Teaching Your Children Problem Solving

I have always believed it’s so important to teach our children from a very young age to problem solve, but I’m not talking only about maths problem or a word search in a magazine although they are problems that will definitely teach them lots and help with their academic education. Life isn’t only about problem solving when it comes to education

Our children need to learn that problem solving will be in every part of their lives so teaching them young problem solving techniques is vital. It will equip them though the minefield of those difficult teenage years, we all know those years of 13 years old to 16 years old where you don’t think you fit in, the typical square peg trying to fit a round hole. Trying to find yourself who you are? What you want? It’s a million problems that need solving as a teenager to help you to move on to adulthood.

We as parents I believe have a responsibility to teach our young children that whatever problems life throws at our children at whatever age they know how to handle it.

In our home my wife or myself are forever stepping between six year arguing twins, it usually starts five minutes after they have woken up. They both decide there is a toy or something else they must have. This is the perfect opportunity I think to tried to teach them the art of compromise, a life lesson that will always come in handy as they get older, their will be times in their lives when compromise will save the day and keep everybody happy including them.

As I have said we teach our children how to work out a maths equation in school which of course is important, but we need to teach them how to solve relationship issues, by that I mean obviously the romantic issues which I’m sure they face many of them in their lives, but they can learn about relationship solving when they are young with their siblings. It’s a great grounding to solve relationships when you are young with your siblings, this will consequently and undoubtedly help them when they are older and enter the minefield of romance.

Problem solving is a part of life that will always come up, if we don’t equip our children to deal with all sorts of problems they will find life tougher than it needs to be.

My parents or at least my mother as didn’t know my father as a child never once sat me down and talked to me about all the problems that life can throw at you, actually she never really spoke to me, I guess I was inconvenience that she couldn’t live the life she wanted which centred entirely around her. The result of which produced a out of control teenager with not the slightest bit of respect for anybody or anything.

The lesson I learnt from that was not to be the same sort of parent, I fairly confident I haven’t been the same sort of parent. One is working a very good job, and two other children are in university, and my six year old twins I would take anywhere knowing that they wouldn’t cause an once of trouble. I got something right which I’m immensely proud of.

Do you think we should be teaching our young children problem solving when it comes life. I would love to hear.