This is a collaborative post.
Much as I would love to think that my girls’ lives will be plain sailing and lots of fun, there are bound to be hiccups along the way. We’ve always been very much about equipping our children with the problem solving skills to overcome obstacles and deal with difficult situations so they can move on quickly.
Here are some effective strategies from a private school in Gloucestershire to teach your child to overcome obstacles.
1. Positivity
We often talk about how things could be worse when a situation or event doesn’t quite go as planned.
Tips:
- Praise Effort and how they tackled the situation, not just the end result.
- Learn from Mistakes: Teach your child to see mistakes as learning experiences rather than failures. What would we do differently next time and can we prevent the obstacle from happening again.
2. Challenges
Encourage our children to take on new challenges and view them as opportunities to learn and grow. When something unexpected happens, we talk about how we didn’t expect it but aren’t we glad it did as we’ve hopefully learned something new.
3. Teach Problem-Solving Skills
We ask our girls what they think would be the best way to solve the problem first. We also ask if they want help from us or whether they want a go at solving the problem themselves first. Sometimes this can be working out how they are going to do more than one thing at a time or writing a message to their teacher or supervisor, then letting us check it.
4. How do they feel?
We want our children to know it’s ok to feel emotions about a situation not turning out as expected. They may have really been looking forward to going somewhere and it wasn’t as good as they hoped – its ok to be disappointed or even angry if someone let them down.
We also talk about how they feel about the way they dealt with the situation – Its good to be proud of how they acted, that they were kind and that they learnt how to react in future.
5. Be Supportive
This is hugely important in this house. We need our girls to be able to come to us and discuss problems or situations they are not sure how to deal with.
As parents, we may not always agree with the best way forward either and want our girls to know that we don’t always have the answer straightaway. We will always be happy to talk through alternatives and come to decisions about what to do next though.
8. Encourage a Support Network
We even encourage our girls to ask other members of the family for their ideas too. Their sisters occasionally get involved, aunties and Nanna – and basically anyone else who happens to be around. (Keeping in mind that we don’t involve others if they don’t want us to obviously!)
We ask our girls if they’ve asked their friends. Have they mentioned the problem to their teachers/coaches?
Teaching your child to overcome obstacles is a vital part of their development. By encouraging a growth mindset, modelling resilience, teaching problem-solving skills, and providing a supportive environment, you can help your child build the confidence and skills needed to face challenges head-on. With your guidance and support, your child will learn to navigate life’s obstacles with resilience and a positive outlook, setting them up for a lifetime of success and well-being.
About 2 Adults 3 Children
2 Adults 3 Children is a family with 3 daughters, aged 13+. They live near Liverpool and share the best events happening in the North West plus their travels further afield.
