baby problem solving skills

Stages of Play From 12–24 Months: Young Toddlers Are Problem Solvers

• February 26, 2015

Learn how infants and toddlers develop play skills from birth to 3, playing with toddlers, and what toys and activities are appropriate for their age.

What babies started to do and learn in their first 12 months really takes off during the next 12. Through their play experiences and interactions with you (remember, you are still their favorite toy!), they continue to figure out how the world around them works. Read on to learn more about playing with toddlers during this time—and what you can do to support your toddler’s development.

What Does It Do?

Toddlers are learning how objects are used together. This is why they enjoy filling-and-dumping water, sand, and blocks. Toddlers are also making connections between objects—the reason they like placing little people on a toy bus. Toddlers are learning about sizes as they stack rings. They’re noticing similarities when they line up two toy cars that look the same.

TOYS TO EXPLORE:

• Pop-beads or chunky interlocking plastic blocks
• Plastic spoon and cup
• Blocks and bucket
• Nesting cups/rings or shape-sorters
• Busy box with button to push, switch, and dial to turn
• Chunky wooden puzzles

HELPING YOUR TODDLER PLAY AND LEARN:

• Offer toys like these to your toddler and just watch to see what she does. Let her try to figure out how they work and discover what she can do with them.
• Then show your toddler how to use these toys in new ways. For example, you might put the spoon in the cup and stir. Then hand it to him and see what he does. Or pretend to give his stuffed bear a sip.

First Friends and Early Social Skills

Beginning at about 12 months, most young toddlers enjoy playing near peers. They may play games like “Ring Around the Rosie” or “chase” with another child, or join a peer in filling a bucket with mulch on the playground. These moments may not last long, but they give toddlers a sense of what it means to be a friend and have a friend.

• Musical instruments
• Sand/water play
• Art activities, such as painting or chalk
• Toy cars or trains, with one available for each child
• Create a toddler band by giving each child an instrument or scarf to shake along to the music. Or give each toddler a paint brush and unroll a long roll of paper so everyone has a place to paint. This helps little ones experience the joy of peers without the pressure of sharing!
• Model the words children should use when playing with others, including “Hi! I’m Logan,” “Can I play?”, “My turn?”, and “Thank you.” Toddlers will need to hear these words many, many times before they learn to use them. (This is one area where repetition is really important!)

Can You Hear Me Now? Building Communication Skills

Your 1-year-old is communicating with you using a combination of sounds, gestures, and facial expressions. She’ll likely begin using spoken language with one word, but her vocabulary will grow steadily as you continue to label, comment, and ask questions. She may not say much at first, but she understands almost everything you say!

• Toy telephone
• Child-safe mirror
• Dolls, stuffed animals, and puppets
• Use a toy telephone to help your child “talk” to you or other family members. Use dolls or puppets to “talk” with your child. Sit with your child in front of a mirror and say, “hello!” to each other.
• Ask your child to do a “one-step” request—this means asking him to do one thing, such as “please get your shoes” or “pick up the ball, please.” As your child approaches age 2, try adding a second step: “Please pick up the ball and give it to me.”

Playing with Toddlers: They’re Moving Now

Toddlers are learning to walk, run, climb, use stairs, and throw a ball. This means they need lots of active playtime to build strength, balance, and coordination. Because toddlers don’t understand rules yet, they benefit from free play when they can explore their own way.

• Balls of different sizes to roll, throw, and chase
• Toys that can be pulled while walking (a toy dog on a string; a wagon)
• Tunnel (purchased or homemade from a moving box)
• Child-size stool to climb onto and jump off of (with supervision)
• Create a toddler obstacle course where your child has a chance to crawl (through a moving box), climb (over a cushion), bounce (on a pile of blankets), and roll toward you for a kiss.
• Throw a soft playground ball and see if your child will run or crawl to get it. Or just roll the ball back-and-forth to one another—a game that builds social skills like turn-taking.

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The Best Infant Cognitive Development Activities

Intellectual development occurs in your baby from the moment they are born.

Problem solving starts from the very start as they listen to their surrounds to see who is near.

They use cause and effect to find a very effective way to communicate with their caregiver.

You are probably VERY familiar with this.  

They have realized that if they cry…you will meet their needs.

Babies are so smart!

So what are the best infant cognitive development activities you should do with your child?

Many of these things you can do will take place during your daily routines while you have a newborn or young infant.

Playtime will also be a perfect opportunity to promote intellectual development.

If you are wondering what cognitive milestones your baby should be meeting, make sure to download the free developmental checklist at the bottom of this post.

Here are some of the things we will cover in this post:

Mirror Play to Build Cognitive Development

Effects of reading on child development, how to read to a baby.

• How to Teach Problem Solving Skills Through Play

Benefits of Singing to Infants

• Frequently Asked Questions About Cognitive Development Activities

(This post may contain affiliate links.  To read our full disclosure policy click   here. )

Mirror play is an easy and effective way to encourage development in your baby.

Using a small unbreakable mirror toy like this , you can entertain your child during tummy time.

Show them how to interact with the mirror by making silly faces or by patting it.

You can also utilize mirror play with the mirrors that are around your house in the bathroom or hallway.

When you are walking by just take a second and let your baby see themselves.

You can show them how to wave or label their body parts as they look at their reflection.

Reading and looking at books with your baby is one of the best things you can do to encourage cognitive development because it allows them to hear words and see pictures.

Reading also encourages fine motor development as your baby starts to focus on the pages of books with their eyes and pat pictures with their hands.

You can start reading to your baby from the very first few days of life.

You don’t even have to read a children’s book if you don’t want to!

One of my favorite memories from when we brought our son home from the hospital was when my husband would sit and read science books to him out loud.

It provided them a time to bond as well as let our son hear words for the first time.

When you are reading to your newborn just keep it simple and enjoyable for both of you.

Make reading a part of your daily routine.

Think about what times of day may work best for it?

Maybe snuggling up on the couch with a book in the morning is ideal for you.

You could also read to your baby during play time or show them a book while they do tummy time.

Reading can also be a great way to calm your infant down for nap or bedtime.

You will want to start off with soft books that are easy to clean like this .

Chances are your baby will try and mouth the book which is one of the ways that they take in information to learn.

You will want to follow their lead when reading with them.

If they want to skip pages that is ok!

Just focus on labeling and pointing at pictures.

As your baby gets older you can show them how to pat pictures that you name with their hand.

This is a great way to build receptive language skills.

You can also give your baby fun textured books like these that they can explore on their own.

Teach Problem Solving Skills Through Play

Play is one of the most effective ways for your baby to learn new concepts.

There are so many ways that you can encourage problem solving skills through play.

For example, the simple act of just putting a toy a little bit out of reach gets your baby’s brain working in trying to figure out how to get to the toy that they desire.

Can they reach it?

Maybe if they roll they will get to it?

You may need to help your baby get to the toy by modeling them or gently showing them how to get there.

Give Them Something to Explore

Everything is new to babies so just giving them something to explore…can be a wonderful learning activity.

For example, you could fill a box with objects that have different textures or are a variety of colors for them to explore.

Some ideas of things to put in the box are:

• Rattles or toys that make sounds
• Fabric that has different textures
• Stuffed animals
• Containers and Lids
• Just get creative!

Always make sure to put safe items in the bin making sure there is nothing small enough that they could put in their mouth or could become a choking hazard.

Sing to Your Baby

Singing to your baby is a great way to expose your child to new words and sounds and it is also very interesting to them.

You can start doing songs and fingerplays when your baby is just a few days old.

You can make singing part of almost any daily routine such as bath time, play time, or when you are getting your baby ready for sleep.

Their are numerous benefits of singing to your infant as it encourages development in almost every area.

Singing helps your baby learn to tune in and listen.

Receptive language skills are being sharpened everytime you sing to your little one.

Singing supports bonding with your baby and is a simple way to play with your little one with no equipment or toys needed.

Imitation skills are learned as your little one tries to mimic the sounds you make or tries to imitate your movements while doing a finger play or dancing.

Need some ideas on what to sing to your baby?

Here are a few of my favorites:

• Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
• Itsy Bitsy Spider
• Hickory Dickory Dock
• 5 Little Monkeys
• Mary Had a Little Lamb
• Old Macdonald Had a Farm

Want some more song ideas for babies?

Click here to find an extensive list of song and fingerplays.

Just listening to music can also have benefits for both you and your baby!

Frequently Asked Questions about Cognitive Development Activities

Cognitive development in infants includes a variety of skills that your baby needs to gather information about the world around them. These skills include problem solving, listening, and pre academic concepts as well.

Cognitive activities can include simple doing simple things with your baby such as talking, singing, and playing with them. All of these activities engage your baby and build new skills.

Reading is important in early childhood because it builds skills in all areas of development including cognition, language, fine motor, and social emotional. It is a great way for babies and toddlers to bond with their parents while they learn new concepts from books.

Recommended Reading

Quick Guide to: Teaching Baby to Roll Over

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Discovery Play with Littles

2:01 pm ·

15 Powerful Problem Solving Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers

I looked over to her table and she’s crying. Again. While everyone else is happily working away, she sat there, unable to move, just crying. 

Not asking for help.

Not trying to solve her problem.

Just crying.

I took a deep breath before heading over. We’ve already been at this for several months…isn’t it about time the problem-solving has kicked in yet?

One glance and I could tell what her problem was. She didn’t have her pencil.

Know how I knew?

It laid on the floor beside her. In plain sight.

As a kindergarten teacher, I don’t jump right in and solve problems for kids. It’s good for them to try to solve the problem themselves. This is something she struggled with. 

I reminded myself of the need for patience and empathy as I walked up to her. “What’s wrong, Amanda?” 

“I…can’t…find…my…pencil….” she sputtered out between sobs. 

“Ok, that’s a problem we can solve. What have you tried?” 

“I don’t know.” 

After a long time trying to first, calm her down, and second, come up with some strategies she could try, she finally found her pencil. At that point, everyone else had finished the project. 

What is Problem Solving?

Problem-solving is the process of finding a solution to your problem . This can be quite tricky for some young children, especially those with little experience in finding more than one way to solve a problem.

Why is Problem Solving Important? 

Problem-solving skills are used throughout childhood into adulthood. As adults, we solve problems on a daily basis. Some problems we solve without thinking much- I wanted to make tacos for dinner but forgot to buy the ground beef. What are we going to have for dinner now?

Other problems are significantly more complicated. 

Problems for kiddos can be problems with friendships, the inability to find something that’s needed, or even what to do when things don’t go your way. 

Kids who lack problem-solving skills struggle to maintain friendships or even begin to attempt to solve their own problems. 

Children who lack problem-solving skills are at a higher risk for depression as well.

What Are Problem-Solving Skills?

Problem-solving skills are:

• Breaking Down a Problem into Smaller Parts
• Communication
• Decision-making
• Logical Reasoning
• Perseverance

That’s a big list to teach toddlers and preschoolers. Where do you begin?

The Problem-Solving Steps

Sometimes kids are so overwhelmed with frustration that it affects their ability to solve problems.

Kids feel safe in routines, and routines help them learn and grow. After a few times of repeating this routine, you’ll find your kiddo starts to do this on their own. 

It’s important not to skip straight to solving the problem , because your kiddo needs to be in a calm state of mind to solve the problem, and also they need to know their feelings are valid. 

• The first thing to do when your kiddo is struggling with problem-solving is to validate their emotions.

In doing this, they will feel more understood and learn that their emotions are okay. There are no bad feelings, and we must learn how to manage our emotions. 

This might sound something like “Oh, I can see you are really frustrated that the block won’t fit on there right. Let’s take some deep breaths to help us calm down before we think about what to do next.”

• Next, work through your calm-down process . This may be taking some deep breaths together, hugging a stuffie, or giving your kiddo some quiet time to calm down their heart and mind.
• Identify the problem . This sounds like something you may have already done (before the meltdown) but it’s important to be very clear on the problem you’re solving. Have the child tell you their problem out loud.
• Move on to solution-finding . When your kiddo is ready, talk about what the problem is and three possible solutions. When possible, let your kiddo do all of the talking. This allows him to practice his problem-solving skills. It’s important to remind him that the first thing he tries may not work, and that’s ok. There’s always another way to solve the problem. If he’s prepared for this, solutions that don’t work won’t be such a frustrating experience. 
• After you’ve done that, test your solutions one by one. See what works. If you haven’t found a solution yet, go back and think of different ways you might be able to solve your problem and try again.

Are you tired of hearing “It’s TOO HARD!” followed by a meltdown?

Using this one simple phrase you’ll get in this powerful lesson, you’ll not only be able to help your kiddo not give up but you’ll:

>Activate their superpower of perseverance so that they can turn around a meltdown and keep trying

>Inspire them to use perseverance …even when it’s hard

>Teach them to recognize the warning signs of giving up , and how to turn it around by taking control of their choices.

Grab your powerful FREE video lesson to teach your kiddo one of the most powerful keys to perseverance.

Powerful Activities that Teach Problem-Solving Skills to Toddlers & Preschoolers

These activities below may look simple, but don’t let that deter you from trying them. A lot happens in little developing brains and these powerful activities help toddlers and preschoolers make connections and develop {many} essential skills-more than just problem-solving.

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Puzzles are fun and a great way to encourage cognitive development in children. They are great for spacial reasoning and strengthening problem-solving skills. They also develop memory skills, critical thinking, and the ability to plan and execute the plan. Toddlers will enjoy the simple puzzles, and preschoolers will do great with floor puzzles with larger puzzle pieces.

Doing Simple Chores

Doing simple chores is a great way to teach children problem-solving skills, and it strengthens responsibility and perseverance as well. 

During the toddler years , you may start with just picking up their toys, or helping you put their dirty clothes in the hamper. 

Preschoolers can take their dirty dishes to the sink (or load them in the dishwasher), collect the trash, dust, wipe baseboards, and do their own personal care items like making their bed, taking care of their dirty clothes, and putting clean clothes away.

Stacking Rings

When watching a toddler play with stacking rings it doesn’t look like much is happening, but playing with these toys is full of ways to encourage development. It helps with visual and spacial perception and planning ahead, but it also with balance control, crossing the midline, creative play, and gross motor skills. Not to mention it’s a great opportunity to practice problem-solving. 

Playing Hide-and-Seek

Hide and seek has many surprising benefits for kids. Playing hide and seek is like a treasure hunt that helps develop gross motor skills and encourages physical development, as well as problem-solving skills. It also helps young children develop visual tracking, working memory, and social-emotional skills.

Imaginative Play

Imaginative play (also called role-play) builds important skills. Through pretending to be in different situations, kids develop social skills, emotional skills, better communication, and problem-solving skills. Imaginative play is a great idea for young toddlers all the way to older children.

Free Play 

Many young children don’t have {enough} time for free play. Free play is important for healthy brain development , not only developing imagination, cooperation, physical skills, and independence but also providing a great opportunity to strengthen problem-solving skills. 

Playing with Wooden Blocks

Building blocks are a fun way for children to develop creative thinking, imagination, problem-solving, fine motor skills, and if working with others, cooperation, communication, and friendship.

Playing Memory

Memory games improve attention, focus, visual recognition, and concentration. It helps children recognize details and of course, strengthens problem-solving skills. 

Ask Questions

When I see my son struggling with something, my first instinct is to give him choices or at least lead him in the right direction. The better thing to do is to ask very open-ended questions that lead his process, not his thoughts.

Questions like “What’s one way to solve your problem?” are much more effective in teaching problem-solving skills than “Well, where did you last see your stuffy?” 

Read Books and Social Stories

Reading books is one of my favorite ways to teach any skill. It’s extremely effective at teaching, and it’s also an amazing bonding time with kids.

When we read stories, our brain reacts as if we’re living in the story. This is why reading books about skills such as problem-solving is so effective. 

Kids of all ages learn from the people they love . (Yes, even those older kids who you don’t think are paying attention.) Often as adults, we’re too busy going through our daily routine to think about talking about the way we solved the problem at work that day.

Talking about how you use skills such as problem-solving, perseverance, and integrity is a great way to set an example, and an expectation that this is how we do things, and it will provide encouragement for your kiddo to do the same.

Scavenger Hunts

Scavenger hunts are a great group activity that can strengthen your child’s logical thinking and problem-solving skills.

When Your Kiddo is Ready, Add These Activities

Preschoolers would benefit from all of the fun activities on the list above and when they’re ready, feel free to add in the following activities.   

Mazes are great for problem-solving and perseverance, but your kiddo will need to have decent fine motor skills to do these activities. Mazes are one of our favorite activities. We love to take our activity book of mazes in the car with us for road trips. 

Board Games  

Board games are a good way to strengthen problem-solving, teamwork, planning skills, patience, sportsmanship, and communication skills. They also strengthen family relationships by providing some intentional time of connection .

Any board game can also be turned into an academic game with just a deck of cards for whatever skill you’re working on. If you’re working on the alphabet, put one letter on each card. Before each player’s turn, they draw a letter card and say the letter’s name. (You may accidentally forget the name of a letter every now and then to see if your kiddo is really paying attention!) 

Allow Opportunities for Hands-On Investigations

Kids are tactile. They love to touch and explore things with their hands. This is a good activity for toddlers also, as long as they are out of the putting everything in their mouth stage. Hands-on exploration is great for language development, sensory exploration, and problem-solving.

Allowing kids to investigate with their hands allows them to see how the world works up close. It also gives them time and space to try to make things work…and problem-solve when it doesn’t go as they think it should.

The Most Difficult Way (and Most Important Way) To Strengthen Problem-Solving Skills

Watching our kids struggle is hard ! We don’t want to see them having a hard time…and most of the time we don’t want to deal with the impending meltdown. Standing back and giving our kids time and space to work through even simple problems is hard to do. It’s also the most important way to strengthen problem-solving skills. 

As parents, we’re like frogs in boiling water. When our kids are infants, they need us to recognize their needs and solve them immediately. As they get older, they can point to what they want, but we still have a lot of interpreting and problem-solving to do on our own. If we aren’t careful, we stay in this stage and don’t teach our kiddos the steps to problem-solving for themselves. 

The next most difficult thing? Allowing natural consequences to happen. (As long as your child is safe of course.) If your child saves their money for a long time to buy a new toy, but walks down the toy aisle and picks up something you know they’ll be disappointed with, let it happen. It will teach a valuable lesson that will last for years to come.

Another Essential Part of Problem-Solving

Perseverance is a big part of problem-solving. We are rarely able to solve problems the first time, and it’s essential that kids can find more than one solution to a problem. Studies have found that perseverance is actually the biggest predictor of success, even more than aptitude or raw talent. 

An entire module is dedicated to perseverance in our course for kids, Super Kid Adventures . Your kiddo will get 25 teacher-led lessons on character traits (perseverance, empathy, friendship, responsibility, and wellness) and activities that take their learning further. 

Want a free preview? Grab a FREE Perseverance video lesson that teaches your kiddo one of the most important secrets that help them use perseverance.

Want More? 

If you like this, you’ll love: 

The Ultimate List of Books that Teach Perseverance

7 Simple Ways to Encourage Independence in Young Children

How to Help Your Child Develop Self-Help Skills

Your Turn 

What are your favorite ways to teach problem-solving skills?

About Elizabeth

Elizabeth is a mama of two boys, a former teacher, and the founder of Discovery Play with Littles. Her mission is to make raising kids with character simple and fun. Join us for our best learning through play ideas, character growth activities, and family connection ideas so you can watch your child thrive.

Reader Interactions

As a SLP trying to guide parents as I work with their child. I would like to know what toys to recommend to my parents as I assist in guiding their child’s development in cognition and expressive language.

