Learning to solve their own problems will help children solve problems when no parent is around, will help them become more responsible teenagers and adults, and will help them have higher self-esteem. Most parents help children solve problems by solving them for their children or telling them to deal with it themselves. We rarely teach them how to solve the problem. This is the only strategy that teaches independence. Of course, not all problems are open to problem-solving, but there are lots of times every day when our children could learn to solve their own problems: from choosing what to wear to school, to figuring out who gets to pick the TV show, to planning how to get their chores done on time. Remember, the time you spend helping children learn problem-solving skills now will most likely mean a lot less time bailing them out of trouble when they are teenagers.