When Chess is used on a regular basis it can make a big difference to the way children react and respond, which is one of the reasons I’m so passionate about promoting chess for children in South East London. I truly believe that chess can help children become better problem solvers.
All children are born with the ability to problem solve. Learning to play chess does help to increase the reaction time of children who play. The aim is to introduce them to chess and teach it in a way that allows the child to think differently and laterally. They learn the skills that will help them to problem solve more effectively when faced with a problem or conflict situation.
The skills developed by children learning how to play chess will give them more time to think and to consider some other choices before responding either verbally, physically or inappropriately.
Most times, and in given situations, there are many choices that are available to children. Some children and young people may not be aware of what these are; so together with a hasty response and the speed with which they react to situations, the likelihood is that they will regularly clash with parents, teachers or those in authority.
Some children may not quite understand or have the ability to slow down and consider these other choices. Quite a few just don’t know how to use those vital seconds to think about what these other choices are and to choose one that is different from that which comes to mind straight away.
These wrong choices often lead to all kinds of additional problems and conflicts for them to deal with; which mostly have unfavourable outcomes.
Learning to play and understand the game of chess might be one way to help quite a few children to become better problem solvers and decision makers. These life skills will help to change their behaviour and improve the social interactions and relationships they have with others. Some outcomes that I’ve experienced in the 6 years I’ve been teaching chess to children include:
- an increase in concentration levels
- an improvement in calculating the likely result or consequence of their actions
- enhancement of the problem solving and decision making ability of those children who usually have difficulty dealing with uncomfortable, unpleasant or conflict situations.
If you’d like to help your child or young person with any of the above issues you can bring them along to one of our chess clubs in South East London to give chess a try. I will be able to show you how chess can help children become better problem solvers as they learn to enjoy playing and being competitors.
Click here to find out the venues and times.
Click here to contact me if you have an enquiry and I will get back to you