Perseverance is the biggest predictor of success, even more than raw talent or aptitude.

Grab a FREE lesson to teach your kiddo one of the keys to perseverance...which is how we talk to our brains.

They'll learn what to say when they encounter something difficult, and why it's so important.

PLAY is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood. -Mr. Rogers

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How to Boost Your Baby's Brain Development

As babies grow, the speed at which their motor skills and cognitive abilities advance often serves to amaze their proud parents. They grow from a tiny infant who can only instinctively grab on to an adult finger to a baby that can manipulate toys with determination.

Though babies will develop the ability to grasp and play with toys without any help from their adoring parents, there are ways to nurture motor skills and cognitive abilities that are developing in the brain through basic activities using hand-held toys.

The important thing to understand is the grasping benchmarks that babies must first achieve in order to have appropriate expectations.

How Grasping Skills Develop

The watchful parent will note that as the months pass by, their baby shows increasing dexterity in the ability to grasp and play with toys . The standards below detail what can be expected of babies throughout the first year.

• 3 Months : No longer newborns, they can grasp objects placed in their hands, though they generally aren't able to reach out and grab objects. At this age, simply offer babies one toy at a time and allow them to develop their grip.
• 5 Months : Babies now can reach out and grab items willfully and independently. When offered a toy, babies will look back and forth between the toy and their hands. This is evidence of their developing ability to plan and coordinate their movements. When presenting toys to these babies, offer the toy so that they must reach out and grab it.
• 7 months : Growing 7-month-old babies grasp using their entire hand to cup the object and may use their thumbs to press the object securely into their palm. Visual acuity and perception also come into play and babies are better able to manipulate objects in their hands. Expose 7-month-old babies to a variety of age-appropriate toys and "chat" with them while they play.
• 9 Months : They have now mastered the ability to pass objects back and forth between hands. Babies show increased muscular agility and can begin to process how behaviors are connected. Offer hand toys that encourage problem-solving, like shape sorting blocks and nesting cups.
• 11 months : Babies at this age are practically pros at manipulating objects. Their grasping ability may now include the ability to roll and throw small toys. Play simple games that utilize grasp and teach the concept of taking turns.

Using Gripping Abilities to Help Babies Think Ahead

As early as seven or eight months, parents can monitor babies' ability to grip and to plan their movements with a simple activity using three hand-held toys. Not only does this exercise have babies hone their motor skills , but it also ties in higher-order problem-solving skills.

• Gather three toys which your baby can grasp easily.
• Allow her to take one toy in each hand.
• With a toy in each of her hands, give her the third toy.
• Initially, she will likely be baffled and try to take the third toy without letting go of either one in her hand.
• As her cognitive abilities progress, she will begin to put a toy down before attempting to grab a new one.

Why Would Parent's Try to Boost Brain Development?

• Engaging babies in developmentally appropriate activities are stimulating to their overall development.
• Parents can use these activities as a simple tool to note their baby's progress.
• It gives parents who may feel awkward around infants a structure for interaction and basic play.
• It's an easy, cheap, and effective way of promoting physical and cognitive development.

You can also check out these other baby games and activity ideas. And remember, playing is work for babies, so don't be afraid to stop overthinking it and just get down on the floor and play with your little one. Having fun is the best way to help your baby. 

By Jennifer White Jennifer White has authored parenting books and has worked in childcare and education fields for over 15 years.

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Problem-Solving Brain Games for Babies

January 30th, 2017 | 2 min. read

By Gryphon House

It can be daunting to come up with infant classroom ideas. There are so many ways babies learn, and so many things to teach them! One of the most universal things educators can work with is problem solving activities for infants. Problem solving strategies can be introduced to children pretty early, usually starting around 6 months. 

It can be daunting to come up with infant classroom ideas. There are so many ways babies learn, and so many things to teach them! One of the most universal things educators can work with is problem solving activities for infants. Problem solving strategies can be introduced to children pretty early, usually starting around 6 months. These activities can apply to universal problem solving—determining that individual actions can effect and fix problems—or specific problem solving like communicating with a caregiver. Cognitive activities for infants build these skills and pave the way for effective problem-solving abilities later in life.

There are several books that focus on puzzles for babies. One of them is Jackie Silberg ’s 125 Brain Games for Babies . This book serves as an excellent resource for parents and educators seeking advice on how best to engage with their children. Below are a few brain activities for babies that provide a foundation for problem-solving skills.

Pick Up, Throw Down

Infants are very observant. They notice when two things happen close together and strive to make a connection. When babies begin to hold and drop things, they notice if people stop to pick them up.

What to Do:

• Sit your baby in her high chair and give her several large toys to play with. Play with her and talk about the toy’s texture, what they are, and how they look
• After a while, drop one of the toys on the floor. Draw your baby’s attention to it by saying “Uh oh” or “Where did the rattle go?”
• Bend down and pick up the toy. Do this a few other times if your baby has not yet caught on
• When your baby drops or throws one of the toys on the ground, immediately pick it up and give it back to her. Over time, you can encourage her to point or vocalize to tell you where the toy is

Seek and Find

Once infants discover object permanence, a whole array of problem-solving opportunities open up. This activity facilitates that knowledge by encouraging babies to look for an object they can hear but not see.

• Find a wind-up clock that makes a ticking noise. Hold it up in front of your baby and say a little tick-tock rhyme, such as: “Tick tock, tick tock / Goes the clock / Tick tock”
• After a few moments, cover the clock with a scarf, blanket, or towel. Ask your baby where the tick-tock went
• Encourage your child to locate the clock using the sound it makes. When he pulls on the scarf, reveal the clock and say “Hooray!”
• Practice the game a bit more until your baby gets the hang of it. For an added challenge, move the clock to different places that your child can crawl towards

Quite Puzzling

One-piece puzzles help build motor skills as well as problem solving. Infants have to use trial and error as they attempt to figure out which way the piece fits inside the puzzle.

• Provide your baby with a simple one-piece puzzle with a wooden knob for them to grasp
• Talk to your baby as she tries to put the piece in its place. Ask her what she is doing and periodically turn the puzzle board slightly to help her put the piece in
• When your baby finally puts the piece in the puzzle, celebrate with clapping and praise

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Problem-solving and Relationship Skills with Infants and Toddlers

Woman: Places, everyone. Are the lights ready? Three, two, one.

Mike Browne: Ooh-whee! Estoy aqui, estoy listo. I am here. I am ready and let's rock and roll!

Becky Sughrim: I'm ready, too!

All: [Singing] "Teacher Time.” "Teacher Time.” "Teacher Time.” "Teacher Time.” "Teacher Time.” "Teacher Time.”

Mike: Hello, everyone. You know that never gets old. I'm like sitting here jogging along. Welcome, everyone, to our third infant and toddler episode of "Teacher Time" this program year. I'm Mike Browne. My pronouns are he/him. And I'm joined by...

Becky: Becky Sughrim, and my pronouns are she/her.

Mike: And we are from the National Center on Early Childhood Development Teaching and Learning. And as always, we are super excited to be here with you all today. Thank you for joining us. We have been focusing all of our episodes this past season of "Teacher Time" on positive behavior support. So far, we talked about many different things. We talked about the importance of relationships. We talked about how to support emotional literacy. Today is going to be another fun one on problem-solving and friendship skills and building friendship skills with infants and toddlers.

I would love to call to your attention to the Viewer's Guide, where you can find it in the Resource Widget. This season our Viewer's Guide is a Viewer Guide from birth to five. It includes age-specific information for infants, for toddlers, for preschool children. It's packed full of so many different things — resources, helpful quick tips, reminders that you can take right into your learning space. And there's also a note-taking space in which you can use to jot down some notes for today. You can download the guide and use it throughout our time together for taking notes, reflecting, planning, and please, as always share the Viewer Guide with your colleagues.

Becky: During our time together, we're going to be focusing on a number of things. We're going to first talk about some positive behavior support teaching practices. Then we're going to take some time to promote your wellness and our wellness and connect our affective practices to brain development in our new segment this season called "Neuroscience Nook.”

Then we're going to take a look at the "Teacher Time" basics. In "Small Change, Big Impact" and in our "Focus on Equity" segments, we're going to talk about individualized strategies that build a sense of belonging and promote social and emotional skill with all children, including children who have a variety of learning characteristics.

Of course, we will wrap up our time together as we always do with the "BookCASE," where Mike got to meet with our "Teacher Time" librarian, and we connect our topic to books that you can share with children and families.

Mike: As we begin, let's check in using our famous, world famous, "Teacher Time" Tree. Enter to the Q&A, which is that purple widget, what number are you feeling today? What number creature that you're showing up and you want to relate to us. And, of course, you can jot down why you're feeling like that.

I will get us started. I am feeling a little like, I don't know, I like the lighter colors, I like the 11, 12 because yesterday I got a chance to visit a classroom and one of the first children I had when they were infants, they saw me, they ran up to me and they were like, "Mike?” And I was like, "I haven't seen you in two-and-a-half years!” And like, just jumped up and gave me a big hug and now I'm feeling all cuddly and cozy. What about you, Becky?

Becky: That's such a great story. Thanks for sharing, Mike. That makes me feel warm and fuzzy thinking about it. I feel like a number 10. I'm excited for today. I'm ready to be with everyone and just open arms ready to learn and be alongside with you and all of our participants.

Mike: We got some tens, we got some fives in the chat, we've got some ones. Keep them coming. Let us know how you're feeling and we're going to rock and roll to our next slide.

Becky: Thank you. I got a little excited. We are very excited, as you can tell, that we're going to be focusing on positive behavior supports this season. We have focused on this on our last two infant/toddler webinars as well. And you probably already know this, that social-emotional development is one of the domains in Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework, or the ELOF. And the practical strategies we're going to be talking about today are going to be focusing on the relationships with other children subdomain of the social-emotional development domain as you can see highlighted here.

We have been working our way through the pyramid. And we've been thinking about the pyramid model, and this is a Positive Behavior Support, or PBS framework that is proactively addressing the social-emotional development and challenging behaviors that young children might experience.

And the framework offers a continuum of evidence-based teaching practices that are organized into four levels of support. The first level is nurturing and responsive relationships. The second level is high-quality supportive environments. Then we have the purple, the third level, social and emotional teaching strategies, and the top of the pyramid, intensive intervention.

And today, we're going to be focusing on that third level of the pyramid, or a second-tier support where we're talking about social and emotional teaching strategies. If you want learn more about the pyramid model, we hope that you will check out the recourses in your viewer's guide from the National Center of Pyramid Model Innovations, or NCPMI in the Resource List section.

Mike: We would love to hear — because I'm already like I need a sip of water — we'd love hear using that purple Q&A widget some of the strategies and practices that you have in place in your center, and your learning environment that really supports problem-solving and relationship skills with infants and toddlers. Once again, type that into the chat using your purple Q&A widget.

Once again, I'm going to start it. I think one practice that I did specifically with infants is whenever we're by the door and it's during pickup time, we will have that child, just look up and we're like, "Oh, is someone's parent here? Or someone's caregiver here?” And they'll go "Dada! Dada!" And I say, "Oh, should we go over to such-and-such, Nico, and say, 'Oh Dada's here?'" "Let's come with me.” You're building that relationship with the child and building relationship between the children.

And something that I like to do with toddlers when they're a little bit older, I love doing like a little scavenger hunt. I'll say, "Oh my goodness! I lost my coffee!” "My adult drink.” Well, maybe not adult drink, some coffee. "Let's go find it!” "Hmm, you're getting warmer. You're getting colder" They've been learning about spatial awareness, difference in temperature, things of that nature.

Becky: And also the collaboration of working together as a team if you're in a group care setting, all trying to find coffee that we need in the morning. Let's see what we have in the Q&A talking about having a welcome song with each child's name.

Mike: We're having some redirect. Redirection is always key.

Becky: Having open-ended questions with toddlers. Totally. And one of the things that I like, which I'm sure is going to also come up in the chat is to engage in that narration when a toy struggle is happening or there's a problem where we're talking about what the toddlers are doing, and what we see. And just letting them know what's happening in real-time.

Mike: That sounds like something we should talk about on Parallel Play.

Becky: Yeah. If you haven't checked out our podcast, we hope that you will. Mike and I also host a Parallel Play podcast. Let's think about positive behavior supports. As we know, the pyramid model is one way we can engage in positive behavior supports. And let's think a little bit deeper about what positive behavior supports are and what they mean. This is really a positive approach to prevent and address challenging behavior or behaviors that adults find challenging.

And the number one thing to remember is that PBS is proactive. That we're proactively thinking about ways in which we can prevent challenging behaviors from occurring. It's positive and proactive. And at the heart of PBS is this recognition that challenging behavior is communication. That challenging behavior is used to communicate a message like, "I want to play with that person or that other toddler.” Or "I want to turn right now.” Or "I want to play in the sensory bin too.” Or something like, "I want that green ball.”

There's all behavior is a form of communication and children are sending us a message. Educators can be their best detectives and together with the family uncover what the child is trying to communicate through their behavior and then teach the child a more effective way to communicate and problem solve with support.

Mike: We’re going to turn it back right to you. I hope your fingers are ready. We're going to be doing this all day. Let's turn the attention back to you. We do our best caregiving and teaching when we feel well ourselves. Really engaging in self-care practices can help educators, admin, everyone build greater social and emotional capacity to work through problem-solving together.

And our ability to support children with problem-solving and relationship skills starts with our ability to really center ourselves by noticing and observing all the little things that are happening within our bodies, with as little judgment as possible and really softening to what is. We can help young children work through challenges with peers, for a more grounded, balance, soft, and objective place by naming what we see happening come. Before we support the children in our care with problem-solving and relationship skills, it's super important that we find ways to regulate our own feelings throughout the day.

Just by taking a minute right now, we're going to do a quick little body scan to know what's happening in our bodies, to really softening to that moment, like I said earlier, slowing down and centering ourselves at any point of the day, but specifically right now since I'm going to ask you all to do it with me. This practice supports our well-being first, enabling us to hold a really non-judgmental space and respond intentionally and responsibly to children cues, behaviors, and communication, as we support them in building healthy relationships with each other. Get your wiggles out.

You might want to start in the seated position, or if you're laying down, maybe you're on a standing desk, I don't know, whatever feels comfortable to you and just start to slowly bring your attention to your body. You can close your eyes. I would love to close my eyes, but the blinding lights are in front of me. I won't do that. Only close your eyes if you're feeling comfortable.

And just start to notice your body wherever you are. As you inhale, and as you exhale have that really sense of relaxation. And you can notice your feet, or your body on the floor. You can notice — for me, I notice the seat underneath me or that if I lean back, the back of the chair against me. That was a lot of words I wanted to say.

Bring your attention now to your stomach area. If it feels tight, right, let us soft it. Imagine you're on a beach somewhere. I know one of our participants says they're going on vacation. Notice your hands, and your arms, and your shoulders. Let them be soft. Let your jaw and your face muscle soften up. And notice your whole body just being present. Then take that one last deep breath.

Now, if you're so inclined to, feel free to share how you are feeling during or feel now after the body scan. What shifts do you notice? Me, oh, I was like, I got a lot of things in my shoulders. I was like, I need to go to a massage place.

Becky: I was thinking the same thing. So much tension I hold in my shoulders and my neck. We're on the same page, Mike.

Mike: There you go.

Becky: As these are coming in let's start to think about problem-solving in relationship skills. Social competencies like self-regulation, empathy, perspective-taking, and problem-solving skills are all really key to foundational healthy social-emotional development. This includes positive interactions and friendships, or relationships between peers. Educators can help children learn these skills that are necessary to develop healthy peer relationships and find ways to work though social conflicts with children and providing support with the child.

The first thing that we can do with infants and toddlers is about modeling problem-solving skills. And if we model problem-solving skills early on, this will build a foundation of problem-solving and relationship skills that children can build on and will be able to access with adult support as they develop and start to use these skills more independently. As children become more independent and more mobile, they tend to run into situations in the natural environment that can lead to frustration or challenging behavior like a toy is out of my reach, or I also want to play in the sensory table and someone is already there.

If we teach children problem-solving skills and they become good problem solvers on their own, and with our support, their self-esteem increases in their ability to solve problems. They're more likely to cope with a certain level of frustration and engage in less challenging behavior. There might be some children in your care who don't readily learn these skills through foundational teaching strategies like modeling or co-regulation, and this might include children with disabilities or suspected delays.

It's important to be aware of the process of all children and use more individualized practices to teach these skills to children who need more support. And we will talk more about that in the basics. Let’s look at some key ideas. When we're thinking about working with toddlers there's three key ideas we want to think about when supporting problem-solving and relationship skills. The first one is promoting healthy relationships. Educators can model relationship skills with things like sharing or helping or cooperating like you were talking about.

Mike: Yeah.

Becky: Earlier, Mike, with everyone helping you to find your coffee, and providing comfort, and making suggestions in play, and then celebrating each other. That's a big piece of promoting healthy relationships. And teachers can also create developmentally appropriate opportunities for practicing these skills throughout the day, like setting up a space for two or three toddlers to play together at one time. There might be limited space, and limited materials. This way toddlers can practice turn taking and sharing, like we see in this picture on the left.

And we might also start to notice in the toddler years that children could be showing preferences for a particular playmate. This is also a great time to pause and think about what value do we put, or you put, on peer relationships, and how do you expect peers to act with each other? And our awareness of these questions, and our responses to these questions is really supportive of our equitable teaching practices.

Mike: Can I take the middle one?

Becky: Yeah. Yeah!

Mike: Perfect because I love teaching about problem-solving. Conflict happens all the time in case you never have been in an early childhood classroom, but I don't think this — I think this audience knows. Conflicts happen all the time in early childhood environments where children are really just learning to manage their emotions or behavior through co-regulation. Remember, these are the first times that they might be having these types of emotions. They're like, "Whoa! What is going on?”

Toddlers are beginning to reason, and really beginning to understand simple consequences. Educators can describe the problem. We can offer solutions. Then that's how we can support toddlers in trying a couple different new strategies out. Like, how I imagine as I'm looking at this middle photo, I imagine this educator something — I'm trying to channel my inner educator. "I see you reaching out and you're touching Zoa's leg. I wonder if you're wanting some more space. You can say, 'I need some more space please.'"

Becky: Yeah, totally. Thank you so much, Mike. The next key idea we want to talk about is teach problem-solving in the moment. Problem-solving is hard work as we know, and educators can help toddlers use the problem-solving steps in the moment by first being proactive and anticipating social conflicts before they happen.

This might be being close, as we see in this picture on the right, that the educator is close to the child, supporting her through this interaction. We can also provide support by describing steps for solving the problem and modeling them and supporting the child in going through them. We can also generate solutions together and then we can celebrate success.

And, of course, we want to you remember to individualize the strategies you used to provide support on these skills based on the learning characteristics and needs of the children you support. Some children may need the amount of language used to be modified. Some children may need visual cues or gestures paired with verbal language. Some children may need specific feedback on consequences to help them learn the effect of their behavior on the environment. Again, please stay tuned for the basics and we're going to share some more information about providing specific feedback.

Mike: Let's now take a second to pause and watch a clip on teaching problem-solving in the moment and how that might look like with toppers.

[Video begins]

Teacher: Are you guys taking turns? Would you like to have a turn? OK. Cayden's turn. Now, whose turn is it to put one on top?

Cayden: It's Marcos!

Teacher: It's Marcos' turn. Marcos, did you hear that? He said it's your turn.

Marcos: I make a red one.

Teacher: Your turn. Wow! Your turn! Look at how many blocks — you guys, what could you tell Ryan? Say, "Ryan, that was my tower.”

