children and us! Let’s embrace the skill of unlocking new and existing! Let’s learn what problem-solving skills are!

What is Problem-solving?

Definition of is Problem Solving- It simply refers to the process of finding a solution to a problem. A person uses his knowledge, experience and the information available to them to solve the problem/s. Therefore, problem-solving is related to the thought processes involved in finding a solution to a given problem. They can be simple or complex.

It simply refers to the process of finding a solution to a problem. A person uses his knowledge, experience and the information available to them to solve the problem/s. Therefore, problem-solving is related to the thought processes involved in finding a solution to a given problem. They may be as simple as knowing how to blow up a balloon or as complex as starting a second business.

Having problems is common, and it subsists with anyone and everyone. But solving in a way that they don’t drain us is an art and a skill. An art to come up with solution/s ensuring that the same problem doesn’t show up again, or even if it does, one can deal with it with the greatest ease. This art is known as problem-solving.

What are problem-solving skills? Problem-solving skills refer to specific thinking skills that a person employs when faced with a challenge. Some problems require the use of multiple skills like decision-making skills, fiscal management, negotiation skills, analytical skills (or more) to solve them, and simple ones may require only one or two skills.

Why do children need problem-solving skills early on?

Early childhood development sets the stage for an individual’s future learning, behaviour, and health. Early childhood experiences structure the brain and a child’s ability to learn, interact with others, and respond to daily challenges. Of all the other factors involved in the growth process, problem-solving is one of the most important aspects of a child’s development. Teaching and developing problem-solving skills early on trains a child’s brain to solve problems, create solutions and make faster and better decisions which thereby boosts a child’s confidence, improves their academic performance, and helps them become more resilient to handle complex challenges and make wise decisions as they mature.

Children who can solve their problems independently tend to be happier, more optimistic, and individualistic. They are not easily discouraged or heartbroken by unyielding situations. Thus, it is essential to start developing problem-solving mindsets and skills in children at a young age.

Significance of problem-solving in a child’s development

Importance of Problem solving in a child's development- 1) Problem-solving is a learnable skill and the beauty of learning anything in the early years is that it happens at a natural pace, in an effortless way. 2) Encouraging problem-solving skills in the growing years helps a child to feel equipped and more in control of their overwhelming emotions when faced with any challenge or a problem
  • Problem-solving is a learnable skill, but it cannot be developed instantly. Most of the learning takes place during the early formative years of a child. The benefits of early learning last a very long time, and the beauty of learning anything in the early years is that it happens at a natural pace, in an effortless way. It’s like learning to play an instrument or learning new words. A child’s play itself is full of opportunities that involve solving various tricky situations and finding solutions to problems.
  • Encouraging problem-solving skills in the growing years helps a child to feel equipped and more in control of their overwhelming emotions when faced with any challenge or a problem. Children with a problem-solving mindset are able to solve problem/s on their own; their minds are more active, productive and creatively occupied.

When problem-solving mindset is encouraged and kept in habit, it becomes an indispensable part of their personality. Children, if taught this skill, can deal with subjects with brilliant reasoning and are sure to excel. Consequently, their positive growth is assured as solutions come rapidly to their minds.

Can we teach Problem Solving to young children as young as 3-year-old and less?

The answer is yes, problem-solving can be taught to young children by exposing them to various creative challenges and situations; and through free play.

 You don’t necessarily sit with your 3-year-old child and talk to or “teach” them all about problem-solving. Instead, you would want to create an opportunity for your child to develop this skill. Thinking and finding a solution in your brain is a bit like training your muscles over and over. And eventually, your muscles become more robust and are able to handle more “weight” easily.

So, a child develops problem-solving skills in two ways:

  •  Incidentally – through free play
  • And through the guided creative opportunities you offer, as a parent 

Encouraging thinking through games and activities will help your child develop stronger skills than casually making things happen.

Wondering how young minds can practise problem-solving?

