Hot and Cold Problem Solving

When your teen is calm, they have the ability to problem solve almost as well as an adult. Yay! But read that sentence again: when your teen is calm. Psychologists distinguish between the type of problem solving that happens in a “hot” or stressful situation and a “cold” or relaxed situation. Life is not always cool, calm, and collected, but you can still help your teen realize that they’ll make their best decisions when they’re relaxed. Help them practice problem solving skills while they’re calm and know that building those decision muscles will help when life isn’t calm.

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