Marcos: Stop!

Ryan: That was my tower.

Teacher: Stop. That was a good word. Look it, we could get our — oh, I took my cards off. Look it, we could use our cards. We could use our cards, Ryan. Ryan, we could use our cards. Look it, what could we do? You could wait and take a turn to knock it down. Look, you have your own tower to knock down. And you guys did such a good job of ignoring him when he knocked your tower down. Nice job.

[Video ends]

Mike: There was so many wonderful moments here that I just loved. Use our Q&A, purple Q&A widget to type in what did you notice, what did you see, what did you want to express? And we'll kick us off. The first thing that I'm just thinking about is that the educator was the proximity of the educator. What's close by to really support and to anticipate — not jump in right away, but just to anticipate a little bit around problem-solving in the moment.

Becky: Yeah. Like, what we're talking about. Being close. I notice that the educator was narrating the turn-taking and supported turn-taking too.

Mike: And even when the block fell, the educator gave the child words to say and then asked for the toddler for their input.

Becky: Yes, giving the child the words to say because sometimes in the moment they don't know what to say. That's really helpful. I also love this idea of having the solution cards close by. That they were within arm's reach. She didn't have to leave the block area to go and get them.

Mike: As we think about educators and being responsive and thinking about everyone in the learning environment, really, I saw the educator also talking to all the children who were involved. It wasn't just to the child who knocked off the block. Talk to all the children involved about what they can do in order to solve this problem moving forward or next time because it will happen again.

Becky: Yes. And the educator provided positive feedback, which I saw come through the chat giving specific feedback and praise and of utilizing the solutions. We also saw that the educator was very attentive. She was calm, and encouraging, and involving everyone. More comments about being calm and a soft tone of voice which makes a huge difference.

Mike: Exactly. As we move through this presentation, and this, our time together, remember to take time — or let's do it right now. Let's take another moment to pause and reflect on these questions that will support equitable teaching practices. I think the three that you mentioned earlier were how do you expect peers to act with one another with each other? Another one that you said was — you remembered it, you said it.

Becky: Yeah, it was think about how do we feel about conflict or disagreement, or debates?

Mike: That reminds me. The last one that you said was do you listen openly to all children when there is a problem. Just keep these in the back of your mind and because we're probably going to revisit this in a little bit.

Becky: Thank you, Mike, for those reflective questions. Let's think about key ideas for problem-solving and relationship skills with infants since it’s slightly different than toddlers. When we think about promoting healthy relationships with infants, that's what the work is all about. It's all about relationships. This means modeling healthy relationships with the infants in your care so they can feel what it feels like to be in a healthy relationship. It also means modeling healthy relationships with other adults in the learning environment, so infants can see what healthy relationships look like.

Educators can create opportunities for infants to play side-by-side and interact with each other like we see in this picture on the left. The two educators are sitting close together with three infants in their laps. The infants are close enough to notice and reach out for each other, and maybe after they're done reading the book, the infants are placed on the carpet together where they can explore the books on their own and with each other.

Mike: When I just think about the other photo, this where it says, "Practice problem-solving." The one on our right, this is about being aware of infants' cues. Remembering that some infants may not give clear or predictable cues. All infants have different temperaments and varying temperaments, and that creates varying abilities to give cues.

Also, think about infants with disabilities or suspected delays. They may not be using behaviors we're typically accustomed to, such as eye gaze or vocalization, especially if they are the only — and especially if we're working with children who are typically neurotypical. It's important for adults to be very intentional about their observations and what behaviors they recognize as cues. Watch for situations that may trigger stress, or conflict, and provide comfort to those infants while describing what the problem is or was and possible solutions.

Narrate what you are doing in the moment to problem solve as you go along. Like in this picture on the right, you might say something like — I always like pretending to say something, you might say something like, "Oh, I see your holding on to this book. And this looks like it might be a problem. You both look very upset. Hmm. How about we try looking at the book together at the table?”

Becky: Right now, let's watch what promoting healthy relationships with infants might look like. As you're watching this clip, please put in the Q&A what you might say to the two infants that would help promote peer relationships.

Teacher 2: Thank you. Do you want to stand up? Do you need a diaper, Ivy? You need a diaper? She actually [Inaudible] because she was doing something at the table.

Teacher 3: Okay. You going back?

Teacher 2: [Inaudible] Wow! Look at you.

Becky: I love this video so much.

Mike: I'm, like, grinning ear-to-ear.

Becky: What did you notice, Mike, about the video?

Mike: I noticed that these two infants are playing next to each other and they're naturally sharing. They're naturally being in community with one another, which involved naturally taking turns, holding, and lifting up the basket.

Becky: It's such a beautiful moment and I love, like you said, the natural turn taking that's happening. As comments are coming into the chat, one of the things I might say to the two children in this video clip are, "Oh, I see you are both using the basket. Look at how you can take turns.”

Mike: Or I would say something like, "Oh, you two are playing next to each other.” Acknowledging this beautiful interaction, with a lot of excitement and warmth in my tone, a voice.

Becky: And yes, the tone of voice is so important because what we say is just as important as how we say it and how we say it is just as important as what we say.

Mike: And I would even say in just say the joy that's happening, because we often don't look at our Black children, our Black boys, as joyful beings. You can tie that all in together.

Becky: There's so much joy happening in this clip, but I think it gives us a both a lot of joy. Let's see in the chat we're having some comments coming in about, "Oh wow, good job sharing," or let's see here, I'm looking, there's so many things that coming up.

Mike: "It's nice to see you two playing together with the basket.”

Becky: "I see you are sitting together, and you are being kind to each other.”

Mike: "Wow, good job sharing.” And that positive tone, once again.

Becky: Yes, lots of comments about — and stating the child's names and how they are sharing the joy. It's wonderful. Keep bringing those in and our wonderful Q&A team will send them out. Mike, I want to hear more about neuroscience now.

Mike: Of course, you do. Research tells us that the early years are foundational. Most important part, especially when brain development, in adults we play a vital role in supporting a healthy brain development, connection and architecture.

In this segment, Neuroscience Nook, we are so excited to connect this research to everyday teaching practices. An important side note before we continue, and as questions using that purple Q&A widget comes in, remember we absolutely want to hear from you. We just don't want to sit here and talk, we want to hear from y'all. If you got questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, ideas, share them with us, or post them in the "Teacher Time" Community in My Peers.

Executive function. The pre-mental cortex begins to develop early on in life. This area of the brain is responsible for what are known as the executive functioning skills. And it's essential for the development of strong and healthy relationships. As you can see on this graphic, it includes so many different things.

Attention, being able to focus on a task. Working memory, being able to remember rules and procedures. Self-regulation and the ability to control impulses which I didn't have last night when I was eating ice cream. Organization, switching between tasks, flexible thinking, problem-solving, planning behavior, decision-making, motivation.

All of these skills are important to problem-solving and heathy relationships. We can help young children, support young children, to start developing this critical relationship building and problem-solving skills through responsive caregiving and affective teaching practices that are responsive to the individual child's needs. Just like we mentioned in our most recent episode of "Teacher Time," in case you missed it you can go back on…

Becky: DTL Push Play, and you can access our first two infant toddler webinars about building relationships and emotional literacy.

Mike: There you go. I always like to throw it to you because I always forget where exactly it is. But yes, just like she said. We encourage you to look back at the last two years guides, Building Relationship with Children Birth to Five, and Emotional Literacy with Children Birth to Five to see more about the importance of nurturing relationships and the impact on the developing minds. Looks like I also have the next slide. Now let's hear from Dr. Juliet Taylor as she described the development of executive functioning skills.

Juliet Taylor: I'm going to show you a graphic of how executive function develops over time. Here's sort of a graphic representation. And one thing to point out is that we are not born with executive function skills in place. We're born with the potential to develop them, or not, depending on our experiences, our neurophysiology, and the interactions between those things.

This graph shows that on the horizontal axis you can see this is ages birth to 80. And notice that there's not an even distribution between the ages. And that is because there are particular peeks in executive function development. You can see skill proficiency on the vertical axis. And I'm going to highlight a couple of areas where you see tremendous growth and executive function skills. And that is really in the preschool ages between three to five. And then in early adolescents to early adulthood, there's another spike in development.

The foundations of executive function are laid down in the earliest months and years of life. And that really happens through basic, sort of serve and return it's sometimes called, or those basic interactions between child and adult that happen over, and over, and over again. And that spike really does happen in the preschool years after children have verbal language.

Becky: This is such a helpful graphic and such a helpful explanation of executive functioning skills. I'm a visual learner, it meets my learning needs.

Mike: Exactly. We are not born with executive function, but we are born with the potential to develop them. That is why our work, whether it's your direct support, or your indirect support, or you're just hanging out in the back. It's so important that our work is with infants and toddlers to create that lifelong success. We can't say it enough to you. What you are doing is important work. I know we tired sometimes but stick with it. We love you. And thank you for being here with us.

Becky: Yes. I second that. I also, from this video, I think about these peeks in executive functioning that there's a peek between three to five years old right after children have verbal language. And toddlers are just entering into that spike in executive functioning skills which is —I love thinking about that and what does that mean, and what does that mean for toddler behavior, and toddler development.

Mike: And the last two things that are really coming up for me in this one is the foundation of executive function is laid out in the very few first months and years of life. Learning is having in the room and right out as soon as you leave. I was like, I don't know how I'm going to work that. The last thing I was thinking of is the importance of serve and return. If you're like, "What is serve and return?” You know where you can find that? In our last webinar that we did.

Becky: In our "Building Relationships with Infants and Toddlers," we talk a lot about serve and return. Now it's time for the basics. We've talked a lot about the importance of problem-solving and relationship skills. Let's shift to looking at practical strategies for how to support these skills with infants and toddlers.

We're going to do that by getting back to the basics. The basics are a collection of strategies that could be used in any setting with infants and toddlers. And the "Teacher Time" basics are behavioral expectations in advance, attend to and encourage positive behavior, scaffold with cues and prompts, increase engagement, create or add challenge, and provide specific feedback.

In this season of "Teacher Time," we have been focusing on two letters of the basics every episode. We hope that you will join us for all of the webinars this season. And remember, if you've missed the last two webinars on building relationships and emotional literacy with infants and toddlers, you can access those on DTL Push Play. We invite you to tune in to our future webinars. There's a registration link in the resource list if you want to sign up for that now so that you can get all of the basics of positive behavior of sorts.

Today, we're going to be looking at examples of C, create, or add challenge and S, specific feedback to support problem-solving and relationship skills. Let's take one look at how we can create or add challenge. When we're thinking about supporting problem-solving and relationship skills, we can add challenge by carefully selecting toys and materials for the learning environment that support taking turns, waiting, and learning how to share.

This might look like putting out a ball track, or a car track, or a toy that naturally supports turn taking where the children have to wait before sending a ball or a car down the track, or where one ball or one car will fit on the track at a time. Or maybe you put out stacking rings and encourage children to stack together since only one ring could be stacked at a time like we see in this picture on the left.

You could also create waiting games with the materials and routines that you have in the learning environment, like waiting to go down the slide or waiting to go through the tunnel like we see in this picture on the right. You might also sing a song while you wait to wash your hands, or like one of our participants said in the beginning, you have a greeting song in the morning where the children have to wait to do their special dance, or their special move until they hear their name.

Mike: I think that is a great segue, it's almost like you've seen this before, into us watching a video of what a waiting game might look like in the learning environment with a toddler. As you watch the video, we invite you to share once again in the Q&A how you see the educator supporting waiting, and what would you do to support toddlers with waiting in your program center?

Teacher 4: OK, one, two, three, go!

Connor: Whee!

Teacher 4: Good job, Connor.

Teacher 5: You want to count? OK. One, two, three, four, five, go!

Teacher 5: Yay! One, two — Oh, she couldn't wait, could she? She just couldn't wait. That's fine. She went on two. That's good. You want to count? Ah! Hailey didn't want to wait either. That's fine.

Mike: You can see right away, like you heard the counting, the toddler is down before they can actually go down the slide.

Becky: And I loved that the educator honored when the toddlers did wait and when they just couldn't wait. And she said, "Oh, she couldn't wait. That's fine.”

Mike: And it looks like someone in our chat just beat us to it before we said that. There's so much waiting to happen in this video in taking turns, waiting at the top of the slide, toddlers waiting for their turn.

Becky: There’s so much and it felt like this was a very natural turn taking game for this group of toddlers. It felt like it was familiar to them. And it felt like it was something that they were enjoying.

Mike: And just thinking about like my own culture being Afro-Caribbean, in my culture we love to give children control over the waiting time. They want to wait until they are down the slide, the first child is down the slide to climb up, they have that control. Or we'll say, "Hey, how many seconds do you think we should wait?” We're giving them that power, that control.

Becky: I love that. The real traces and the agency. We have a few comments coming in from the chat. Just the encouragement and patience from the educator. That there was a countdown as a verbal strategy and we also saw that the educator was giving examples of waiting, like naming who waited and who couldn't wait.

Let’s  think about specific feedback and providing specific feedback is another way that educators can support problem-solving an relationship skills. Providing specific feedback is about naming and acknowledging when you see a child engage in building relationships.

It might sound like, "Oh, you're helping me put on Natalie's coat.” Or "I saw you get a tissue for Kai. That was so kind.” And the key to specific feedback is being specific. Thinking about what you see and what you saw that toddlers or infants do. Educators can also provide specific feedback to a child when they see them taking turns or sharing, or trying to solve a problem, or playing next to each other, or even playing with a child. That might sound like, "Oh look, Nora is watching you. I think she wants to play too.”

And providing specific feedback is a helpful tool to teach children what to do. You might provide feedback on how to be a friend, or how to solve a problem like, "Hmm, I see that you two are frustrated and have a problem. Let get our solution kit for some ideas.” Or you might say, "Oh, you knocked into Lucas because you were running, and you didn't see him. Let's see if he's okay.”

It's about offering specific ideas of what the toddler can do next and then supporting the infants and toddlers with those next steps and those skills. Remember that, again we said this earlier, how feedback is given, including what you say and how to you say it is important and should be individualized to meet the learning characteristics and temperament of each child.

Mike: Do you remember those three questions I asked earlier? Or you asked them and then I reiterated them? Here's where it comes up again. Three questions. How do you expect peers to act with one another? How do you feel about conflict? And do you listen openly to all children? This is where we are going to apply them.

In our segment Small Change Big Impact where we share how small and adjustments to the way we set up our learning environments, modify a curriculum, or engage with children can make a huge difference in a child's learning. We know that children vary in their learning characteristics and how they engage with people, and materials, and learning environment.

These small changes, and these curriculum modifications are made so that the individual child -- they're made thinking about the individual needs of a child in order to promote their engagement, their participation, and we know that children are more engaged when they have opportunities to learn.

Some children might need more highly individualized teaching practices to help them learn problem-solving such as imbedded teaching or intensive individualized teaching, making curriculum modifications based off a child's individual learning needs can be a great place to start to support this engagement.

Today we're going to be focusing on environmental supports like making physical adjustments to the learning environment to promote participation, engagement, learning problem-solving, relationship skills, the two things of today's talk. When you think about the strategies of physical adjustments, I would love for us to consider changing the space, the location, and arrangement of materials, of activities, to really support the needs of individual children. Like, setting up the smallest space, for example, for a few toddlers to sit together and read a book, or a small sensory table where a few children can play together at the same time. Do you got any ideas?

Becky: I think about managing materials and supplies. Materials could be used in many ways to support individual children with problem-solving and relationship skills. We can think about adding in materials, taking out materials, varying materials, and strategically using the materials to support a desired behavior. You might take out some materials to encourage sharing and turn-taking between toddlers, or you might bring in materials that support waiting. Like, we talked about in the basics.

Or maybe, you set up larger items like tumbling mats, or a large balance beam like we see in this picture in the middle where one child is walking at a time and one child takes a turn at a time. You could also bring in materials that are more engaging and fun with two children, like a rocking boat, or a toddler-safe seesaw.

Mike: For our last one, you can always add visual cues. You could add simple ones. You could add complex ones. I don't know. Do you. Individual cues can really promote relationship between peers and problem-solving skills like sharing a hug or giving a high-five.

Once again, check out the viewer's guide for more suggestions and resources on ECLKC. We encourage you to observe each child to see how they engage in specific areas with a group, and with each other. This can help us think about what are some of the best ways to support the child in building peer relationships and problem-solving skills by individualizing the support that you provide and how to you modify the environment.

Once again, viewer's guide has all these information and tips and tricks of the trade. Let's take a break. Well, we're going to take a break. Y'all aren't going to take a break. To watch a video of how an educator intentionally changes the setup of the environment to support her interactions. And of course, whatever comes to your mind, type it into your purple Q&A widget.

Teacher 6: There we go. Are you ready to make soup? Come here. Oops. This one is not broken. We can put water in it. We can hold water. Ready? Oh, Joy wants to do it. Joy, do you want to put some water in here?

Boy: I would.

Teacher 6: You want to help, too? Can you wait one minute? Just wait for Joy's turn? Oh, I don't think she liked that. Can you give it back to Joy, please? Oh!

Teacher 6: What happened?

Mike: This educator knows how much the toddlers at the table loves to play with water. To support this toddler were peer interactions and relationships. The education staff set up the water vents near the dramatic play areas. Did you notice that? Where two toddlers were making soup.

Becky: And as we got to see the children interacted with each other and the soup making moved from the dramatic play area to the table. The educator really supported turn taking at the end of this clip when she narrated what was happening, she used sign language, and asked specifically asked one toddler to give the scoop back to another toddler. We saw a lot of individualizing practices in this video where thinking about a child's interest, thinking about some games that other children were playing, and how we can bring those two together.

Mike: If you are in my classroom, we're making caldo, we're making pozole. But that's neither here or there. Throughout this webinar we have been discussing ways to foster social-emotional skills for all children. Becky, what are we going to talk about more in this segment?

Becky: Thanks, Mike. We're going to think about those reflective questions that we've been mentioning throughout the webinar. In our focus on equity segment, we're going to be using our equity lens to take a closer look at implicit bias and how that impacts how we interact with children and support them in building problem-solving skills, and relationship skills. The value we place on peer relationships and the way we go about building and maintaining them are influenced by our family, our culture, our community, and our experiences.

Sometimes our subtle biases can interfere with our ability to approach conflict between children with an open mind and help them solve problems in a way that is respectful and fair to all children involved. Uncovering these biases take time and reflection. Again, some of these helpful questions to reflect on are — what value do you place on peer relationships? How do you expect peers to act with each other? How do you feel about conflict, disagreements, or debates?

Mike: Do you listen openly to all children when there is a problem?

Becky: And is there a child that you are more likely to make negative assumptions about when a problem involves that specific child? We just encourage you to ask a friend, or a colleague, or a coach to video record you during a time of day when there tends to be more conflict between children. Then go back and watch the video and notice how you respond and interact with each child involved in the conflict. And again, ask yourself, "Does every child receive the support and instruction they need?”

Mike: I am just a little bit excited for this because I'm featured on it. "Teacher Time Library," Emily Small, with someone you clearly recognize that you see in this video, me, Mike Browne, I got to sit with our "Teacher Time" librarian, Emily, and I'm so excited about this month's book. Let's watch me, Emily, make the CASE.

Mike: Welcome to "Teacher Time Library.” My name is Mike Browne. My pronouns are he/him and I'm joined by the wonderful...

Emily Small: Emily Small. And my pronouns are she/her.

Mike: I am so excited to be here today with you all because we have a great selection of books that Emily has curated to be able to share with us today. And it is all centered around our theme of relationships with other children, which is within the social-emotional development domain of our ELOF goals.

