How to Build Problem-Solving Skills in Children

When a child says, “I can’t do it,” most of us have an almost automatic response: we want to help.

We explain the next step, point out what they’ve missed or show them how we would solve the problem. It comes from a good place, but sometimes the most useful thing we can do is resist the temptation to provide the answer quite so quickly.

Problem-solving is something children develop by solving problems: encountering something they don’t immediately know how to do, thinking about what they already know, trying an approach and, sometimes, discovering that it doesn’t work.

And those opportunities don’t need to come from formal schoolwork. Puzzles, games, riddles, practical problems and everyday family life can all give children opportunities to practise thinking for themselves.

Give children problems worth solving

A good problem is different from a question a child either knows or doesn’t know the answer to.

It requires them to do something with what they know. They might need to spot a pattern, make a connection, eliminate possibilities, work backwards or try several ideas before finding one that works.

This is one reason I love puzzles. A Number Tower with a few missing numbers, a logic puzzle with several clues or a riddle that initially seems impossible creates a very simple challenge: Can I work this out?

The important thing is finding the right level of difficulty. Too easy and there is very little thinking required; impossibly difficult and frustration quickly takes over. Somewhere in between is that lovely point where a child has to stop, think and persist, but has a realistic chance of getting there.

Don't give the answer too quickly

This is probably the hardest part for parents — and I include myself in that.

When we can see exactly what a child needs to do next, it can feel painfully slow to watch them struggle. But if we immediately explain the solution, we've solved the problem rather than helping them learn how to solve it.

Instead, try giving them a little more time than feels natural. If they really are stuck, a question can often be more useful than an answer.

What do you already know? What have you tried? Is there another way you could start? Which possibilities can you rule out? What does this clue tell you?

The aim isn't to leave children floundering. It's to give just enough support to get their thinking moving again without taking the thinking away from them.

Encourage children to explain their thinking

Getting the right answer is satisfying, but how a child arrived there can be even more interesting.

Asking “How did you work that out?” encourages children to put their thinking into words. Sometimes they will have used exactly the method you expected; sometimes they'll have found a completely different route.

Explaining a solution can also reveal whether a child genuinely understands what they've done or has arrived at an answer through guesswork. More importantly, it helps make the process of thinking visible. Children begin to recognise that solving a problem involves strategies they can use again: looking for patterns, breaking something into smaller parts, using what they already know or eliminating what cannot be true.

Over time, “I don't know” can start to become “What could I try?”

Let them discover that the first idea doesn't always work

Children can become very used to questions having one correct method and one correct answer. Real problem-solving is often messier.

An approach might not work. A guess might be wrong. They might have to rub something out, start again or reconsider an assumption.

That's useful.

If every wrong turn is immediately corrected by an adult, children have fewer opportunities to discover for themselves why an approach hasn't worked. When the stakes are low — a puzzle at the kitchen table rather than a test — getting something wrong can simply become part of working it out.

We can help by treating mistakes with curiosity rather than disappointment: “Hmm, that hasn't worked. What could we try instead?”

Look for problem-solving in everyday life

You don't need a special workbook or an hour set aside for “problem-solving practice”. Children encounter small problems all the time.

How can we divide 15 strawberries fairly between five people? What's the quickest route to walk into town? Will everything fit into this suitcase? If we need to leave at 8.20 and it takes 35 minutes to get ready, when do we need to start? Which container will hold the most water?

Board games and card games are particularly useful because children have to make decisions, anticipate what might happen next and adapt when someone else does something unexpected. Construction toys, cooking, treasure hunts, riddles and puzzles all provide different kinds of problems too.

The common thread isn't the activity itself. It's that the child has something to figure out.

Build confidence through small successes

Children who think they are “bad” at something can become reluctant to try, particularly when the answer isn't immediately obvious.

That's why the experience of successfully working something out matters.

A child who spends five minutes puzzling over something and eventually cracks it hasn't simply found an answer. They've also gathered a small piece of evidence about themselves: I didn't know how to do that at first, but I worked it out.

Those experiences accumulate.

We can reinforce them by praising the process rather than simply saying “clever girl” or “well done”. You kept trying even when the first idea didn't work. You spotted an important clue there. I liked the way you tried a different approach.

The message becomes that successful problem-solving isn't about being the person who instantly knows the answer. It's about being willing to think.

Making problem-solving part of the week

Problem-solving is woven through Friday Brain Building Club for exactly this reason. Each week's sheet gives children a mixture of familiar activities and new challenges, including logic puzzles, Number Towers, verbal reasoning, riddles and other problems that require them to stop and work something out.

I don't expect children to find every question easy. In fact, I wouldn't want them to. The aim is to create small, manageable opportunities to think, get stuck, try again and experience the satisfaction of cracking something independently — without it feeling like another piece of homework.

Sometimes the best thing we can put in front of a child isn't another answer to learn. It's an interesting problem to solve.

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