Family Wellness Tip

Problem...Solver

How many problems come up in a day? Small or big. Out of toothpaste, now what? I need to get gas, will I have enough time before work? I am hungry, what am I going to eat? If you think about it, you might get tired. We problem solve so many times in a day that we almost do it without thinking. That is not true, though. The truth is, we've had these things happen so many times that we can solve them in seconds. If they haven't happened before, we follow the same routine of how to problem solve AND use our past experiences to help.

How do we teach this to a kid who opens the fridge door and says there's no milk, when you know good and well you just bought a carton yesterday? We just need to practice and practice running through the problem solving steps.

Problem solving skills will help with kids finding the milk you just bought. These skills will also help kids in their friendships. These skills will also help kids manage their money. These skills are key to effectively managing the only thing you have control over...your choices. Sometimes the choice is how you will respond to someone. Sometimes the choice is what you are going to be when you grow up. We always have a choice. Problem solve to find out which is the best choice.

The poster on the right is from our Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum, Second Step. We use their program in our Pre-K thru 8 schools. When your kid is working through the problem solving part of the program, you can support them. You can have them help you make decisions about things in the house. You can have them make decision about homework times or friendships.

Below, the steps to problem solving broken down and explained a little more.

Steps to problem solve:

  1. Identify the problem.

    • You can't find a solution to something when you don't know what the problem is. Sometimes it is hard to find and will take some trial and error. Sometimes it is easy and you can head right to safe solutions.

    • Have your kid say the problem out loud. "The problem is______."

  2. Brainstorm.

    • Come up with as many ideas, not more than 10 because then it is hard to make a choice AND it makes the pro/con part even longer.

    • All ideas are considered, even if they seem silly or immature.

  3. Pros & Cons.

    • List all positive and negative things about each solution.

  4. Choose.

    • Pick one solution and go with it.

  5. Evaluate.

    • Did it work? Do you need to make a small change? Do you need to go back and choose another solution?

    • This is an important step. Knowing if a solution worked for a problem will make the process much quicker next time. Next time there is a problem that is the same, you know exactly how to fix it successfully. Next time there is a problem that is not the same but close, you have some ideas that might work.