Today, we are going to make the case. The CASE, what is that? You might be unfamiliar. You might not. But either way I'm going to refresh your memory. CASE is an acronym that we love to use in order to make connections between the books and what we're trying to hope to achieve within our ELOF domain.

C is pretty simple, C for cookie, also means connecting to ELOF, which is our Early Learning Outcome Frameworks. A, which is about advancing vocabularies. Books are an amazing opportunity. It is both a window, a mirror, and a sliding door into worlds that can really build children's emotional language, vocabulary, and concept development.

S, now this one is a bit of a long one, but it's about supporting engagement. And engagement looks different for each and every single child. Books stirs creativity. It stirs or imagination and by listening to the voices of children, we can really find ways to support them in being active participants not just in their learning, but of their learning environment.

And last but not least we have E. E is about extending the learning well beyond the books. Think about the questions in your curriculum, your provocations, and the activities that you do each and every single day. How can you plan that, so it connects to STEM? How can you use STEM to connect to dramatic play. How can you connect dramatic play to mental health? And so on and so forth because we're all about loving and nurturing the entire child. But that's enough about me, we going to throw it over to these books. And this first one is my favorite, not just because we are matching.

Emily: Yes, we do match today. A quick note before we get into them. I actually borrowed these from my local library. But also, I encourage everyone to check out their local library rather than just having to purchase the items.

Emily: Our first one is "Blocks" by Irene Dickson. We have two friends, Ruby and Benji who are in parallel play with one another in the block area. Benji would really, really like one of Ruby's red blocks and he takes it. And we see what happens next. How they problem solve, how their peer relationship grows, and then we actually have a third friend enter the picture at the end named Guy. There's a chance to make a prediction about what will happen next.

Mike: STEM.

Emily: Yes. We have that nice high gloss cover, we've got "Mine, Mine, Mine, Yours" by Kimberly Gee.

Mike: We hear, "Mine, mine, mine" a lot with toddlers.

Emily: Yes.

Mike: Not so much "Yours," but that's okay.

Emily: We have some great examples in this one of some repetitive phrases on every page. For instance, we have "Jump, jump, jump, bump.”

Mike: That happens.

Emily: All the time. And then we have "Sorry, sorry, sorry.” "That's okay.” But in the pictures, we're seeing a chance for the children to check in on one another.

Mike: And I think that's so important. Especially when we're talking about social-emotional development is that it's not just enough to say, "Sorry," but how are we also coaching in educating our children in order to say, "Hey, check in, what do you think might help them feel better?” We can take it to another level.

Emily: Definitely. That's "Mine, Mine, Mine, Yours.” Then we have this tiny little board book called "The Last Marshmallow.” It's part of the Storytelling Mass series. There's a bunch in this series. I highly recommend them. You can, again, see I borrowed it from my library. And it is a very cold day, just like it is today, and some friends would like two cups of hot chocolate but there's three marshmallows.

Mike: I'm already hearing the STEM, the math right there.

Emily: They each get one but there's one left and they have to problem solve to figure out how they're going to make this fair.

Mike: Oh, like you said, it's a very cold day, give it to me.

Emily: That's the "The Last Marshmallow" by Grace Lin. And then the one we're going to make the case for is "You Hold Me Up" by Monique Gray Smith and Danielle Daniel. This one, I love the illustrations in this book so much. For our connection, our C, this book uses the phrase, "You hold me up when," and then it gives us very specific examples of how people feel connected and respected to one another. For our advanced vocabulary, we see words such as kind, learn, respect, comfort. Those are great words to be using as part of your daily routine with children.

For our S for supporting engagement, the words on the page reference the illustrations but they don't say specifically what's happening. As children are showing interest in them, talk about what is going on in the illustration. We're seeing this family it looks like baking together. You can comment on that.

Mike: You can even talk about how the intergenerational family is well in this one.

Emily: Yes. There's multiple images throughout this book that show intergenerational families. And then for E, extending the learning, one of the other examples they give is "You hold me up when you sing with me," and so, we know that singing is a great thing to do with infants, especially for those early verbal skills. I would encourage you to incorporate some singing and then of course some musical instruments as well.

Mike: You can even point out and say, "Oh, what type of instrument do you think this is?” And it's perfect because there's this book that was written and illustrated by First Nation People. You can talk about Indigenous people and how they're still alive and they're thriving. There's multiple ways to tie in so many key concepts.

Emily: Absolutely. That's "You Hold Me Up" by Monique Gray Smith and Danielle Daniel.

Mike: Now, what we don't have is one of my other favorite books and that's "Kindness Makes Us Strong," which you can always pick up at...

Emily: Your local library. It comes in a really nice big board book format which is great for both reading individually with children or in a group setting.

Mike: Well, I don't know about you, Emily, but I am ready to go read some books...

Emily: Awesome.

Mike: ...to color, to do it all. Maybe not first. Right now, we are going to say goodbye. But until next time, take care of yourselves and we can't wait. We are wrapping up today's episode and I can't wait to check out my local library to see all those great books that they have. Remember to check out the viewer's guide for complete book list. And if you work with toddlers, Emily also made the case for another book not shown here, "Kindness Makes Us Strong.” Again, all the info is in your viewer guide.

Becky: We just want to say thank you so much for joining us today. We are so excited that you are here and I also want to invite you to next months "Teacher Time" webinar, "Problem-Solving and Relationship Skills in Preschool.” And you can find the registration link in your Resource List Widget for the next three "Teacher Time" webinars. Sign up now. We hope to see you there.

We are also excited to let you know about our Dual Language Celebration Week coming up. Please make sure to register for that as well. And that widget is going to pop up on your screen right after we say goodbye. Thank you so much and we just can't wait to see you until next time.

Mike: Happy Black History Month, everyone. Happy Dual Language Learner Celebration Week. Until next time.

Children are born ready to solve problems! Infants and toddlers rely on supportive relationships to learn how to recognize problems and find solutions. Problem-solving involves patience, persistence, and creativity from both the child and the adults in their lives. As infants and toddlers explore their world and engage in play with peers, challenges and conflicts provide opportunities to learn and grow. Discuss practical strategies to foster problem-solving and relationship-building skills with infants and toddlers.

Note: The evaluation, certificate, and engagement tools mentioned in the video were for the participants of the live webinar and are no longer available. For information about webinars that will be broadcast live soon, visit the Upcoming Events section.

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Last Updated: December 18, 2023

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Ten Things Children Learn From Block Play

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Many early childhood educators, myself included, believe that every classroom should have a full set of unit blocks, assorted props tied to children’s current interests and experiences, open storage shelves, and plenty of space and time to build and rebuild invented and familiar structures. I canvassed NAEYC staff and Young Children consulting editors to ask, “What do you think children learn through block play?” Here are some responses:

Problem solving . Sometimes it is intentional: “I want to build X. How do I do that?” Other times it is in-themoment: “To go higher and add to one side, what can I use?”—Peter Pizzolongo  

Imagination . Children can follow their own plan, or they can share a friend’s vision and work together to create something they never dreamed of.—Karen Cairone  

Self-expression . Blocks offer many ways for young dual language learners to explore, express themselves, and demonstrate what they are learning across languages.— Karen Nemeth  

Mathematics . Important concepts and skills are practiced and strengthened through block play, including length, measurement, comparison, number, estimation, symmetry, balance.—Kristen Kemple  

Continuity and permanence . Block play engages spatial sense and motor abilities; it can be a solo or a group effort; block creations can stand for an indefinite period of time.—Lawrence Balter  

Creativity . Blocks and other loose parts can be moved freely by children, to be combined and recombined in countless ways.—Angela Eckhoff  

Science . Blocks offer opportunities to test hypotheses and build scientific reasoning.—Gayle Mindes  

Self-esteem . Children discover that they have ideas and that they can bring their ideas to life by creating, transforming, demolishing, and re-creating something unique.—Holly Bohart  

Social and emotional growth . Blocks help children learn to take turns and share materials, develop new friendships, become self-reliant, increase attention span, cooperate with others, and develop self-esteem.— Kathleen Harris  

Development in all areas . Block play requires fine and gross motor skills. Blocks enhance children’s problem-solving abilities, mathematics skills, and language and literacy abilities. And constructing “creations” builds selfesteem and feelings of success. —Linda Taylor  

The articles in the March 2015 cluster highlight the many benefits of block play, from infancy through the primary grades. The authors urge early childhood educators to introduce or reintroduce blocks because they are an ideal material for young children. Through examples and images, the authors demonstrate the teaching and learning possibilities that block play supports.

Photograph: Getty Images

Derry Koralek  is president of DGK & Company, providing early childhood educational consulting to a variety of clients, including teachers and family child care providers. Previously, she served as editor in chief of Young Children and Teaching Young Children and also as Chief Publishing Officer at NAEYC.

Vol. 70, No. 1

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Problem-Solving

Learning & Cognitive Skills

8 to 11 months

Sorting & Matching, Stacking, Executive Function, Concentration

From tackling a complex project at work to figuring out how to manage your busy schedule, every day you use problem-solving skills like critical thinking, reasoning, and creativity. How did you learn these skills? Just as your child will: through exploration and play. Support their problem-solving skills through activities that let them independently try new things, learn from their mistakes, and test out different ways of thinking.

In this article:

What is problem-solving?

What are examples of problem-solving skills, when do children develop problem-solving skills , why are problem-solving skills important in child development.

• Problem-solving games & activities for babies and toddlers

Problem-solving and frustration tolerance

Developmental concerns with problem-solving.

Problem-solving is the process by which your child spots a problem and comes up with a solution to overcome it. Your child uses problem-solving skills in all sorts of contexts, from figuring out how to get a ball out of a cup to interacting with a child who took their toy. 

Children don’t inherently understand different approaches to solving problems—these skills develop gradually over time, starting in the earliest days of life. As your child gains experience, tests out strategies, plays with various materials, and watches people around them, they learn how to problem-solve. 

Think about strategies you might use to tackle a project at work—for example, creating an outline, breaking the project into steps, or delegating tasks. With your help, your child will develop problem-solving skills like these:

• Breaking a large problem into smaller steps
• Persevering through challenges or setbacks
• Using creativity to think “outside the box” about different solutions
• Being resourceful by using available items as tools to reach a goal 
• Taking the initiative to try a possible solution and see if it works
• Seeking help when you get stuck
• Using compromise or negotiation to help resolve a conflict
• Using critical thinking to discover what the next step should be

As early as 8 to 11 months, you may see the earliest signs of your child’s problem-solving skills at work. If you hide a toy under a blanket or basket, for example, they may use basic problem-solving to try to uncover it. 

As a toddler, your child will grow more experienced with different types of playthings and the challenges they offer. They’ll also develop more focus and patience to work through problems on their own. Support their emerging problem-solving skills by observing their efforts—without stepping in right away to help. It’s tempting to intervene when you see your toddler struggle to fit the pieces of a puzzle, align blocks so they won’t fall, or get a stuck car out of the Race & Chase Ramp . Banging, rotating, failing, and trying again are all important parts of the process. Your toddler gains more problem-solving experience with every attempt.

RELATED: Subtle signs of your toddler’s developing focus

By 3 years of age, your child will have more skills to help them solve a problem. They’ve learned how to communicate and follow directions. They also have more control over their emotions and their body. Not only are they ready to solve more complex puzzles and games, they’re  learning how to solve social problems, like working through conflict and negotiating with peers during play.

If your child is accustomed to tackling problems, they’re more likely to at least attempt to get the cup they need off the high shelf, or try to buckle those tricky sandal straps. Practicing problem-solving can help your child overcome challenges, try flexible ways of thinking, and become more confident and independent in the process.  

Problem-solving skills are also crucial to your child’s cognitive development. They encourage your child’s brain to make new connections and process information in new ways. This is why so many of the best games, toys, and activities for young children stress some element of problem-solving, critical thinking, or creativity. 

Your child can develop better social skills when they practice problem-solving, too: Understanding how to resolve conflicts and compromise with peers is a crucial problem-solving skill they’ll take with them into preschool and beyond.

Problem-solving activities & games

You don’t need elaborate planning or fancy equipment to help your child develop these skills. Many problem-solving activities for kids can be incorporated into daily life or during playtime.

Problem-solving activities for babies

It will be years before your baby is ready for advanced problem-solving skills, like compromising with others and project planning. For now, they’ll experiment with different ways to solve simple problems, showing initiative, perseverance, and creativity. Here are a few activities that help spark your baby’s problem-solving skills.

Reaching for a toy: Setting a goal is the very first step in problem-solving. Once your baby can sit independently, place toys one at a time in front of them, behind them, beside them, between their legs, or on a nearby shelf. This allows them to practice setting a goal—get the toy!—and making a plan to achieve it. 

Emptying a container: Dumping objects out of containers sounds like a mess, but it’s a valuable skill for babies to learn. Place a Wood Ball in a Nesting Stacking Drip Drop Cup and show your baby how to tip over the cup to empty it. Then, put the ball back into the cup and let your baby figure out how to get the ball out of the container on their own. 

Finding hidden objects: Your baby practices problem-solving with the Sliding Top Box every time they work to figure out how to slide the top to reveal the ball inside. This also builds fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Posting: The Wooden Peg Drop lets your baby experiment with “posting,” or fitting an object into its container, a much-loved fine motor activity. The tab release is an engaging problem-solving task for your baby, as they discover how to press down to release the pegs from their slots.

Explore playthings that encourage problem-solving

The Thinker Play Kit

The Thinker Play Kit encourages your 11 – 12 month old baby’s curiosity as they start solving problems, working on hand strength and investigating everything in their path.

Problem-solving activities for toddlers

At 12 to 18 months, your toddler’s problem-solving skills are still taking shape. But you may begin to see them work to figure out more complex problems, like pulling toys around obstacles or getting objects “unstuck.” Encourage your toddler through play with activities that challenge their creative thinking.

Object interactions: What happens when you push a squishy ball through a small opening? How does a bendy thing react when it hits something hard? Understanding how different objects interact helps your child learn to use tools for problem-solving. 

As you play with your toddler, demonstrate different ways playthings can interact. Two blocks can be banged together, stacked, or lined up side by side. The insects from the Fuzzy Bug Shrub can be stuck to the outside of the shrub or put inside. Give your child pieces from different playthings and see how they can make them interact. Perhaps the balls from the Slide and Seek Ball Run and the rings from the Flexible Wooden Stacker can interact in some new, fun way?

Asking questions : Once your toddler learns how to push the Carrots through the Carrot Lid for the Coin Bank, the question becomes how to get them out. Ask your toddler simple questions to spark their problem-solving skills: “Where did the carrots go?” or “How can we get them out?” Encourage your child to explore the Coin Bank and give them time to discover a solution on their own.

Simple challenges: Your toddler may be ready for some problem-solving challenges with their playthings. For example, when your toddler can pick up a toy in each hand, offer a third toy and see if they can figure out how to carry all three at once. Or place parts of a toy—like the rings for the Flexible Wooden Stacker—in different locations around the room, so your child needs to plan how to retrieve the pieces. Pack as many Quilted Critters as will fit in The Lockbox  and let your toddler discover how to get them out. This type of challenge may seem simple, but your child has to problem-solve how to navigate their hand into the box to pull out the Critters. 

Cause and effect: Your toddler may discover how to pull on a string attached to a toy to make it move. They understand that the toy and the string are linked, and use simple problem-solving skills to test—and re-test—what happens when they move the string differently. This type of problem-solving can be supported by pull toys such as The Pull Pup . As your toddler encounters different obstacles—like the corner of the couch—with The Pull Pup, they’ll have to problem-solve to keep the toy moving.

RELATED: Pull toys are classic for a reason

Puzzles are a classic childhood problem-solving activity for good reason. Your child learns  how things fit together, how to orient and rotate objects, and how to predict which shape might fit a particular space. Puzzles come in such a wide variety of difficulty levels, shapes, sizes, and formats, there’s a puzzle that’s right for almost every stage of development. 

Lovevery co-founder Jessica Rolph explains how Lovevery puzzles are designed to progress with your child’s problem-solving and fine motor skills:

Babies can begin exploring simple one-piece puzzles around 6 to 8 months of age. Puzzles that have round slots and easy-to-hold pieces with knobs, like the First Puzzle , are ideal for this age. Around 13 to 15 months of age, they can try simple puzzles with several pieces in the same shape, like the Circle of Friends Puzzle .

By 18 months, your toddler is probably ready to work with puzzle shapes that are geometric, animal, or organic, like the Community Garden Puzzle . This reinforces your toddler’s newfound understanding that different shapes fit in different places. As they progress, they may start to enjoy stacking and nesting puzzles, like the 3D Geo Shapes Puzzle . This type of puzzle requires problem-solving on a new level, since your child may have to turn the shapes in different directions to orient and place them correctly.

As your toddler approaches their second birthday, they may be ready for classic jigsaw puzzles. Puzzles with large pieces that are easy for your toddler to hold, like the Chunky Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle , are a great place to start. At this age, your toddler may also find 3D puzzles, like the Wooden Posting Stand , an engaging problem-solving challenge. Since the dowels are different diameters, your child will likely use trial and error to determine which size fits in the correct slot. At first, you may have to guide them a bit: Point out that the dowels need to go in straight in order to fit.

How to encourage puzzle play for active toddlers

Depending on your toddler’s temperament, they may love to sit quietly and work on a puzzle—or they may be constantly on the move. Highly active toddlers may seem like they never sit still long enough to complete an activity. Here are a few ways to combine their love of movement with puzzle play:

• Play “hide-and-seek” with toys (or puzzle pieces) by placing them on top of furniture that’s safe to cruise along or climb on.
• Place puzzle pieces in different places around the room, so they have to retrieve them one by one to solve the puzzle. 
• Place the puzzle pieces on stairs or in different rooms so your toddler has to walk or climb to find them.

Stacking toys

Stacking toys such as blocks or rings engage babies and toddlers in a challenging form of problem-solving play. Your child’s skills are put to the test as they plan where to place each item, work to balance their stack, and wrestle with gravity to keep the stack from toppling.  

You can introduce your baby to stacking play around 9 to 10 months with playthings that are easy to work with, like the Nesting Stacking Drip Drop Cups . Stacking takes coordination, precision, and patience, and if they try to stack items that are too difficult to keep upright, they may become frustrated and give up. 

You can also make basic blocks easier to stack by using a larger item, like the Little Grip Canister Set , as a base. Demonstrate how to stack a block on top of the canister, then knock the tower down. Hand a block to your toddler and allow them to try stacking and knocking it down. As their movements become more controlled and purposeful, introduce another block to stack.  

Stacking a tower with the pegs from the Wooden Stacking Pegboard is a fun way to introduce goal-setting, an important aspect of problem-solving. The pegs nest together securely, allowing your toddler to build a higher, more stable tower than they could create with regular blocks. You can gently suggest a goal for your child—“Can we stack it higher?”—and see if they’re ready for the challenge. Then, sit and support them as they try to solve any problems that arise: “Is the tower too tall? Can we make it wider so it won’t fall so easily?”

Hide-and-seek

The classic childhood game of hide-and-seek offers your toddler many problem-solving opportunities. Your child has to use reasoning to figure out what would be a good hiding spot. They also use the process of elimination when they think about where they have and haven’t looked. They might even use creative thinking skills to discover a new place to hide.

