3. Use everyday moments

As parents, you can help your children develop problem-solving skills in their day-to-day interactions. Whether at home, in the grocery store, or going through your daily routines, like mealtime or bath time, there are plenty of opportunities to teach your children how to solve problems.

Kids will encounter problems everywhere they go. For instance, they may have to figure out how to share one toy truck among several kids or decide how to arrange their sleeping area in the classroom so that their classmates can nap. You can also encourage your child to suggest ways to distribute the food package for their pet fish.

While these situations may seem easy to adults, children need to use trial and error to arrive at the correct solutions. By providing them with opportunities to practice problem-solving skills, you can help your children become more confident and capable of handling challenges they may face in the future.

4. Ask Open Ended Questions

Children always have problems that need to be solved immediately by their parents. But if parents constantly answer their child’s questions, it will prevent them from brainstorming to find solutions next time.

Instead of answering all of your child’s questions, you should delay for a while by asking your child open-ended questions.

Encouraging open-ended questions can stimulate children’s problem-solving skills and foster critical thinking. Here are open-ended questions to provoke your children’s problem-solving thinking:

“Why do you think happened?”
“What do you think will happen if…”
“What might happen if we tried a different approach?”
“Can you come up with as many solutions as possible for this situation?”
“What are the pros and cons of each option you’ve thought of?”
“Why did you choose to…”
“What tools could you use to help solve this problem?”
“How would you explain this problem and your proposed solution to someone else?”
“What do you think caused the change?”
“How can we break this problem down into smaller parts?”
“What are some creative ways to approach this challenge?”
“How can we test your solution to see if it works?”
“What might happen if we don’t address this problem?”
“How can you involve others and collaborate to find a solution?”
“What potential challenges or obstacles might we encounter along the way, and how can we prepare for them?”

5. Model problem solving

Preschoolers often look to their parents as role models and learn by observing their behaviour.

It’s a great idea to involve your child in age-appropriate family decisions, such as planning outings, selecting meals, or budgeting for expenses. This will encourage your child to participate and share their ideas and thoughts on various issues, such as:

How to pack luggages in the most compact and complete way?

What meal should we prepare for the trip?

Which destination and what fun activities should we choose?

Afterwards, explain your final choices to your child for reference. This helps them make better decisions for their future work.