Some kids LOVE April Fools Day as a chance to flex their creativity and outwit their parents. If so, it may be a sign your child is on their way to better problem solving skills.
Silliness is…well, silly! And while silliness can drive parents crazy, research tells us that silliness and thinking outside of the box, can actually be an important part of problem solving.
The result of your very adult life is a lot less creativity. Bogged down by prior knowledge and biases, adults tend to be less flexible in their thinking than young children. That means it is harder for you to solve problems creatively, test new solutions, take risks, make big guesses, and fail spectacularly.
Here's how your child's brain outperforms yours. A younger child’s brain can perform better on tasks that require them to consider a wide range of possibilities. Research has found that young children are often better than adults at coming up with more uses for tools and considering a wide range of solutions to problems. But as kids get older, the control center of the brain develops. Although this allows for efficient, higher-order thinking, studies suggest that it comes at a cost.
So although it may be hard, supporting silliness is a great way to help your child - at every age - to flex their creativity and work those problem solving skills. Easier said than done, we know.
If your child LOVED April Fools Day and pranked you, it’s time to celebrate. By being a "divergent thinker," and having an openness to unlikely solutions and strategies, your child is getting better at problem-solving for the future. We just hope it didn’t make too much of a mess.