How to Teach Children Problem-Solving Skills 

21st February 2023

For children to learn how to effectively solve problems, they should first learn the following relationships: 

  • Cause and effect 
  • Decisions and consequences 
  • Input and output 
  • Effort and outcome 

They can learn those by undergoing a variety of experiences and being active during playtime. That’s because during playtime, they have lots of time and opportunities to try things out and learn more about cause-effect relationships (e.g. what happens if I throw this ball?). 

Why playtime is an essential part of early childhood development 

Children, as well as adults, learn problem-solving skills through experience. The difference is that we adults already have a wealth of experience and our thinking has already developed enough for us to imagine the many consequences of our own actions. In contrast, children are still trying to make sense of the world around them. They still lack the experience and they’re still unfamiliar with how one thing affects the other in most cases. 

One way for children to make up for their lack of experience is by participating in several extracurricular activities and by immersing in plenty of playtime. This can include both structured (where there are objectives or the materials and environment are constrained) and unstructured playtime. In the latter, children are further encouraged to explore and pursue what interests them most. This can help further build their self-esteem where they can try new things and learn more about cause-effect relationships. 

Importance of everyday experiences and opportunities 

During playtime and as children take part in several activities, they will start to get a better idea of how the environment and objects work and how their actions produce consequences. They develop this “intuition” through their everyday experiences and not just through one-time events. As a result, it’s important for them to have plenty of time and opportunities to explore by themselves. 

In other words, it’s about letting children figure things out on their own. Structured and scheduled activities are still important as these complement the natural learning style of young children. Both the playtime and academic curriculum work hand in hand in helping children achieve their developmental milestones in reasonable time.