The game doesn’t always have to involve you and your child hiding. When your child is around 12 months, you can introduce them to the concept using toys or other objects. Hide a small ball in one of two identical containers that you can’t see through, like upside-down cups. Make sure your child sees you put the ball under one of the containers, then mix them up. Lift the empty container to show your toddler that the ball isn’t inside and say, “Where is the ball?” If your toddler looks at the other container, say, “Yes! The ball is under this one.” Let your toddler lift the second container to find the ball. 

Your toddler might enjoy a game of hide-and-seek with The Lockbox . Hide a small toy, like one of the Quilted Critters or a small ball, inside The Lockbox. This activity challenges your toddler’s problem-solving skills on two levels: figuring out how to unlock the different mechanisms to open the doors, and feeling around inside to discover what’s hidden. Add another layer of fun to the challenge by letting your child try to guess the object just by touching it—no peeking.

Using tools to solve problems

Around 17 to 24 months of age, your child may begin using tools to solve simple problems. For example, if you ask your child to pick up their toys, their hands may become full quickly. You can model how to load toys into a bucket or bag to carry them to another spot. This might seem like an obvious choice, but the ability to use a tool to make a task easier or solve a problem is an important cognitive skill.

Here are a few ways you and your toddler can explore using tools to solve a problem:

• Show your child how to make a “shirt bowl” by using the upturned edge of their shirt as a cradle to hold toys or playthings.
• If a toy gets stuck behind the sofa, model how you can use a broomstick to push the toy to a place where you can reach it.
• Provide a child-size stool that your child can use to reach the sink or counter.

The Transfer Tweezers are a simple tool that your toddler can use to pick up other items besides the Felt Stars . They could try picking up the animals from the Quilted Critter Set or other child-safe items. Whenever you model how to use tools in everyday life, your child learns to think about new and different ways to solve problems.

Pretend play

Pretend play supports your child’s problem-solving skills in many ways. Research suggests that children’s pretend play is linked to different types of problem-solving and creativity. For example, one study showed that pretend play with peers was linked to better divergent problem-solving—meaning that children were able to “think outside the box” to solve problems. 

Pretend play is also a safe place for children to recreate—and practice solving—problems they’ve seen in their lives. Your 2- to 3-year-old may reenact an everyday challenge—for example, one doll might take away another doll’s toy. As practice for real-world problem-solving, you can then help them talk through how the dolls might solve their issue together

Pretend play may help children be more creative and open to new ideas. In pretend play, children put together play scenarios, act on them, and develop creative solutions. A 3- or 4-year-old child might be ready to explore creative problem-solving through pretend play that uses their playthings in new ways. Help your child start with an idea: “What do you want to pretend to be or recreate — a favorite storybook scene or someone from real life like a doctor or server at a restaurant?” Then encourage them to look for playthings they can use to pretend. Maybe a block can be a car or the beads from the Threadable Bead Set serve as “cups” in your child’s pretend restaurant. As your child gains practice with creative pretend play, they may start to form elaborate fantasy worlds.

Even if you don’t think of yourself as creative, you can model creative thinking by showing your child how a toy can be used in many different ways. Research finds that parents who model “out of the box” ways to play can encourage creative thinking and problem-solving in their children, starting in toddlerhood.

It can be difficult for young children to manage their frustration, but giving your child opportunities to solve problems on their own helps build both confidence and frustration tolerance . Research suggests that the ability to set goals and persist in them through challenges—sometimes called “grit”—is linked to school and career success. Here’s how you can play an important role in helping your child develop problem-solving persistence.

Model persistence. You know your toddler closely observes everything you do 🙃 A 2017 study shows that young children who watch their parents persist in their own challenge were more likely to show persistence themselves. Allow your toddler to see you attempting an activity, failing, and talking yourself through trying again. While playing with blocks, try stacking a few off balance so they fall. Notice aloud what went wrong and continue to narrate as you move slowly to carefully stack the blocks again.

Give them time. A little frustration can go a long way toward learning. It can take enormous restraint not to point out where to put the puzzle piece or how to slot the peg in place—but try to give them time to problem-solve on their own. You’re helping them feel capable and confident when faced with new challenges.

RELATED:  11 ways to build your toddler’s frustration tolerance

Ask questions to encourage new strategies. If your toddler gets frustrated with a problem, encourage their problem-solving process by asking questions: “Are you trying to race the car down the ramp but it got stuck? Is the car too long to go down sideways?” This may help your child refocus their attention on their goal instead of what they have already unsuccessfully tried. With a little time and creative problem-solving, your child may figure it out on their own.

Problem-solving skills are just one component of your child’s overall cognitive development. By around 12 months of age, you should see signs that your child is attempting to solve simple problems, like looking for a toy under a blanket. By about 30 months, your child may show slightly more advanced problem-solving skills, like using a stool to reach a high counter. Their attempts might not always be successful at this age, but the fact that they’re trying shows they’re thinking through different options. If you don’t see signs of your child trying to solve problems in these ways, talk to your pediatrician about your concerns. They can assess your child’s overall development and answer any questions.

Posted in: 7 - 8 Months , 9 - 10 Months , 11 - 12 Months , 13 - 15 Months , 16 - 18 Months , 19 - 21 Months , 22 - 24 Months , 25 - 27 Months , 28 - 30 Months , Learning & Cognitive Skills , Cause and Effect , Problem Solving , Cognitive Development , STEM , Independent Play , Puzzles , Child Development , Learning & Cognitive Skills

Meet the Experts

Learn more about the lovevery child development experts who created this story..

Research & Resources

Alan, S., Boneva, T., & Ertac, S. (2019). Ever failed, try again, succeed better: Results from a randomized educational intervention on grit . The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 134 (3), 1121-1162.

Bergen, D. (2002). The role of pretend play in children’s cognitive development . Early Childhood Research & Practice , 4(1), n1.

Bruner, J. S. (1973). Organization of early skilled action . Child Development , 1-11.

Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: perseverance and passion for long-term goals . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92 (6), 1087.

Hoicka, E., Mowat, R., Kirkwood, J., Kerr, T., Carberry, M., & Bijvoet‐van den Berg, S. (2016). One‐year‐olds think creatively, just like their parents . Child Development , 87 (4), 1099-1105.

Keen, R. (2011). The development of problem solving in young children: A critical cognitive skill. Annual Review of Psychology , 62 , 1-21.

Mullineaux, P. Y., & Dilalla, L. F. (2009). Preschool pretend play behaviors and early adolescent creativity . The Journal of Creative Behavior , 43(1), 41-57.

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Easy Problem Solving Activities For Toddlers

Problem solving activities for toddlers are not only a great way to boost their critical thinking skills but also provide playtime fun for curious little minds.

These daily activities help toddlers develop important cognitive and motor skills while enhancing their creativity and imagination. By engaging in problem solving activities, toddlers learn to think logically, make decisions, and develop a growth mindset.

In this article, I have curated a list of easy problem solving activities for toddlers that help your kids learn through the power of play. These activities require minimal preparation and offer maximum fun for your child – all while promoting language skills and social skills.

This post may contain affiliate links. Full  privacy policy and disclosure here.

Key Takeaways:

• Problem solving activities promote critical thinking and cognitive development in toddlers.
• Engaging in problem solving activities helps toddlers develop important motor skills.
• These activities enhance creativity and imagination in toddlers.
• Toddlers learn logical thinking and decision-making through problem solving activities.
• Curated a list of 50 easy problem solving activities for toddlers to enjoy.

The No-Stress Prep Principle to Toddler Activities

When it comes to toddler activities, the key is to keep it simple and stress-free. The last thing parents need is complicated setups and multiple materials to juggle. That’s where the no-stress prep principle comes in. By providing activities that require minimal preparation and materials, parents can ensure low-effort, high-reward fun for their toddlers.

Table of Contents

These no-stress activities not only provide entertainment but also contribute to cognitive development, fine and gross motor skills, as well as creativity and imagination. Toddlers engage in problem-solving tasks such as sorting and matching, which promote cognitive development and critical thinking.

At the same time, these activities focus on refining fine and gross motor skills. Toddlers can practice pinching small objects or jumping and hopping, enhancing their physical coordination and strength.

Moreover, these low-stress activities foster creativity and imagination in toddlers. Through open-ended play, they have the opportunity to express themselves and explore their ideas. Whether it’s building a tower with blocks or creating a pretend play scenario with dolls, these activities encourage imaginative thinking.

By following the no-stress prep principle, parents can provide their toddlers with enriching and enjoyable activities that support their cognitive, physical, and creative development. Let’s take a look at some examples of these easy and rewarding toddler activities.

Benefits of the No-Stress Prep Principle

With these no-stress activities, parents can create a fun and enriching environment for their toddlers while minimizing the effort needed to set up and prepare. Finding the balance between simplicity and engaging experiences is key to ensuring that both parents and toddlers can enjoy quality time together.

Sticky Wall Art

Looking for a simple and mess-free activity to engage your toddler’s senses and enhance their fine motor skills and creativity? Look no further than sticky wall art! With just painter’s tape and a few pieces to stick and re-stick, your little one can enjoy endless fun while developing important skills.

Sticky wall art offers a sensory experience that captivates toddlers as they explore the sticky texture of the tape. This tactile exploration stimulates their senses and encourages curiosity. As they peel and stick the pieces onto the walls or floors, toddlers also develop their fine motor skills by practicing grip and hand-eye coordination.

But that’s not all—sticky wall art is a fantastic opportunity for your toddler to unleash their creativity and imagination. They can arrange the pieces in any way they like, creating their own unique artwork. This open-ended activity allows them to express themselves and develop a sense of pride and accomplishment in their creations.

Create a designated area in your home for sticky wall art, whether it’s a wall or a large piece of cardboard on the floor. Stick the painter’s tape in various shapes and patterns, leaving plenty of space for your toddler to stick the pieces. Provide your child with a variety of materials they can use, such as foam shapes, fabric scraps, or even cut-up pieces of construction paper.

Encourage your toddler to explore the stickiness of the tape, experiment with different arrangements, and peel and re-stick the pieces as many times as they like. This interactive and sensory-rich activity will keep them engaged and entertained for hours while fostering their cognitive and motor development.

In conclusion, sticky wall art is a fantastic activity for toddlers that offers a sensory experience, enhances fine motor skills, and sparks creativity. With just painter’s tape and a little imagination, you can provide your child with a fun and educational sensory play opportunity that will keep them coming back for more.

Colander Pipe Cleaners

If you’re looking for a simple and creative activity to keep your toddler entertained, colander pipe cleaners are the perfect solution. All you need is a colander and some pipe cleaners. Show your little one how to thread the pipe cleaners through the holes in the colander, creating a colorful and tactile masterpiece. This activity not only helps develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination but also encourages creativity and imaginative play.

By manipulating the pipe cleaners and exploring different ways to thread them through the colander, toddlers can experiment with shapes, patterns, and colors. It’s a hands-on sensory experience that stimulates their senses and engages their curious minds.

Watch as their concentration levels increase while they focus on the task at hand. The satisfaction of completing their unique creation will bring a sense of accomplishment and boost their confidence.

Colander pipe cleaners are an excellent activity for both solo play and interactive play with siblings or friends. You can even turn it into a friendly competition, challenging your little ones to create the most elaborate designs.

So grab a colander and some pipe cleaners and let your toddler’s creativity run wild!

Nature’s Paintbrush

Are you looking for a creative and sensory painting activity for your toddler? Look no further than Nature’s Paintbrush! This activity allows your little one to explore the wonders of nature while enhancing their sensory perception and unleashing their creativity.

To get started with Nature’s Paintbrush, all you need to do is step outside and collect some leaves or twigs. These natural materials will serve as your toddler’s paintbrushes, providing a unique and textured painting experience.

With Nature’s Paintbrush, your toddler can create beautiful artwork using the vibrant colors and shapes of leaves or the interesting patterns and textures of twigs. This activity not only engages their senses but also encourages their artistic expression and imagination. As they experiment with different strokes and techniques, they will discover new ways to use nature’s paintbrush to bring their ideas to life.

Nature’s Paintbrush is a wonderful way to connect your toddler with the natural world and foster a love for nature. It provides a hands-on experience that allows them to appreciate the beauty of the outdoors while developing their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

So, why wait? Let your toddler’s creativity bloom with Nature’s Paintbrush and watch as they create masterpieces inspired by the beauty of nature.

Mega Block Jumping

Mega block jumping is a fun and interactive gross motor activity that promotes active play and coordination in toddlers. This simple yet engaging activity allows little ones to burn off energy while developing their physical skills.

All you need for mega block jumping is a few large building blocks and a soft surface. Set up a line or a small platform using the blocks and encourage your toddler to jump from one block to another. This activity challenges their coordination and balance while providing them with a sense of accomplishment as they successfully land on each block.

Mega block jumping not only helps toddlers build their gross motor skills but also promotes the development of strength and agility. It gives them an opportunity to explore their physical abilities and improve their balance and spatial awareness.

Benefits of Mega Block Jumping:

• Enhances coordination and balance
• Promotes active play and physical development
• Builds strength and agility

Mega block jumping is a fantastic way to incorporate active play into your toddler’s routine. It provides them with an enjoyable and stimulating experience while supporting their physical development. So grab some large building blocks and watch your little one have a blast while jumping to new heights!

Snowball Pick Up

Snowball pick up is a festive and engaging indoor activity for toddlers. All you need are some soft balls or crumpled pieces of paper to represent snowballs. Spread them out in a designated area and encourage your toddler to pick them up and put them in a container.

This activity is not only a great way to develop fine motor skills but also provides sensory play as toddlers feel the texture of the “snowballs.” It’s a fun and interactive way to bring a touch of winter magic into your home.

As your toddler engages in snowball pick up, they will develop their hand-eye coordination and grasp control, honing their fine motor skills. The sensory experience of touching and holding the “snowballs” stimulates their tactile senses, providing a multi-sensory play opportunity. It’s a wonderful indoor activity that keeps toddlers entertained while also promoting their physical and cognitive development.

The Big List Of Problem Solving Activities For Toddlers

• Sorting Games: Provide objects or toys for young children to sort by color, shape, or size, encouraging critical thinking and classification skills – there all kinds of possible solutions for shape sorting games.
• Sensory Bins: Create sensory bins filled with various materials like rice, beans, or water along with scoops and containers, prompting toddlers to explore and problem-solve through sensory play. You can use open ended questions to prompt the play scene, or encourage free play to help encourage independent play.
• Obstacle Courses: Set up simple obstacle courses using pillows, cushions, and other household items, challenging toddlers to navigate and problem-solve to complete the course.
• Water Play: Offer water play activities with cups, funnels, and toys, allowing toddlers to experiment with pouring, filling, and problem-solving through water exploration.
• Nature Walks: Take toddlers on nature walks, encouraging them to observe and problem-solve as they encounter different elements like rocks, leaves, and insects.
• Shape Matching: Provide shape sorting toys or puzzles for toddlers to match shapes to corresponding holes, promoting spatial awareness and problem-solving skills.
• Cooking Together: Involve toddlers in simple cooking activities like mixing ingredients or assembling sandwiches, fostering problem-solving and following instructions.
• Animal Matching: Introduce matching games with pictures or figurines of animals for toddlers to pair together, enhancing memory and problem-solving abilities.
• DIY Crafts: Engage toddlers in age-appropriate DIY crafts using materials like paper, glue, and recycled items, encouraging creative problem-solving and self-expression.
• Story Sequencing: Use picture cards or storybooks to prompt toddlers to sequence events in a story or solve a basic problem, enhancing comprehension and problem-solving through storytelling.
• Pattern Recognition: Create patterns using blocks, beads, or stickers for toddlers to replicate, promoting critical thinking and pattern recognition skills.
• Sensory Exploration: Offer sensory exploration activities with materials like playdough, slime, or kinetic sand, encouraging toddlers to encourage problem solving skills  through tactile experiences.
• Block Stacking Challenges: Encourage toddlers to build tall towers or structures with blocks, fostering spatial reasoning and problem-solving as they balance and stack and come up with creative solutions with creative thinking. Building toys are a must have for every toddlers toy box!
• Color Mixing: Provide paint or colored water for toddlers to experiment with mixing colors, promoting problem-solving and exploration of cause and effect.
• Shadow Play: Use flashlights or natural light to create shadows, prompting toddlers to explore and problem-solve by manipulating objects to create different shadow shapes.
• Music and Movement: Engage toddlers in music and movement activities like dancing or playing instruments, fostering problem-solving and creativity through rhythm and movement.
• Outdoor Scavenger Hunts: Organize scavenger hunt in the backyard or park, challenging young toddlers to find and collect items based on visual cues or descriptions – focusing on developing cognitive skills.
• DIY Sensory Boards: Create sensory boards with textures like sandpaper, fabric, or bubble wrap for toddlers to explore and problem-solve through tactile stimulation.
• Building Bridges: Provide materials like blocks, cardboard, and tape for toddlers to construct bridges or ramps for toy cars or animals, encouraging problem-solving and engineering skills.
• Imaginative Play Prompts: Offer props or costumes for toddlers to engage in imaginary play scenarios, prompting problem-solving and creativity through role-playing.
• Number Games: Introduce simple number games or counting activities using toys or everyday objects, promoting numeracy skills and problem-solving through counting and sorting.
• Shape Hunt: Go on a shape hunt around the house or outdoors, challenging toddlers to find and identify different shapes in their environment. This is a really simple activity that doesn’t require toys for young learners.
• DIY Marble Runs: Create simple marble runs using cardboard tubes, ramps, and tape for toddlers to design and problem-solve as they experiment with gravity and momentum. This is so great for brain development and fine motor skills as well.
• Building with Recyclables: Provide recyclable materials like cardboard boxes, tubes, and bottles for toddlers to build and problem-solve as they construct imaginative structures.
• DIY Puzzles: Make homemade puzzles using pictures or drawings mounted on cardboard for toddlers to assemble, promoting problem-solving and visual-spatial skills.

How can problem solving activities benefit toddlers?

Problem solving activities for toddlers are a great way to boost their critical thinking skills while also having fun. These activities help toddlers develop important cognitive and motor skills, as well as enhance their creativity and imagination. By engaging in problem solving activities, toddlers can learn to think logically, make decisions, and develop a growth mindset.

What is the no-stress prep principle for toddler activities?

When it comes to toddler activities, the key is to keep it simple and stress-free. The no-stress prep principle focuses on providing activities that are easy to set up with minimal materials, while still offering maximum fun and learning opportunities for toddlers. These activities promote cognitive development by involving sorting, matching, and simple puzzles. They also help toddlers refine their fine and gross motor skills through activities like pinching and jumping. Additionally, these activities encourage creativity and imagination, allowing toddlers to express themselves through play.

How can I create sticky wall art with my toddler?

Sticky wall art is a simple and mess-free activity that toddlers will love. All you need is painter’s tape and some pieces for your toddler to stick and re-stick on the walls or floors. This activity provides a sensory experience as toddlers explore the stickiness of the tape and work on their fine motor skills by peeling and sticking the pieces. Additionally, it allows toddlers to use their creativity and imagination as they create their own art on the sticky wall.

What is the nature’s paintbrush activity for toddlers?

Nature’s paintbrush is a fun and sensory painting activity for toddlers. Simply step outside, collect some leaves or twigs, and use them as paintbrushes. This activity not only allows toddlers to explore different textures and sensations, but it also promotes creativity as they create unique artwork using natural materials. It’s a great way for toddlers to connect with nature while also engaging in a fun and creative activity.

How can I engage my toddler in mega block jumping?

Mega block jumping is a simple yet engaging activity that helps toddlers burn off energy and develop their gross motor skills. All you need are some large building blocks and a soft surface. Encourage your toddler to jump from one block to another, challenging their coordination and balance. This activity promotes active play and helps toddlers build strength and agility. It’s a great way to keep your little one entertained while also promoting physical development.

