Teaching Your Kids To Solve Their Own Problems - with Dr. Dan Shapiro

Teaching Your Kids To Solve Their Own Problems – with Dr. Dan Shapiro

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Kids face challenges several times a day, every single day. Some of these might be big challenges—like how to deal with a fight between friends, or how to handle peer pressure. And some might be small—like a 5-year-old not wanting to clean his room.

As parents, we’re faced with a challenge of our own when our kids encounter problems: How do we help, and how much?

We might sometimes want to jump in and solve the problem for our kids—maybe it’s hard for us to see our kids struggling, or maybe we just want to nip it in the bud and make things easier for us—but then our kids don’t get the chance to learn how to deal with the problem if it comes up again in the future.

Or, perhaps we might think it best for our kids to tackle the challenge entirely on their own. But how can they know how to do that best if they’ve never been shown or taught? Very few people can do long division for the first time without being shown how. Why should we think that our kids should be able to balance emotions, logic, and desires to solve challenges if they’ve never been taught how?

The key is to find that balance, to figure out the best approach to guide our kids to positive problem solving so that they can confidently take on any challenge they encounter in their lives.

Thankfully, developmental and behavioral pediatrician Dr. Dan Shapiro is here to coach us so that we can better coach our children. Dr. Shapiro is an expert at helping both kids and parents find the best ways to navigate everything from autism and ADHD to common, everyday behavioral problems. Washingtonian Magazine called him “The Child Whisperer” for his incredible ability to connect with hard-to-reach children, and his highly successful parenting courses have shown that he is a “parent whisperer,” as well.

This is one of the most practical episodes so far, with specific steps that you can implement at home with your kids today. And if you do & you find success, please let me know by commenting below or on Twitter @zendocsteve. And please remember to SUBSCRIBE on iTunes and leave a 5-STAR REVIEW.

Listen by clicking here for iTunes or play it below.

Some Questions That I Ask:

What is “collaborative problem solving?”
How does your approach change as children age?
When a child is feeling defeated, how do you know when to push a bit more and when to back off?

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

5 STEPS to teach your kids to tackle challenges
How to teach your kids to see problems as solvable & mistakes as opportunities
How to address problems that come up between siblings so that you can keep peace in the house
How to communicate with your kids to create the right environment for them to listen and learn
And much, much more!

So sit back and enjoy Episode 4, and be sure to let me know if you have incorporated these steps in teaching your kids to solve their own problems!

Important Resources