Educators Urge Parents to Let Children Struggle

Developmental experts and educators say children need opportunities to struggle with everyday problems because practicing how to plan, make decisions, solve problems and recover from mistakes builds independence. Parents should distinguish between supporting children through challenges and removing those challenges before children can try to solve them. Constant access to information, AI-generated answers and parental monitoring can encourage adults to intervene too quickly, depriving children of valuable problem-solving experience. Experts recommend pausing before stepping in, while still offering age-appropriate guidance and intervening when safety or a child’s specific needs require it; otherwise, children who rarely face manageable difficulties may become more anxious when they must handle problems alone.