What is snowball pick up for toddlers?

Snowball pick up is a festive and engaging indoor activity for toddlers. All you need are some soft balls or crumpled pieces of paper to represent snowballs. Spread them out in a designated area and encourage your toddler to pick them up and put them in a container. This activity is not only a great way to develop fine motor skills but also provides sensory play as toddlers feel the texture of the “snowballs.” It’s a fun and interactive way to bring a touch of winter magic into your home.

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Home • Toddler • Play And Activities

13 Problem-Solving Activities For Toddlers And Preschoolers

Intriguing ideas to boost their analytical and rational thinking skills.

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Problem-solving preschool activities are an essential part of learning, leading to the development of the most crucial skills for your child. Your child’s journey between realizing a problem and finding a solution involves effort, thinking, and patience. What comes in between realization and solution is important to understand, as it is the key to a lightning-fast intellect. The process is the most beautiful part, which is also the beginning of making a new genius for the world to witness. These little minds could one day become billionaires, philanthropists, or someone far more successful .

Read on to know some of the problem-solving activities for toddlers and preschoolers and how it helps them.

What Is Problem-Solving?

Image: IStock

Problem-solving is the art of realizing a problem and finding an apt solution by a series of interconnected thoughts in the cognitive area of the mind (1) . It requires identifying the problem and pondering over the causes and attempting to chalk out the reason. The next step would be to find a solution out of the many alternatives. Identifying the causes of a problem would involve some deep thinking, which can benefit a child’s growth and aid in their character development.

What Are Problem-Solving Skills?

Problem-solving skills are what every child needs to survive in this world. A few problem-solving skills are analytical thinking, logical reasoning, lateral thinking, creativity, initiative, persistence, negotiation, listening skills, cognitive skills, math skills, and decision-making. Good communication skills are also important as they improve the self-esteem of your child.

Why Is Problem-Solving Important In Preschool?

As parents, you may not want to fill your child’s minds with every problem-solving ability. But you must trust the process, as it is the most important phase of life, and they are learning new things every day.

• During preschool, they are constantly interacting with friends and surroundings. They come across various problems and learn from them. The best part is that it will be effortless for them to pick up these skills faster as they are in their learning stage.
• Also, the earlier they learn, the better it is (2)
• Children in preschool are introduced to the realm of creativity and imagination through storytelling and poems. It will be the perfect time to enhance their creative abilities.
• Children usually try to ignore things beyond their understanding. But problem-solving skills might help them see things differently.
• Developing problem-solving abilities can help them take new initiatives.

How To Teach Problem-Solving Skills To Preschoolers?

Making them listen with patience and willingness is a skill that will help them comprehend what you teach them. Here are some steps that you can follow:

• Teach them how to approach a problem in a practical way. Allow them to explore and find solutions by themselves. Problem-based learning will stick with them forever.
• Make them do simple household chores in their own way. And, there is no right or wrong style to it. Kitchen experiments are a great way to learn.
• Every kid is unique and has a different pace of learning. A teacher/ parent will have to be observing to analyze the best way to teach them.
• Usually, the first step would be to identify the problem.
• Once they find solutions, tell them to evaluate the pros and cons. And choose the best solution.
• Teach them to take failure positively.
• Encourage group activities as children tend to be active when their peers are along.

13 Problem-Solving Activities For Toddlers

You may try several problem-solving activities at home. We have listed some of the best activates here:

1. Simon Says

One of the children becomes Simon and gives commands. The rest have to follow the commands and enact only when they hear ’Simon says’ at the beginning of the command. If anyone acts when the words ‘Simon says’ is not told at the beginning, then that particular child is out. This game will improve listening skills and response time.

2. Tic–tac–toe

The game teaches decision-making and the cost of consequences. This game involves two players. One player has to mark X anywhere on the tic-tac-toe, followed by another player marking O. The idea is to make a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line with either three X’s or O’s. Both players have to stop each other from winning. Sounds fun, right?

3. Treasure hunt

Divide the children into groups and give them clues to find hidden objects. Activities such as treasure hunt evidently improve their problem-solving skills and induce the idea of competition.

Puzzles can make a child think out of the box. They can develop a child’s logical reasoning. Arranging the crumbled pieces will surely improve their level of patience.

5. Hide and seek

Playing in a group can make them less shy and socialize with others. And, with hide and seek activity, children can learn devising strategies, escaping from a troublesome situation, and various other skills.

6. Sorting together

Give them various toys, pieces of clothing, or other random objects at home and some bins. Now ask your child to sort and place everything in the right bin. See how good they are at classifying the objects.

7. Spot the difference

Show them printouts of two similar pictures, with one picture having some differences. Ask them to spot the differences. This helps in actively improving their concentration and attention to detail.

8. Matching animals with sounds

Play sounds of various animals and let the children guess their names. You can also take them to an animal farm where they can observe their behavior. This activity may improve their sound recognition ability over time.

Give your child a blank canvas and some paints or coloring pencils. Let them get creative and produce a masterpiece.

10. Memory games

Memory games can improve a child’s retaining capacity. One such game is to sit in a circle and play “Chinese Whisper.” In this game, kids sit in a circle. Each of them has to whisper a word in their peer’s ear. The same word, along with a new one, is whispered into the next child’s ear. This should be continued till the last child in the circle announces it for all to hear.

11. Fort building

Building forts using toy material, Lego, pillows, or blankets can be fun. During the process of building a fort, children may have to face minor or major difficulties. Overcoming such issues and completing the target successfully helps in the improvement of logical and analytical abilities.

Solving mazes can also help a kid improve their approach towards dealing with problems and dead ends. It will enable lateral thinking and thinking out of the box.

13. Stacking rings

Stacking rings is an effective problem-solving activity for children as it enhances their cognitive skills, spatial awareness, and fine motor abilities. The task requires careful consideration of size, shape, and balance, fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Children must strategize the order and orientation of the rings to successfully build a stable tower. This activity encourages creativity as they experiment with different stacking techniques. Give children a set of rings in varying sizes and materials for this activity. Ask the children to construct the tower and be watchful to prevent it from collapsing, as it offers them valuable insights into cause-and-effect relationships. Challenge them to create the tallest tower possible to promote teamwork and perseverance as they refine their approach through trial and error.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the stages of problem-solving?

Problem-solving is a cognitive skill that works through six stages – searching and determining the problem, generating alternative ideas or solutions, evaluating alternatives, selecting the best suitable solution, implementing the solution, and follow-up (3) .

2. At what age do toddlers begin problem-solving?

According to research, children begin problem-solving right after birth. Children learn problem-solving through exploration between zero to two years, whereas, by three years of age, they learn problem-solving through experimenting and trial and error. Four-year-olds learn problem-solving through cooperative activities with peers and friends. By five and six years, kids get enough experience to deal with problems that would need abstract thinking skills (4) .

3. How do toddlers develop critical thinking skills?

Critical thinking skills don’t develop in a day or week. Rather, it takes constant exposure to environments that hone a child’s critical thinking abilities. Indulging toddlers in critical thinking activities by asking open-ended questions or engaging in activities such as block constructing and puzzles and motivating them to think out of the box are simple ways to bolster your child’s critical thinking.

Problem-solving activities for toddlers enhance their thinking abilities and promote early brain development. You may introduce problem-solving activities such as tic-tac-toe, Simon says, hide and seek, treasure hunt, puzzles, etc., to enhance cognitive skills in toddlers. The problem-solving skills in preschoolers help them cope with various situations and mingle with other children. Problem-solving skills help children think differently and take the initiative in making decisions and solving problems. These activities help build the skills without any force or pressure.

Infographic: Hone Your Toddler’s Problem-Solving Skills

Illustration: Momjunction Design Team

Key Pointers

• Honing your child’s problem-solving skills during preschool can help them see things differently and enhance their creative abilities.
• Teach them to find the problem and use their analytical abilities to find a solution.
• Simon Says, treasure hunt, puzzles, and spot the difference are a few problem-solving activities a toddler can try.

Image: Stable Diffusion/MomJunction Design Team

• You Can Do It: Teaching Toddlers Problem-Solving Skills. https://va-itsnetwork.org/you-can-do-it-teaching-toddlers-problem-solving-skills/
• Developing Problem-Solving Skills At Early Age. https://kennedyglobalschool.edu.in/developing-problem-solving-skills-at-early-age-takes-kids-long-way-as-they-grow/#respond
• Problem solving. https://www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/Articles/N_R/Problem-solving
• Development: Ages & Stages–How Children Learn to Problem-Solve. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ738434
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Introduction

Nature of learning and play, categories of play, object play, physical, locomotor, or rough-and-tumble play, outdoor play, social or pretend play alone or with others, development of play, effects on brain structure and functioning, benefits of play, benefits to adults of playing with children, implications for preschool education, modern challenges, role of media in children’s play, barriers to play, role of pediatricians, conclusions, lead authors, contributor, committee on psychosocial aspects of child and family health, 2017–2018, council on communications and media, 2017–2018, the power of play: a pediatric role in enhancing development in young children.

POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST: The authors have indicated they have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: The authors have indicated they have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.

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Michael Yogman , Andrew Garner , Jeffrey Hutchinson , Kathy Hirsh-Pasek , Roberta Michnick Golinkoff , COMMITTEE ON PSYCHOSOCIAL ASPECTS OF CHILD AND FAMILY HEALTH , COUNCIL ON COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA , Rebecca Baum , Thresia Gambon , Arthur Lavin , Gerri Mattson , Lawrence Wissow , David L. Hill , Nusheen Ameenuddin , Yolanda (Linda) Reid Chassiakos , Corinn Cross , Rhea Boyd , Robert Mendelson , Megan A. Moreno , MSEd , Jenny Radesky , Wendy Sue Swanson , MBE , Jeffrey Hutchinson , Justin Smith; The Power of Play: A Pediatric Role in Enhancing Development in Young Children. Pediatrics September 2018; 142 (3): e20182058. 10.1542/peds.2018-2058

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Children need to develop a variety of skill sets to optimize their development and manage toxic stress. Research demonstrates that developmentally appropriate play with parents and peers is a singular opportunity to promote the social-emotional, cognitive, language, and self-regulation skills that build executive function and a prosocial brain. Furthermore, play supports the formation of the safe, stable, and nurturing relationships with all caregivers that children need to thrive.

Play is not frivolous: it enhances brain structure and function and promotes executive function (ie, the process of learning, rather than the content), which allow us to pursue goals and ignore distractions.

When play and safe, stable, nurturing relationships are missing in a child’s life, toxic stress can disrupt the development of executive function and the learning of prosocial behavior; in the presence of childhood adversity, play becomes even more important. The mutual joy and shared communication and attunement (harmonious serve and return interactions) that parents and children can experience during play regulate the body’s stress response. This clinical report provides pediatric providers with the information they need to promote the benefits of play and and to write a prescription for play at well visits to complement reach out and read. At a time when early childhood programs are pressured to add more didactic components and less playful learning, pediatricians can play an important role in emphasizing the role of a balanced curriculum that includes the importance of playful learning for the promotion of healthy child development.

Since the publication of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Clinical Reports on the importance of play in 2007, 1 , 2 newer research has provided additional evidence of the critical importance of play in facilitating parent engagement; promoting safe, stable, and nurturing relationships; encouraging the development of numerous competencies, including executive functioning skills; and improving life course trajectories. 3 , – 5 An increasing societal focus on academic readiness (promulgated by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) has led to a focus on structured activities that are designed to promote academic results as early as preschool, with a corresponding decrease in playful learning. Social skills, which are part of playful learning, enable children to listen to directions, pay attention, solve disputes with words, and focus on tasks without constant supervision. 6 By contrast, a recent trial of an early mathematics intervention in preschool showed almost no gains in math achievement in later elementary school. 7 Despite criticism from early childhood experts, the 2003 Head Start Act reauthorization ended the program evaluation of social emotional skills and was focused almost exclusively on preliteracy and premath skills. 8 The AAP report on school readiness includes an emphasis on the importance of whole child readiness (including social–emotional, attentional, and cognitive skills). 9 Without that emphasis, children’s ability to pay attention and behave appropriately in the classroom is disadvantaged.

The definition of play is elusive. However, there is a growing consensus that it is an activity that is intrinsically motivated, entails active engagement, and results in joyful discovery. Play is voluntary and often has no extrinsic goals; it is fun and often spontaneous. Children are often seen actively engaged in and passionately engrossed in play; this builds executive functioning skills and contributes to school readiness (bored children will not learn well). 10 Play often creates an imaginative private reality, contains elements of make believe, and is nonliteral.

Depending on the culture of the adults in their world, children learn different skills through play. Sociodramatic play is when children act out the roles of adulthood from having observed the activities of their elders. Extensive studies of animal play suggest that the function of play is to build a prosocial brain that can interact effectively with others. 11  

Play is fundamentally important for learning 21st century skills, such as problem solving, collaboration, and creativity, which require the executive functioning skills that are critical for adult success. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has enshrined the right to engage in play that is appropriate to the age of the child in Article 21. 12 In its 2012 exhibit “The Century of the Child: 1900–2000,” the Museum of Modern Art noted, “Play is to the 21st century what work was to industrialization. It demonstrates a way of knowing, doing, and creating value.” 13 Resnick 14 has described 4 guiding principles to support creative learning in children: projects, passion, peers, and play. Play is not just about having fun but about taking risks, experimenting, and testing boundaries. Pediatricians can be influential advocates by encouraging parents and child care providers to play with children and to allow children to have unstructured time to play as well as by encouraging educators to recognize playful learning as an important complement to didactic learning. Some studies 15 , – 18 note that the new information economy, as opposed to the older industrial 1, demands more innovation and less imitation, more creativity and less conformity. Research on children’s learning indicates that learning thrives when children are given some agency (control of their own actions) to play a role in their own learning. 19 The demands of today’s world require that the teaching methods of the past 2 centuries, such as memorization, be replaced by innovation, application, and transfer. 18  

Bruner et al 20 stressed the fact that play is typically buffered from real-life consequences. Play is part of our evolutionary heritage, occurs in a wide spectrum of species, is fundamental to health, and gives us opportunities to practice and hone the skills needed to live in a complex world. 21 Although play is present in a large swath of species within the animal kingdom, from invertebrates (such as the octopus, lizard, turtle, and honey bee) to mammals (such as rats, monkeys, and humans), 22 social play is more prominent in animals with a large neocortex. 23 Studies of animal behavior suggests that play provides animals and humans with skills that will help them with survival and reproduction. 24 Locomotor skills learned through rough-and-tumble play enables escape from predators. However, animals play even when it puts them at risk of predation. 25 It is also suggested that play teaches young animals what they can and cannot do at times when they are relatively free from the survival pressures of adult life. 26 Play and learning are inextricably linked. 27 A Russian psychologist recognized that learning occurs when children actively engage in practical activities within a supportive social context. The accumulation of new knowledge is built on previous learning, but the acquisition of new skills is facilitated by social and often playful interactions. He was interested in what he called the “zone of proximal development,” which consists of mastering skills that a child could not do alone but could be developed with minimal assistance. 28 Within the zone of proximal development, the “how” of learning occurs through a reiterative process called scaffolding, in which new skills are built on previous skills and are facilitated by a supportive social environment. The construct of scaffolding has been extrapolated to younger children. Consider how a social smile at 6 to 8 weeks of age invites cooing conversations, which leads to the reciprocal dance of social communication even before language emerges, followed by social referencing (the reading of a parent’s face for nonverbal emotional content). The balance between facilitating unstructured playtime for children and encouraging adult scaffolding of play will vary depending on the competing needs in individual families, but the “serve-and-return” aspect of play requires caregiver engagement. 29  

Early learning and play are fundamentally social activities 30 and fuel the development of language and thought. Early learning also combines playful discovery with the development of social–emotional skills. It has been demonstrated that children playing with toys act like scientists and learn by looking and listening to those around them. 15 , – 17 However, explicit instructions limit a child’s creativity; it is argued that we should let children learn through observation and active engagement rather than passive memorization or direct instruction. Preschool children do benefit from learning content, but programs have many more didactic components than they did 20 years ago. 31 Successful programs are those that encourage playful learning in which children are actively engaged in meaningful discovery. 32 To encourage learning, we need to talk to children, let them play, and let them watch what we do as we go about our everyday lives. These opportunities foster the development of executive functioning skills that are critically important for the development of 21st century skills, such as collaboration, problem solving, and creativity, according to the 2010 IBM’s Global CEO Study. 33  

Play has been categorized in a variety of ways, each with its own developmental sequence. 32 , 34  

This type of play occurs when an infant or child explores an object and learns about its properties. Object play progresses from early sensorimotor explorations, including the use of the mouth, to the use of symbolic objects (eg, when a child uses a banana as a telephone) for communication, language, and abstract thought.

This type of play progresses from pat-a-cake games in infants to the acquisition of foundational motor skills in toddlers 35 and the free play seen at school recess. The development of foundational motor skills in childhood is essential to promoting an active lifestyle and the prevention of obesity. 36 , – 39 Learning to cooperate and negotiate promotes critical social skills. Extrapolation from animal data suggests that guided competition in the guise of rough-and-tumble play allows all participants to occasionally win and learn how to lose graciously. 40 Rough-and-tumble play, which is akin to the play seen in animals, enables children to take risks in a relatively safe environment, which fosters the acquisition of skills needed for communication, negotiation, and emotional balance and encourages the development of emotional intelligence. It enables risk taking and encourages the development of empathy because children are guided not to inflict harm on others. 25 , 30 , 40 The United Kingdom has modified its guidelines on play, arguing that the culture has gone too far by leaching healthy risks out of childhood: new guidelines on play by the national commission state, “The goal is not to eliminate risk.” 41  

Outdoor play provides the opportunity to improve sensory integration skills. 36 , 37 , 39 These activities involve the child as an active participant and address motor, cognitive, social, and linguistic domains. Viewed in this light, school recess becomes an essential part of a child’s day. 42 It is not surprising that countries that offer more recess to young children see greater academic success among the children as they mature. 42 , 43 Supporting and implementing recess not only sends a message that exercise is fundamentally important for physical health but likely brings together children from diverse backgrounds to develop friendships as they learn and grow. 42  

This type of play occurs when children experiment with different social roles in a nonliteral fashion. Play with other children enables them to negotiate “the rules” and learn to cooperate. Play with adults often involves scaffolding, as when an adult rotates a puzzle to help the child place a piece. Smiling and vocal attunement, in which infants learn turn taking, is the earliest example of social play. Older children can develop games and activities through which they negotiate relationships and guidelines with other players. Dress up, make believe, and imaginary play encourage the use of more sophisticated language to communicate with playmates and develop common rule-bound scenarios (eg, “You be the teacher, and I will be the student”).

Play has also been grouped as self-directed versus adult guided. Self-directed play, or free play, is crucial to children’s exploration of the world and understanding of their preferences and interests. 19 , 32 , 44 Guided play retains the child agency, such that the child initiates the play, but it occurs either in a setting that an adult carefully constructs with a learning goal in mind (eg, a children’s museum exhibit or a Montessori task) or in an environment where adults supplement the child-led exploration with questions or comments that subtly guide the child toward a goal. Board games that have well-defined goals also fit into this category. 45 For example, if teachers want children to improve executive functioning skills (see the “Tools of the Mind” curriculum), 46 they could create drum-circle games, in which children coregulate their behavior. Familiar games such as “Simon Says” or “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” ask children to control their individual actions or impulses and have been shown to improve executive functioning skills. 47 Guided play has been defined as a child-led, joyful activity in which adults craft the environment to optimize learning. 4 , 48 This approach harkens back to Vygotsky 28 and the zone of proximal development, which represents the skills that children are unable to master on their own but are able to master in the context of a safe, stable, and nurturing relationship with an adult. The guidance and dialogue provided by the adult allow the child to master skills that would take longer to master alone and help children focus on the elements of the activity to guide learning. One way to think about guided play is as “constrained tinkering.” 14 , 48 This logic also characterizes Italy’s Emilio Reggio approach, which emphasizes the importance of teaching children to listen and look.

