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Books & Strategies for Teaching Kids Problem-Solving Skills

by Elizabeth Harrison

I have a three-year-old who often gets frustrated when things don’t work out as she hoped. When she gets discouraged, we often turn to the simple phrase, “You can try again or ask for help.” By giving her these two familiar options, she feels empowered to make a choice and give it another go. Now that she’s old enough to manage her emotions, I’ve introduced a third option: “take a break,” where I encourage her to take belly breaths and compose herself before considering what’s next.

Here are some of my favorite ideas for helping kids learn to problem-solve:

    • Make a problem-solving toolkit together. This can be as simple as a poster with various strategies listed in writing or images tailored for your child. Examples of strategies might include:
      • Break down the problem into smaller steps.
      • Draw a picture or model.
      • Think about if you’ve done this before.
      • Guess and check.
    • Brainstorm the traits of a problem solver. Then consider ways you can work on developing those specific traits with your child. Who do you know in real life that shows these traits? Read biographies of people from history who’ve exemplified those traits. Being a good problem solver is as much about attitude as it is about intelligence, possibly even more!
    • Read stories and news articles that have an obvious conflict and resolution. As you read, pause at the problem and brainstorm potential solutions for the character/person in the text. You can even use the toolkit you created and act out possible responses. What character traits are being shown? For kiddos who are writing, consider using a problem/solution graphic organizer.

The titles featured in the collection below, which include picture books, board books, and an early reader, address skills and traits involved in problem-solving. These skills include managing frustration, fostering perseverance, embracing failure, and encouraging effort and productive struggle.