The answer is simple. This can be done by exposing children to more and more age-appropriate real-time situational challenges and solving multiple types of questions, puzzles, and reasoning (for more such ideas, follow the link here). Always start with the easy ones, as it helps in boosting their confidence and in generating interest. Gradually increase the level. 

What are the Steps to effective Problem-Solving That Can Help young kids?

Here are the 6 Steps to effective problem-solving for young kids:

6 Steps to effective problem-solving that can help young kids are: 1) Validate their emotions and let them relax 2) Identify the problem 3) Help generate solutions 4) Determine the benefits and drawbacks of each solution 5) Choose a solution 6) Give it a try
  1. Validate their emotions and let them relax

It is more important to validate a child’s emotions before engaging in any conversation or directly getting into problem-solving. Ask them how they feel or what they want before addressing the issue and defining the problem.

  1. Identify the problem

Now, engage in identifying and defining the problem politely to get your children’s attention. Allow them to look into the problem several times, without interrupting them while they’ve first been clearly introduced to the problem. Encourage them to solve it on their own.

  1. Help generate solutions

Let them come up with a bunch of possible solutions. If your child finds it difficult to come up with ideas, you can help them generate solutions by asking questions that stimulate brainstorming. Put across to them that even the silliest answer can be a possible solution, so they need to consider all possible solutions to the problem. And having multiple solutions always helps in choosing the best.

  1. Determine the benefits and drawbacks of each solution

Support your child in assessing potential positive and negative outcomes for each chosen solution.

  1. Choose a solution

Encourage your child to choose a solution after weighing the potential positive and negative outcomes.

  1. Give it a try

Ask them to apply the solution and see what happens. Allow them to develop and test out their ideas one by one to gauge what worked and what didn’t.

Is learning problem-solving in the early stage of life beneficial? In what ways?

Learning is a continuous process. This process starts right after we are born, and recent studies suggest that learning in a child starts happening even before that. Things settle as sharp and permanent in our minds when learned in the early formative years of our lives. What can be the reason? Well! ‘least distractions’ can be one. So more or less, the basics of any specific learning given in the earlier years of life to a child, as early as 6 months or starting at the age of 2 years, can become a permanent part of one’s life. 

Thus, problem-solving basics can be put in the minds of tiny tots to help them prepare for their future. Mind at that age is more like a clean slate; anything written on that slate for the first time will have its darkest impression. Building blocks, like & unlike patterns, identifying shapes and sounds, and having cognitive skills support them in picking up new skills. Thus helping to form the basis of problem-solving skills and a problem-solving mindset.

Promoting activities at home that help develop problem-solving skills in the early years of life will always be beneficial.       

To Conclude

Make the problem-solving process a fun one so that children can come up with brilliant solutions. This way, they will be able to view problems not as “Problems!” but as exciting challenges worth participating in and solving.

We parents need to encourage the problem-solving mindset in our little ones and promote independent problem-solving, early on.

Happy Parenting!

Credit note: All images have been designed on Canva

Ten Activities that help develop Problem-Solving Skills in Young kids

Posted on by Pallavi Prakash Kumar in Narratives by Pallavi Prakash Kumar
Blog on Activities that help develop Problem-Solving Skills in Young kids. It has ten activities outlined in the mail.

As a parent, I intend to raise my child as a socially and emotionally intelligent being, one who reaches his highest potential in all walks of life. I strongly believe that early childhood is the best period to impart and develop the necessary and all-important skills, viz: critical thinking, creativity, communication and problem-solving abilities. As a result, I am always on the lookout for ways, methods, tools, techniques and resources that can bring out the best in me as a parent-teacher and my child as a young learner.

Here I bring to you ten activities that will help develop problem-solving skills in young children:

  1. Building with Blocks
Early childhood is the best time to nurture a child's imagination, problem-solving skills and creativity, nothing better than playing and building with blocks and Lego bricks there can be for young kids.