According to Vygotsky, 28 the most efficient learning occurs in a social context, where learning is scaffolded by the teacher into meaningful contexts that resonate with children’s active engagement and previous experiences. Scaffolding is a part of guided play; caregivers are needed to provide the appropriate amount of input and guidance for children to develop optimal skills.

How does play develop? Play progresses from social smiling to reciprocal serve-and-return interactions; the development of babbling; games, such as “peek-a-boo”; hopping, jumping, skipping, and running; and fantasy or rough-and-tumble play. The human infant is born immature compared with infants of other species, with substantial brain development occurring after birth. Infants are entirely dependent on parents to regulate sleep–wake rhythms, feeding cycles, and many social interactions. Play facilitates the progression from dependence to independence and from parental regulation to self-regulation. It promotes a sense of agency in the child. This evolution begins in the first 3 months of life, when parents (both mothers and fathers) interact reciprocally with their infants by reading their nonverbal cues in a responsive, contingent manner. 49 Caregiver–infant interaction is the earliest form of play, known as attunement, 50 but it is quickly followed by other activities that also involve the taking of turns. These serve-and-return behaviors promote self-regulation and impulse control in children and form a strong foundation for understanding their interaction with adults. The back-and-forth episodes also feed into the development of language.

Reciprocal games occur with both mothers and fathers 51 and often begin in earnest with the emergence of social smiles at 6 weeks of age. Parents mimic their infant’s “ooh” and “ah” in back-and-forth verbal games, which progress into conversations in which the parents utter pleasantries (“Oh, you had a good lunch!”), and the child responds by vocalizing back. Uncontrollable crying as a response to stress in a 1-year-old is replaced as the child reaches 2 to 3 years of age with the use of words to self-soothe, building on caregivers scaffolding their emotional responses. Already by 6 months of age, the introduction of solid foods requires the giving and receiving of reciprocal signals and communicative cues. During these activities, analyses of physiologic heart rate rhythms of infants with both their mothers and fathers have shown synchrony. 49 , 52  

By 9 months of age, mutual regulation is manifested in the way infants use their parents for social referencing. 53 , 54 In the classic visual cliff experiment, it was demonstrated that an infant will crawl across a Plexiglas dropoff to explore if the mother encourages the infant but not if she frowns. Nonverbal communication slowly leads to formal verbal language skills through which emotions such as happiness, sadness, and anger are identified for the child via words. Uncontrollable crying in the 1-year-old then becomes whining in the 2-year-old and verbal requests for assistance in the 3-year-old as parents scaffold the child’s emotional responses and help him or her develop alternative, more adaptive behaviors. Repetitive games, such as peek-a-boo and “this little piggy,” offer children the joy of being able to predict what is about to happen, and these games also enhance the infants’ ability to solicit social stimulation.

By 12 months of age, a child’s experiences are helping to lay the foundation for the ongoing development of social skills. The expression of true joy and mastery on children’s faces when they take their first step is truly a magical moment that all parents remember. Infant memory, in Piagetian terms, develops as infants develop object permanence through visible and invisible displacements, such as repetitive games like peek-a-boo. With the advent of locomotor skills, rough-and-tumble play becomes increasingly available. During the second year, toddlers learn to explore their world, develop the beginnings of self-awareness, and use their parents as a home base (secure attachment), frequently checking to be sure that the world they are exploring is safe. 55 As children become independent, their ability to socially self-regulate becomes apparent: they can focus their attention and solve problems efficiently, they are less impulsive, and they can better manage the stress of strong emotions. 56 With increased executive functioning skills, they can begin to reflect on how they should respond to a situation rather than reacting impulsively. With the development of language and symbolic functioning, pretend play now becomes more prominent. 57 Fantasy play, dress up, and fort building now join the emotional and social repertoire of older children just as playground activities, tag, and hide and seek develop motor skills. In play, children are also solving problems and learning to focus attention, all of which promote the growth of executive functioning skills.

Play is not frivolous; it is brain building. Play has been shown to have both direct and indirect effects on brain structure and functioning. Play leads to changes at the molecular (epigenetic), cellular (neuronal connectivity), and behavioral levels (socioemotional and executive functioning skills) that promote learning and adaptive and/or prosocial behavior. Most of this research on brain structure and functioning has been done with rats and cannot be directly extrapolated to humans.

Jaak Panksepp, 11 a neuroscientist and psychologist who has extensively studied the neurologic basis of emotion in animals, suggests that play is 1 of 7 innate emotional systems in the midbrain. 58 Rats love rough-and-tumble play and produce a distinctive sound that Panksepp labeled “rat laughter.” 42 , 59 , – 64 When rats are young, play appears to initiate lasting changes in areas of the brain that are used for thinking and processing social interaction.

The dendritic length, complexity, and spine density of the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) are refined by play. 64 , – 67 The brain-derived neurotrophic factor ( BDNF ) is a member of the neurotrophin family of growth factors that acts to support the survival of existing neurons and encourage the growth and differentiation of new neurons and synapses. It is known to be important for long-term memory and social learning. Play stimulates the production of BDNF in RNA in the amygdala, dorsolateral frontal cortex, hippocampus, and pons. 65 , 68 , – 70 Gene expression analyses indicate that the activities of approximately one-third of the 1200 genes in the frontal and posterior cortical regions were significantly modified by play within an hour after a 30-minute play session. 69 , 70 The gene that showed the largest effect was BDNF . Conversely, rat pup adversity, depression, and stress appear to result in the methylation and downregulation of the BDNF gene in the PFC. 71  

Two hours per day of play with objects predicted changes in brain weight and efficiency in experimental animals. 11 , 66 Rats that were deprived of play as pups (kept in sparse cages devoid of toys) not only were less competent at problem solving later on (negotiating mazes) but the medial PFC of the play-deprived rats was significantly more immature, suggesting that play deprivation interfered with the process of synaptogenesis and pruning. 72 Rat pups that were isolated during peak play periods after birth (weeks 4 and 5) are much less socially active when they encounter other rats later in life. 73 , 74  

Play-deprived rats also showed impaired problem-solving skills, suggesting that through play, animals learn to try new things and develop behavioral flexibility. 73 Socially reared rats with damage to their PFC mimic the social deficiencies of rats with intact brains but who were deprived of play as juveniles. 66 The absence of the play experience leads to anatomically measurable changes in the neurons of the PFC. By refining the functional organization of the PFC, play enhances the executive functioning skills derived from this part of the brain. 66 Whether these effects are specific to play deprivation or merely reflect the generic effect of a lack of stimulation requires further study. Rats that were raised in experimental toy-filled cages had bigger brains and thicker cerebral cortices and completed mazes more quickly. 67 , 75  

Brain neurotransmitters, such as dopamine made by cells in the substantia nigra and ventral tegmentum, are also related to the reward quality of play: drugs that activate dopamine receptors increase play behavior in rats. 76  

Play and stress are closely linked. High amounts of play are associated with low levels of cortisol, suggesting either that play reduces stress or that unstressed animals play more. 23 Play also activates norepinephrine, which facilitates learning at synapses and improves brain plasticity. Play, especially when accompanied by nurturing caregiving, may indirectly affect brain functioning by modulating or buffering adversity and by reducing toxic stress to levels that are more compatible with coping and resilience. 77 , 78  

In human children, play usually enhances curiosity, which facilitates memory and learning. During states of high curiosity, functional MRI results showed enhanced activity in healthy humans in their early 20s in the midbrain and nucleus accumbens and functional connectivity to the hippocampus, which solidifies connections between intrinsic motivation and hippocampus-dependent learning. 79 Play helps children deal with stress, such as life transitions. When 3- to 4-year-old children who were anxious about entering preschool were randomly assigned to play with toys or peers for 15 minutes compared with listening to a teacher reading a story, the play group showed a twofold decrease in anxiety after the intervention. 24 , 80 In another study, preschool children with disruptive behavior who engaged with teachers in a yearlong 1-to-1 play session designed to foster warm, caring relationships (allowing children to lead, narrating the children’s behavior out loud, and discussing the children’s emotions as they played) showed reduced salivary cortisol stress levels during the day and improved behavior compared with children in the control group. 81 The notable exception is with increased stress experienced by children with autism spectrum disorders in new or social circumstances. 82 Animal studies suggest the role of play as a social buffer. Rats that were previously induced to be anxious became relaxed and calm after rough-and-tumble play with a nonanxious playful rat. 83 Extrapolating from these animal studies, one can suggest that play may serve as an effective buffer for toxic stress.

The benefits of play are extensive and well documented and include improvements in executive functioning, language, early math skills (numerosity and spatial concepts), social development, peer relations, physical development and health, and enhanced sense of agency. 13 , 32 , 56 , 57 , 84 , – 88 The opposite is also likely true; Panksepp 89 suggested that play deprivation is associated with the increasing prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. 90  

Executive functioning, which is described as the process of how we learn over the content of what we learn, is a core benefit of play and can be characterized by 3 dimensions: cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and working memory. Collectively, these dimensions allow for sustained attention, the filtering of distracting details, improved self-regulation and self-control, better problem solving, and mental flexibility. Executive functioning helps children switch gears and transition from drawing with crayons to getting dressed for school. The development of the PFC and executive functioning balances and moderates the impulsiveness, emotionality, and aggression of the amygdala. In the presence of childhood adversity, the role of play becomes even more important in that the mutual joy and shared attunement that parents and children can experience during play downregulates the body’s stress response. 91 , – 94 Hence, play may be an effective antidote to the changes in amygdala size, impulsivity, aggression, and uncontrolled emotion that result from significant childhood adversity and toxic stress. Future research is needed to clarify this association.

Opportunities for peer engagement through play cultivate the ability to negotiate. Peer play usually involves problem solving about the rules of the game, which requires negotiation and cooperation. Through these encounters, children learn to use more sophisticated language when playing with peers. 95 , 96  

Play in a variety of forms (active physical play, pretend play, and play with traditional toys and shape sorters [rather than digital toys]) improves children’s skills. When children were given blocks to play with at home with minimal adult direction, preschool children showed improvements in language acquisition at a 6-month follow-up, particularly low-income children. The authors suggest that the benefits of Reach Out and Play may promote development just as Reach Out and Read does. 97 When playing with objects under minimal adult direction, preschool children named an average of 3 times as many nonstandard uses for an object compared with children who were given specific instructions. 98 In Jamaica, toddlers with growth retardation who were given weekly play sessions to improve mother–child interactions for 2 years were followed to adulthood and showed better educational attainment, less depression, and less violent behavior. 3  

Children who were in active play for 1 hour per day were better able to think creatively and multitask. 22 Randomized trials of physical play in 7- to 9-year-olds revealed enhanced attentional inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and brain functioning that were indicative of enhanced executive control. 99 Play with traditional toys was associated with an increased quality and quantity of language compared with play with electronic toys, 100 particularly if the video toys did not encourage interaction. 101 Indeed, it has been shown that play with digital shape sorters rather than traditional shape sorters stunted the parent’s use of spatial language. 102 Pretend play encourages self-regulation because children must collaborate on the imaginary environment and agree about pretending and conforming to roles, which improves their ability to reason about hypothetical events. 56 , 57 , 103 , – 105 Social–emotional skills are increasingly viewed as related to academic and economic success. 106 Third-grade prosocial behavior correlated with eighth-grade reading and math better than with third-grade reading and math. 17 , 107  

The health benefits of play involving physical activity are many. Exercise not only promotes healthy weight and cardiovascular fitness but also can enhance the efficacy of the immune, endocrine, and cardiovascular systems. 37 Outdoor playtime for children in Head Start programs has been associated with decreased BMI. 39 Physical activity is associated with decreases in concurrent depressive symptoms. 108 Play decreases stress, fatigue, injury, and depression and increases range of motion, agility, coordination, balance, and flexibility. 109 Children pay more attention to class lessons after free play at recess than they do after physical education programs, which are more structured. 43 Perhaps they are more active during free play.

Play also reflects and transmits cultural values. In fact, recess began in the United States as a way to socially integrate immigrant children. Parents in the United States encourage children to play with toys and/or objects alone, which is typical of communities that emphasize the development of independence. Conversely, in Japan, peer social play with dolls is encouraged, which is typical of cultures that emphasize interdependence. 110  

Playing with children adds value not only for children but also for adult caregivers, who can reexperience or reawaken the joy of their own childhood and rejuvenate themselves. Through play and rereading their favorite childhood books, parents learn to see the world from their child’s perspective and are likely to communicate more effectively with their child, even appreciating and sharing their child’s sense of humor and individuality. Play enables children and adults to be passionately and totally immersed in an activity of their choice and to experience intense joy, much as athletes do when they are engaging in their optimal performance. Discovering their true passions is another critical strategy for helping both children and adults cope with adversity. One study documented that positive parenting activities, such as playing and shared reading, result in decreases in parental experiences of stress and enhancement in the parent–child relationship, and these effects mediate relations between the activities and social–emotional development. 111 , – 113  

Most importantly, play is an opportunity for parents to engage with their children by observing and understanding nonverbal behavior in young infants, participating in serve-andreturn exchanges, or sharing the joy and witnessing the blossoming of the passions in each of their children.

Play not only provides opportunities for fostering children’s curiosity, 14 self-regulation skills, 46 language development, and imagination but also promotes the dyadic reciprocal interactions between children and parents, which is a crucial element of healthy relationships. 114 Through the buffering capacity of caregivers, play can serve as an antidote to toxic stress, allowing the physiologic stress response to return to baseline. 77 Adult success in later life can be related to the experience of childhood play that cultivated creativity, problem solving, teamwork, flexibility, and innovations. 18 , 52 , 115  

Successful scaffolding (new skills built on previous skills facilitated by a supportive social environment) can be contrasted with interactions in which adults direct children’s play. It has been shown that if a caregiver instructs a child in how a toy works, the child is less likely to discover other attributes of the toy in contrast to a child being left to explore the toy without direct input. 38 , 116 , – 118 Adults who facilitate a child’s play without being intrusive can encourage the child’s independent exploration and learning.

Scaffolding play activities facilitated by adults enable children to work in groups: to share, negotiate, develop decision-making and problem-solving skills, and discover their own interests. Children learn to resolve conflicts and develop self-advocacy skills and their own sense of agency. The false dichotomy between play versus formal learning is now being challenged by educational reformers who acknowledge the value of playful learning or guided play, which captures the strengths of both approaches and may be essential to improving executive functioning. 18 , 19 , 34 , 119 Hirsh-Pasek et al 34 report a similar finding: children have been shown to discover causal mechanisms more quickly when they drive their learning as opposed to when adults display solutions for them.

Executive functioning skills are foundational for school readiness and academic success, mandating a frame shift with regard to early education. The goal today is to support interventions that cultivate a range of skills, such as executive functioning, in all children so that the children enter preschool and kindergarten curious and knowing how to learn. Kindergarten should provide children with an opportunity for playful collaboration and tinkering, 14 a different approach from the model that promotes more exclusive didactic learning at the expense of playful learning. The emerging alternative model is to prevent toxic stress and build resilience by developing executive functioning skills. Ideally, we want to protect the brain to enable it to learn new skills, and we want to focus on learning those skills that will be used to buffer the brain from any future adversity. 18 The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University offers an online resource on play and executive functioning with specific activities suggested for parents and children ( http://developingchild.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Enhancing-and-Practicing-Executive-Function-Skills-with-Children-from-Infancy-to-Adolescence-1.pdf ). 120  

Specific curricula have now been developed and tested in preschools to help children develop executive functioning skills. Many innovative programs are using either the Reggio Emilia philosophy or curricula such as Tools of the Mind (developed in California) 121 or Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies–Preschool and/or Kindergarten. 122 Caregivers need to provide the appropriate amount of input and guidance for children to develop optimal problem-solving skills through guided play and scaffolding. Optimal learning can be depicted by a bell-shaped curve, which illustrates the optimal zone of arousal and stress for complex learning. 123  

Scaffolding is extensively used to support skills such as buddy reading, in which children take turns being lips and ears and learn to read and listen to each other as an example of guided play. A growing body of research shows that this curriculum not only improves executive functioning skills but also shows improvement in brain functioning on functional MRI. 6 , 124 , – 126  

Focusing on cultivating executive functioning and other skills through playful learning in these early years is an alternative and innovative way of thinking about early childhood education. Instead of focusing solely on academic skills, such as reciting the alphabet, early literacy, using flash cards, engaging with computer toys, and teaching to tests (which has been overemphasized to promote improved test results), cultivating the joy of learning through play is likely to better encourage long-term academic success. Collaboration, negotiation, conflict resolution, self-advocacy, decision-making, a sense of agency, creativity, leadership, and increased physical activity are just some of the skills and benefits children gain through play.

For many families, there are risks in the current focus only on achievement, after-school enrichment programs, increased homework, concerns about test performance, and college acceptance. The stressful effects of this approach often result in the later development of anxiety and depression and a lack of creativity. Parental guilt has led to competition over who can schedule more “enrichment opportunities” for their children. As a result, there is little time left in the day for children’s free play, for parental reading to children, or for family meal times. Many schools have cut recess, physical education, art, and music to focus on preparing children for tests. Unsafe local neighborhoods and playgrounds have led to nature deficit disorder for many children. 127 A national survey of 8950 preschool children and parents found that only 51% of children went outside to walk or play once per day with either parent. 128 In part, this may reflect the local environment: 94% of parents have expressed safety concerns about outdoor play, and access may be limited. Only 20% of homes are located within a half-mile of a park. 129 , 130 Cultural changes have also jeopardized the opportunities children have to play. From 1981 to 1997, children’s playtime decreased by 25%. Children 3 to 11 years of age have lost 12 hours per week of free time. Because of increased academic pressure, 30% of US kindergarten children no longer have recess. 42 , 129 An innovative program begun in Philadelphia is using cities (on everyday walks and in everyday neighborhoods) as opportunities for creating learning landscapes that provide opportunities for parents and children to spark conversation and playful learning. 131 , 132 For example, Ridge et al 132 have placed conversational prompts throughout supermarkets and laundromats to promote language and lights at bus stops to project designs on the ground, enabling children to play a game of hopscotch that is specifically designed to foster impulse control. By promoting the learning of social and emotional skills, the development of emotional intelligence, and the enjoyment of active learning, protected time for free play and guided play can be used to help children improve their social skills, literacy, and school readiness. Children can then enter school with a stronger foundation for attentional disposition based on the skills and attitudes that are critical for academic success and the long-term enjoyment of learning and love of school.

