Problems are part of everyday life. They happen when we fight with our friends, when we have too much homework and when our thoughts are racing. A situation becomes a problem when we have no effective way to handle it.
Sometimes problems seem so overwhelming you want to avoid them and pretend like they don't exist. But when we do this the problem can build up and get bigger and bigger which makes it harder to resolve. One way to help you solve your problems and stop them getting too big is a strategy called ‘Problem Solving’.
Problem solving involves 6 simple steps.
- Ask yourself "What is the problem I am trying to solve?"- work out what the problem is and how you would like to achieve it.
- "What are all the different ways to solve this problem?"- think of all the different things you could do, no matter how way out or crazy they are.
- "What are all the positive things and negative things about each way to solve the problem?"- think about what could happen for each solution you have come up with. This means you have to think about the positive and negative consequences that could happen for each solution.
- Now, pick the best solution that will help solve your problem - list them from best to worst
- Try it out!
- "So did I solve the problem?"- think about what went well and what you could do differently next time.REMEMBER if things don't turn out well you can always look back to step 4 and pick another solution!
REMEMBER if things don’t turn out well you can always look back to step 4 and pick another solution!
Let's try one together
- The Problem
A kid in your class has stolen your lunch money and you need your lunch as you are starving.
- What are all the different solutions?
- Tell the teacher
- Steal a lunch box off some other kid
- Talk to the kid about it
- See if you can borrow some money from a friend to buy lunch
- Do nothing
- Start a fight with the kid who stole your money
- Tell a friend about it and see what they think
- Ask the tuckshop lady whether she can give you some food and you will pay her back tomorrow
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Check out solutions:
| Solution | Good | Bad |
| Tell the teacher | The teacher will get the kid in trouble | Look like you are dobbing |
| Steal lunch money off someone else | Be able to buy some lunch | Might get caught and get into trouble and start a fight with the kid you steal the money off |
| Talk to the kid about it | Standing up for yourself | The kid might just say no |
| See if you can borrow some money off a friend to buy lunch | Able to eat some food and not face the kid | Not standing up for yourself and the kid gets away with it |
| Do nothing | Hungry | Not standing up for yourself and the kid gets away with it |
| Start a fight with the kid | Showing the kid that you are tough | Get into trouble, get hurt, the kid gets hurt and you might not get your lunch money back anyway |
| Tell a friend about it and see what they think | They may have some good ideas | Doesn’t get your lunch money back straight away |
| Ask the tuckshop lady whether she can give you some food and you will pay her back tomorrow | Might be able to get some lunch | The kid gets away with it and now you are out of pocket |
Best to Worst Solution:
- Tell a friend about it and see what they think
- Talk to the kid about it
- Ask the tuckshop lady if she can give you some food and you will pay her back tomorrow
- See if you can borrow some money off a friend to buy lunch
- Tell the teacher
- Do nothing
- Start a fight with the kid
- Steal lunch money off another kid
REMEMBER: there are many different ways you can order your solutions. This is just one way to order the solutions from best to worst. What order would you put them in?
- Try it out!
Talk to your best friend and they come up with the idea that you can borrow some money of them and then ask the tuckshop lady for the rest.
- So what happened?
The tuckshop lady was really cool about it and was able to give you on loan a little bit of cash to get some lunch. The tuckshop lady also advised that you tell a teacher about the stolen money.