Building blocks are toys that come in different shapes, sizes, types, materials (such as wood, foam, cardboard, silicone or plastic) and for various play purposes that can help children in their construction games. And when the building blocks are a bit more sophisticated, as LEGO are, a much more comprehensive range of things can be built. Early childhood is the best time to nurture a child’s imagination and through it, creativity, as young children have more active imaginations than adults.

During a child’s free playtime, let them experiment with the blocks, identify and sort blocks based on colour, shape, and size; let them build free because anything a child builds or rebuilds requires thinking on how to put pieces together and bring ideas to (closest) its desirous shape, design or function.

During guided playtime, you can challenge them to build something you’re sure they’ve seen before. As they begin to visualize the thing in their minds, you can sit back and watch them attempt the challenge. Or how about offering them a book that has fun ideas and can get children thinking and building for themselves or people around them! One such book is ‘100 Ways to Rebuild the World‘ by Helen Murray.

  1. Playing Memory Games with Cards
Playing memory games with cards help in improving a child's memory and hence helps in enhancing problem solving skills.

Memory games help in testing and improving a child’s memory. There are different kinds of memory games. You can begin with matching card games.

Place the cards face down on the table. Each player turns over two cards to find a matching pair. If they do not match, the cards are turned face down and returned to their original position. If they match, the player keeps the cards and continues the game. When all the cards are paired, the player with the most pairs of cards wins the game.

The key in the matching card game is to remember where the cards were; that’s why it’s called the memory card game because if you can remember where the cards were, you’re going to have a lot better chance of finding a match and winning the game.

We use UNO playing cards which is easily available on Amazon.

  1. Putting Together Puzzle Pieces
Children must have a daily (if possible!) exposure to puzzles. as it helps in developing problem-solving skills in young kids.

Solving puzzles are an effective way to provide children with exciting learning opportunities. It helps develop fundamental skills, such as shape recognition, mental focus, decision making, patience, and attaining a sense of accomplishment. Children must have a daily (if possible!) exposure to puzzles. Games and puzzles like Sudoku, jigsaw puzzles, Math puzzles, Chess, Scrabble, and Rubik’s cube are great for developing thinking and reasoning skills.

For young children, starting with jigsaw puzzles (picture based as per the age group) is a great way, and for toddlers, shape sorters, peg puzzles, shape stackers are the best, and if they are wooden ones, nothing like it!

Shakuntala Devi’s Puzzle books are famous in India, but they are for elder children. Solving reasoning puzzles is also important for children of 6+ years.

  1. Practising activities in Activity Work Books
Practising activities from Activity books help kids develop a wide range of skills, including reading, understanding, problem-solving skills and critical thinking.

Activity books help children develop a wide range of skills, including reading, understanding, and critical thinking. They engage in various steps to complete an activity, which naturally improves their cognitive skills.

A few of my favourites are here as an example:

  • Spot the hidden object:

Set up a goal for your child and get them started with the activity.

For example, show them a situation in which a monkey has lost all its bananas.

And then say, “Let’s find those bananas for the monkey.” Now, let them search through the picture and encourage them further after they’ve found each one to stir up their interest.

  • Spot the difference between two pictures or spot the difference between two given sentences, dot to dot activities, pattern matching

These are some of the other great exercises to get the children practising new and different that target and hone other skills.

Activity workbooks for children are easily available locally in India or on Amazon (type in the search bar ‘activity work books’ and you’ll have lots of them to filter from but our favourite publications are Wonder House Books, Navneet Publications, Dreamland Publications and Om books).

One more thing, suggested age group isn’t only the important factor in making the purchase decisions; flip through the pages, read reviews and personally (if you can) go through the content to determine a book’s appropriateness for your child.

  1. Attentively executing what ‘Simon Says’
Attentively executing what 'Simon says' offers multiple benefits like improving listening and grasping skills, developing sportsmanship, fostering spontaneity, following instructions, and correctly executing tasks.

In the game ‘Simon Says’, one person is designated as “Simon,” while the others are the follower-players. Simon, standing in front of the group, instructs and asks the players to follow instructions carefully and consciously. The players obey commands that start with the words “Simon Says.”