Media (eg, television, video games, and smartphone and tablet applications) use often encourages passivity and the consumption of others’ creativity rather than active learning and socially interactive play. Most importantly, immersion in electronic media takes away time from real play, either outdoors or indoors. Real learning happens better in person-to-person exchanges rather than machine-to-person interactions. Most parents are eager to do the right thing for their children. However, advertisers and the media can mislead parents about how to best support and encourage their children’s growth and development as well as creativity. Parent surveys have revealed that many parents see media and technology as the best way to help their children learn. 133 However, researchers contradict this. Researchers have compared preschoolers playing with blocks independently with preschoolers watching Baby Einstein tapes and have shown that the children playing with blocks independently developed better language and cognitive skills than their peers watching videos. 34 , 134 Although active engagement with age-appropriate media, especially if supported by cowatching or coplay with peers or parents, may have some benefits, 135 real-time social interactions remain superior to digital media for home learning. 136  

It is important for parents to understand that media use often does not support their goals of encouraging curiosity and learning for their children. 137 , – 141 Despite research that reveals an association between television watching and a sedentary lifestyle and greater risks of obesity, the typical preschooler watches 4.5 hours of television per day, which displaces conversation with parents and the practice of joint attention (focus by the parent and child on a common object) as well as physical activity. For economically challenged families, competing pressures make it harder for parents to find the time to play with children. Encouraging outdoor exercise may be more difficult for such families given unsafe playgrounds. Easy access to electronic media can be difficult for parents to compete with.

In the 2015 symposium, 137 the AAP clarified recommendations acknowledging the ubiquity and transformation of media from primarily television to other modalities, including video chatting. In 2016, the AAP published 2 new policies on digital media affecting young children, school-aged children, and adolescents. These policies included recommendations for parents, pediatricians, and researchers to promote healthy media use. 139 , 140 The AAP has also launched a Family Media Use Plan to help parents and families create healthy guidelines for their children’s media use so as to avoid displacing activities such as active play, and guidelines can also be found on the HealthyChildren.org and Common Sense Media (commonsensemedia.org) Web sites.

There are barriers to encouraging play. Our culture is preoccupied with marketing products to young children. 142 Parents of young children who cannot afford expensive toys may feel left out. 143 Parents who can afford expensive toys and electronic devices may think that allowing their children unfettered access to these objects is healthy and promotes learning. The reality is that children’s creativity and play is enhanced by many inexpensive toys (eg, wooden spoons, blocks, balls, puzzles, crayons, boxes, and simple available household objects) and by parents who engage with their children by reading, watching, playing alongside their children, and talking with and listening to their children. It is parents’ and caregivers’ presence and attention that enrich children, not elaborate electronic gadgets. One-on-one play is a time-tested way of being fully present. Low-income families may have less time to play with their children while working long hours to provide for their families, but a warm caregiver or extended family as well as a dynamic community program can help support parents’ efforts. 144 The importance of playtime with children cannot be overemphasized to parents as well as schools and community organizations. Many children do not have safe places to play. 145 Neighborhood threats, such as violence, guns, drugs, and traffic, pose safety concerns in many neighborhoods, particularly low-income areas. Children in low-income, urban neighborhoods also may have less access to quality public spaces and recreational facilities in their communities. 145 Parents who feel that their neighborhoods are unsafe may also not permit their children to play outdoors or independently.

Public health professionals are increasingly partnering with other sectors, such as parks and recreation, public safety, and community development, to advocate for safe play environments in all communities. This includes efforts to reduce community violence, improve physical neighborhood infrastructure, and support planning and design decisions that foster safe, clean, and accessible public spaces.

Pediatricians can advocate for the importance of all forms of play as well as for the role of play in the development of executive functioning, emotional intelligence, and social skills ( Table 1 ). Pediatricians have a critical role to play in protecting the integrity of childhood by advocating for all children to have the opportunity to express their innate curiosity in the world and their great capacity for imagination. For children with special needs, it is especially important to create safe opportunities for play. A children’s museum may offer special mornings when it is open only to children with special needs. Extra staffing enables these children and their siblings to play in a safe environment because they may not be able to participate during crowded routine hours.

Recommendations From Pediatricians to Parents

Adapted from pathways.org ( https://pathways.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/PlayBrochure_English_LEGAL_FOR-PRINT_2022.pdf ).

The AAP recommends that pediatricians:

Encourage parents to observe and respond to the nonverbal behavior of infants during their first few months of life (eg, responding to their children’s emerging social smile) to help them better understand this unique form of communication. For example, encouraging parents to recognize their children’s emerging social smile and to respond with a smile of their own is a form of play that also teaches the infants a critical social–emotional skill: “You can get my attention and a smile from me anytime you want just by smiling yourself.” By encouraging parents to observe the behavior of their children, pediatricians create opportunities to engage parents in discussions that are nonjudgmental and free from criticism (because they are grounded in the parents’ own observations and interpretations of how to promote early learning);

Advocate for the protection of children’s unstructured playtime because of its numerous benefits, including the development of foundational motor skills that may have lifelong benefits for the prevention of obesity, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes;

Advocate with preschool educators to do the following: focus on playful rather than didactic learning by letting children take the lead and follow their own curiosity; put a premium on building social–emotional and executive functioning skills throughout the school year; and protect time for recess and physical activity;

Emphasize the importance of playful learning in preschool curricula for fostering stronger caregiver–infant relationships and promoting executive functioning skills. Communicating this message to policy makers, legislators, and educational administrators as well as the broader public is equally important; and

Just as pediatricians support Reach Out and Read, encourage playful learning for parents and infants by writing a “prescription for play” at every well-child visit in the first 2 years of life.

A recent randomized controlled trial of the Video Interaction Project (an enhancement of Reach Out and Read) has demonstrated that the promotion of reading and play during pediatric visits leads to enhancements in social–emotional development. 112 In today’s world, many parents do not appreciate the importance of free play or guided play with their children and have come to think of worksheets and other highly structured activities as play. 146 Although many parents feel that they do not have time to play with their children, pediatricians can help parents understand that playful learning moments are everywhere, and even daily chores alongside parents can be turned into playful opportunities, especially if the children are actively interacting with parents and imitating chores. Young children typically seek more attention from parents. 46 Active play stimulates children’s curiosity and helps them develop the physical and social skills needed for school and later life. 32  

Cultural shifts, including less parent engagement because of parents working full-time, fewer safe places to play, and more digital distractions, have limited the opportunities for children to play. These factors may negatively affect school readiness, children’s healthy adjustment, and the development of important executive functioning skills;

Play is intrinsically motivated and leads to active engagement and joyful discovery. Although free play and recess need to remain integral aspects of a child’s day, the essential components of play can also be learned and adopted by parents, teachers, and other caregivers to promote healthy child development and enhance learning;

The optimal educational model for learning is for the teacher to engage the student in activities that promote skills within that child’s zone of proximal development, which is best accomplished through dialogue and guidance, not via drills and passive rote learning. There is a current debate, particularly about preschool curricula, between an emphasis on content and attempts to build skills by introducing seat work earlier versus seeking to encourage active engagement in learning through play. With our understanding of early brain development, we suggest that learning is better fueled by facilitating the child’s intrinsic motivation through play rather than extrinsic motivations, such as test scores;

An alternative model for learning is for teachers to develop a safe, stable, and nurturing relationship with the child to decrease stress, increase motivation, and ensure receptivity to activities that promote skills within each child’s zone of proximal development. The emphasis in this preventive and developmental model is to promote resilience in the presence of adversity by enhancing executive functioning skills with free play and guided play;

Play provides ample opportunities for adults to scaffold the foundational motor, social–emotional, language, executive functioning, math, and self-regulation skills needed to be successful in an increasingly complex and collaborative world. Play helps to build the skills required for our changing world; and

Play provides a singular opportunity to build the executive functioning that underlies adaptive behaviors at home; improve language and math skills in school; build the safe, stable, and nurturing relationships that buffer against toxic stress; and build social–emotional resilience.

For more information, see Kearney et al’s Using Joyful Activity To Build Resiliency in Children in Response to Toxic Stress . 147  

American Academy of Pediatrics

brain-derived neurotrophic factor

prefrontal cortex

Dr Yogman prepared the first draft of this report and took the lead in reconciling the numerous edits, contributions, and suggestions from the other authors; Drs Garner, Hutchinson, Hirsh-Pasek, and Golinkoff made significant contributions to the manuscript by revising multiple drafts and responding to all reviewer concerns; and all authors approved the final manuscript as submitted.

The opinions and assertions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Uniformed Services University or the Department of Defense.

FUNDING: No external funding.

This document is copyrighted and is property of the American Academy of Pediatrics and its Board of Directors. All authors have filed conflict of interest statements with the American Academy of Pediatrics. Any conflicts have been resolved through a process approved by the Board of Directors. The American Academy of Pediatrics has neither solicited nor accepted any commercial involvement in the development of the content of this publication.

Clinical reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics benefit from expertise and resources of liaisons and internal (AAP) and external reviewers. However, clinical reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics may not reflect the views of the liaisons or the organizations or government agencies that they represent.

The guidance in this report does not indicate an exclusive course of treatment or serve as a standard of medical care. Variations, taking into account individual circumstances, may be appropriate.

All clinical reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics automatically expire 5 years after publication unless reaffirmed, revised, or retired at or before that time.

Michael Yogman, MD, FAAP

Andrew Garner, MD, PhD, FAAP

Jeffrey Hutchinson, MD, FAAP

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, PhD

Roberta Golinkoff, PhD

Virginia Keane, MD, FAAP

Michael Yogman, MD, FAAP, Chairperson

Rebecca Baum, MD, FAAP

Thresia Gambon, MD, FAAP

Arthur Lavin, MD, FAAP

Gerri Mattson, MD, FAAP

Lawrence Wissow, MD, MPH, FAAP

Sharon Berry, PhD, LP – Society of Pediatric Psychology

Amy Starin, PhD, LCSW – National Association of Social Workers

Edward Christophersen, PhD, FAAP – Society of Pediatric Psychology

Norah Johnson, PhD, RN, CPNP-BC – National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners

Abigail Schlesinger, MD – American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Karen S. Smith

David L Hill, MD, FAAP, Chairperson

Nusheen Ameenuddin, MD, MPH, FAAP

Yolanda (Linda) Reid Chassiakos, MD, FAAP

Corinn Cross, MD, FAAP

Rhea Boyd, MD, FAAP

Robert Mendelson, MD, FAAP

Megan A Moreno, MD, MSEd, MPH, FAAP

Jenny Radesky, MD, FAAP

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD, MBE, FAAP

Justin Smith, MD, FAAP

Kristopher Kaliebe, MD – American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Jennifer Pomeranz, JD, MPH – American Public Health Association Health Law Special Interest Group

Brian Wilcox, PhD – American Psychological Association

Thomas McPheron

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The Evolution of Problem-Solving

He takes his giraffe everywhere, so how did he know not to bring it into the pool? How did he know to set it on the bucket and not the beach ball?

Problem solving evolves in stages. Let’s start at the very beginning, when the giraffe was waiting for your baby the day you brought him home from the hospital.

The Stages of Learning to Problem-Solve

During the first month of life, babies learn about the world through reflexes , which are built-in problem-solving mechanisms. One of these, the rooting reflex, helps your baby solve the problem of getting food. If you touch his cheek with the giraffe, he automatically turns his head towards it in case it’s a breast or bottle.

Action – Reaction

When he’s around 3 months old, your baby is on his back under a play mat with dangling toys. One of these is the giraffe. He swats at it, sees it move, and hears it rattle. He realizes his action caused a reaction. Around 5 months, when he learns to pick up the giraffe, he realizes that when he shakes it, it rattles. Discovering that his actions cause reactions thrills him, and he repeats deliberate actions again and again in order to produce the same result.

Cause & Effect

By 8 months, your baby’s understanding of cause and effect helps him solve simple problems. He knows, for instance, that if there is a toy blocking his access to the giraffe, he can push the toy aside.

Object Permanence

Around 9 months, your baby learns that objects exist even when he can’t see them . Before, if you covered the giraffe with a blanket, he cried because he thought the giraffe was gone. Now he knows the giraffe is still there, and pulls the blanket off to retrieve him.

Trial & Error, Experimental Play, and Deferred Imitation

When he’s about 13-16 months old, your baby (a toddler now!) begins to solve problems through trying, failing, and trying again until he achieves his goal. He wants to put his giraffe into a rectangular container. It doesn’t fit because he’s holding it horizontally against the container. After a few tries, he turns the giraffe so it’s aligned with the container and, voila!

Experimental play helps him learn about outcomes of different actions. What happens if he brings the giraffe into the bathtub? It gets wet, and you take it away and put it somewhere to dry. Where will it end up if he slides it across the floor? If he slides it this way, it ends up near the kitchen doorway; if he slides it that way it ends up near the fireplace.

Improvements in memory bring a new tool to his problem-solving toolbox: Deferred imitation. Until now, his imitation was limited to copying something immediately after seeing it done. With deferred imitation, he can see an action and copy it at a later time. On Monday, for instance, he sees you use a step stool to retrieve an object on a high shelf. On Tuesday he sees his giraffe on a windowsill, drags a chair over, and uses it as a step stool to retrieve the toy.

Symbolic Play

By 19 months, your toddler begins to engage in symbolic play . This pretend play appears because he now understands that one thing can represent another thing. Remember the container he had to figure out how to fit the giraffe into? Suddenly it becomes a bed for the giraffe to sleep in, or a boat for him to ride on. He uses trial and error to find other objects he can use for beds. He tries a ball (the giraffe rolls off), a column-shaped block (too skinny), a pyramid-shaped block (too pointy), and finally a book. Bingo!

Symbolic Problem-Solving

Not long after symbolic play begins, your little one begins to solve problems inside his head without resorting to trial and error: If he wants to pretend to put the giraffe to bed, he knows he must find an object with a flat surface that is the right size.

Generalization of Concepts

Around 23 months, your toddler begins to understand that similar actions in similar circumstances produce similar results. He knows that anytime he puts his giraffe in water, whether the tub, the dog bowl, or the toilet (hello childproof door handles), it will get wet and you will take it away and put it somewhere to dry.

Thinking Before Acting

Right around his second birthday, all of this comes together as we find ourselves where we started on this journey: At the pool, where instead of impulsively going into the water with the giraffe and suffering the consequence of you taking it away to dry, he finds a flat surface for it to rest on while he’s in the pool.

Your child’s problem-solving abilities will continue to evolve in increasingly complex ways. Because he learns to problem-solve during play, the number one thing you can do to promote this essential skill is to allow him lots of unstructured play time!

• imagination
• cognitive development
• object permanence
• primitive reflexes
• deferred imitation
• problem solving
• unstructured play
• symbolic play

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The Benefits of Problem-Solving in Babies

Problem-solving is an amazing core skill for little explorers to know! In fact, children who learn problem-solving are often better equipped and excited to accept new challenges, handle frustrations and discover more things in new environments! But how can you support this development and why is it so important? The Mizzie team have collected our favourite tips and tricks for you to follow!

Acknowledge their development!

Each baby is unique, but there are some similarities in the stages of development. Understanding where your baby is likely to be can really help you to focus on their needs when learning core skills! For example, if your baby is between 4 – 12 months, they most likely won’t be ready to problem-solve with their hands yet, but they can start identifying things that will help them later! Playing with different textures, identifying colours and imitating actions from memory are all things that will attribute to their problem-solving in the future.

From there, older babies and toddlers will be able to start using their hands to and play games that will challenge their mind and ignite their curiosity! Things like playing simple games, taking bottles or toys apart and imitating adult actions, such as putting the baby to bed or talking on the phone, are all signs that your little one is gaining more knowledge on problem-solving, woohoo!

Encourage their curiosity and help them explore!

Simple things, such as celebrating explorations, asking questions and letting your little one help themselves, are all ways to encourage the development of problem-solving! These things can be easily accomplished by giving positive, gentle feedback on new explorations or skills; letting your baby figure out themselves how to reach a toy just out of their reach, or saying things like, “oh no! Your ball is stuck, what do we do?”. This will get your little one's mind working and help them to grasp their independence to explore themselves!

 Another way we like to support this development at Mizzie is through playtime! There are plenty of fun things to do from home to help bub develop problem-solving, at Mizzie, we love using puzzles! Puzzles are the perfect wonky and weird shapes to make your little one stop, think and look a little harder to make it work. They are fun, engaging and perfect ways to make your little one have that 'AH-HUH' moment!

 Playing with puzzles encourages children to look at pictures more carefully, going over them from top to bottom and from left to right. Through doing this, children may begin to notice visual similarities and differences. This also will improve their memory skills, ability to plan, test ideas and solve problems. The experience of completing a puzzle can also help your child to learn to accept challenges, overcome problems and deal with frustrations.

 To start puzzle play, we know that good things take time, so start easy and do it with them! Talking to your little one about the pieces and pointing out similarities or key features, are a great activity that you can use to help them understand the challenge while spending quality time together!

BONUS: Did you know that puzzle play also helps your little one learn about patience?? It's true! Your little one won't get it the first go, but that's okay! Learning a new skill can take time, so it's a great way to exercise their patience!

 At Mizzie, we love our very-own " Mizzie Hopping Around Australia Puzzle Box Set" which is the perfect 3 IN 1 puzzle set that ranges in difficulty between 4, 6 and 9 pieces so your little one can really improve their skill. Our puzzles also feature GORGEOUS pictures of Mizzie travelling 3 iconic Aussie landscapes, so your little one can learn more about Australia! Check it out HERE!

 Not quite ready to start puzzles? No worries! Mizzie’s Puzzles can be flipped over to find 3 distinct colours on the back of each piece! Use these colours to start developing those core colour-match skills!

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You Can Do It: Teaching Toddlers Problem-Solving Skills

Problem-solving skills are necessary for early childhood development

Problem-solving skills build upon how toddlers sense, think, and understand the world around them, making them vital for early childhood development. By being active participants in exploration, toddlers learn to make connections they can apply to other areas of life through new experiences.

Luckily, curiosity and play-based activities come naturally to toddlers. But you can encourage them to develop problem-solving skills by showing them exercises and activities that will inspire them to think creatively and critically.

Identify the problem

Problem-solving means finding solutions to a problem. And the ability to solve problems requires mental development, which toddlers need to think, communicate, and take action.

In terms of cognitive development, problem-solving skills include the following:

• Analytical thinking, breaking down a problem into manageable parts
• Lateral thinking, solving problems creatively
• Decision-making
• Logical reasoning
• Persistence
• Communication
• Negotiation

Toddlers are like little scientists constantly experimenting with cause and effect, socially and physically. This interest is a marker for the development of problem-solving skills, so keep their natural efforts focused to encourage their problem-solving.

Determine the solution

Although as adults we are inclined to help toddlers, letting them solve problems on their own helps them learn better problem-solving skills. Independence will also encourage them to develop the confidence needed for more advanced problem-solving.

The language you use to address a toddler or answer their questions also presents an opportunity to teach problem-solving. Ask a toddler for their opinion on or interpretation of a problem, and make an effort to guide them toward their own solution. Ask questions that start with   what ,   why ,   how ,   when ,   where , and   who , and look to them for answers.

Aside from giving a toddler independence to play and learn, consider the following simple activities to promote their problem-solving:

• Working with blocks, nesting boxes, or stacking rings
• Putting together puzzles
• Playing hide-and-seek with objects
• Grouping like items together
• Engaging in imaginative play with household objects
• Playing games such as Simon Says, Tic-Tac-Toe, or spot the difference between two similar pictures
• Playing dress-up
• Drawing in their own book
• Doing simple chores such as wiping counters or sweeping
• Stringing macaroni, cereal, or chunky beads
• Building forts from boxes or sheets
• Matching animals with their sounds
• Playing memory games
• Answering story-time questions

Challenging a toddler to solve problems doesn’t need to be difficult or expensive, but you should do so while they’re still young. Investing time and effort into helping them learn these skills now will give them a foundation to overcome obstacles independently throughout life.   The VA Infant & Toddler Specialist Network helps improve the quality of care for infants and toddlers through extensive resources, services, and education for caregivers.   Learn more   about how we can help you improve the standard of care.

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