O

ne evening, my son slammed his laptop shut in frustration. His coding project had frozen again. I gently asked, “What do you want it to do?” He muttered, “Just make the character jump.” We broke the problem into smaller steps and mapped it out. As he spotted the error, his eyes lit up. That shift—from overwhelmed to engaged—turned the challenge into a puzzle worth solving. He began to see problems not as roadblocks, but as part of the creative journey.

A week later, a new glitch popped up. This time, he didn’t shut the laptop. He paced the room, sketched possible fixes, and tried again—without asking for help. That kind of persistence wasn’t automatic; it grew from repeated experiences where we treated frustration as fuel, not failure. Whether debugging code, sculpting a model, or testing a science fair idea, he learned to approach obstacles with focus and determination. Passion wasn’t just a spark—it became a skill he practiced.

When your child hits a snag, resist the urge to step in too quickly. Ask what they’re trying to achieve and what’s getting in the way. Help them think through solutions, but let them lead the repair. Praise their effort, especially when things don’t work at first. Over time, they’ll come to see problem-solving as a creative act—and discover that the most satisfying ideas often emerge through struggle, not ease.

TIPS

• Let them brainstorm freely—then test one bold idea.
• Praise solutions that surprise you, even if they don’t work.
• Treat failure as feedback, not flaw.

ACTIVITIES

• Wacky Fixes: Solve a real problem using a silly or artistic method — 15 min
• “Wrong Way” Day: Solve a task using only nontraditional tools — 20 min
• Mini Invention: Invent something to solve a household annoyance — 25 min