If Simon instructs, “Simon says touch your head, shoulder, knees and toes”, all players must follow that. Players must not move if Simon says “move” without saying the words “Simon says” first. Those who move are out of the game.

This game helps children learn to distinguish between which instructions to follow and which ones to ignore. Playing this fun game offers multiple benefits like improving listening and grasping skills, developing sportsmanship, fostering spontaneity, following instructions, and correctly executing tasks.

  1. Playing Board Games
Playing Board games are a great way to develop problem-solving skills in kids.

Childhood must be a combination of good food and board games, what do you say!

Playing board games is a great way to develop problem-solving skills in children.

In addition to bringing a lot of fun, board games indirectly help children develop valuable skills. For example, games like Snakes and Ladders and Ludo help children develop persistence in the face of failure.

Monopoly (also known as a Business Game), a contemporary game based on strategy and tactical skills, helps a child with financial literacy, the most important in building 21st-century life skills. It is never too early for a child to have financial skills and budgeting knowledge. It sharpens the mind of the young ones and teaches them monetary control. The feeling of being organised and having complete control of your assets is what Monopoly promotes.

  1. Coming out of Mazes
Playing maze games improves strategic thinking and motor skills, which significantly help in improving problem-solving skills of young kids.

Maze games can take various forms and can be done even without an activity book.

If you wish to give your child a more realistic experience, you can create a large maze on a walkway. Make a few passages, one or two of which will lead nowhere. Ask your child to get herself/himself out of a maze!

This kind of game improves strategic thinking and motor skills, which significantly help in improving problem-solving skills.

  1. Reading Story Books
Children learn a lot from stories, and reading aloud story books can be one of the best ways to nurture a child's imagination and help develop problem-solving skills in young kids

Children learn a lot from stories, and reading aloud can be one of the best ways to nurture a child’s imagination. Reading to a child has proven to be “brain-changing.”

Young children instinctively love listening to stories that have rhyming words, rhythmic lines and repeated sounds. You can make the story session more interesting by asking situational questions like

What would you do if you were that old man?

Do you think the monkey was right and why?

Questions like these allow children to think, and make connections with things they already know, decide if character/s resonated with them or not, and understand the moral of the story.

As parents, making sure what side of the story children are learning from is really important, and we can gauge that only by asking them situational questions.

  1. Playing the classic- Hide and Seek
Playing the classic- Hide and seek help develop rational thinking and problem solving skills in young kids.

Hide and seek is one of the traditional and well-known games played by one and all, irrespective of the age group. It is a game of rational thinking and patience. The finder has to think and memorise all the spots where the people could hide. At the same time, the hiders have to look for the best places to hide quietly, without making a sound. Patiently waiting is also an essential part of this game.

It helps in enhancing intuitive thinking and improved attention too. If your child is tired of playing indoor games, this game would be a great saviour!

  1. Engaging in Imaginative Plays
Engaging kids in imaginative free plays sparks their imagination and helps them relate to the world around them much better, hence help young kids develop problem-solving skills.

Engage your child in imaginative plays and encourage them to look around for objects or everyday items to utilize for their play instead of their usual toys. It can help spark their imagination even more and help them relate to the world around them much better.

For example:

a) ‘laundry baskets’, which are used to store dirty or used clothes before washing, can be used by your child to sit inside to enjoy drive-thru experiences, Vroom! Vroom!

b) A ‘stick’ in the hand can become a magic wand or a cricket bat or a sword.

c)  Vegetables and fruits could be used as currency for Monopoly.

Concluding now…

The games listed above were chosen from a large selection of games, toys and books that can both entertain and educate young ones. These are also the ones we expose our children at home to. You can create similar games based on these concepts to make your child’s learning process fun and super easy.

Happy Parenting!

Disclaimer: None of the links mentioned above is affiliate links or for promotional purposes. It is only to ease your search process.