Problems are inevitable in life. But believing that there are solutions to our problems helps us face them with a positive attitude. Several kids from Pan-ayanon Bukidnon Hope Center in the Philippines offer their best advice on facing problems.
If you are an adult, you would likely agree that problems get bigger and harder as you get older. And, of course, children cannot go through life without facing difficulties, too.
I believe we all start with a blank slate about life when we are born. And as we grow, the way that we perceive problems changes.
During the toddler years, problems are obvious challenges that kids see in black and white.
If toddlers spill their milk, they’ll either throw a tantrum or they will try to clean it up. Or they might play with it using their hands, splashing the milk, not knowing that they are just making a bigger mess.
Toddlers approach problems unfiltered by past experience.
It’s not a bad thing, though, because that’s how they learn.
Their environment and the people around them play a big role in molding and shaping who they are, including their perception of problems.
And as they grow older and experience different things in life, kids develop critical thinking, which is an important skill in solving problems.
The Child and Teen Years
The child and teen years can be tough phases if a child is not guided appropriately. During these years, they explore and find their identity through what they can do and the community they belong to.
And in finding their identity, they will evolve in many aspects of their lives like their physical self, their beliefs, actions, and opinions.
So how can a teen prepare to become an adult and deal with more complex and bigger problems?
Developing an Optimistic Child
OneChild values the voices of the kids we serve, and we systematically gather their input through the “Voice of Youth.”
Through listening, a Child Champion learns the thoughts and feelings of the children, including their life challenges. Plus listening to the kids makes them feel welcome and valued.
We learned that in the Philippines, 73% of kids in the program ages 10 to 18 years old believe that there are many solutions to the problems they are facing.
The survey results show that most children in the program have a positive view of problem outcomes. Thus, they see not only one, but many ways to deal with the problems they encounter.
And an optimistic attitude is essential to having a hopeful future.
This optimism is thanks in large part to their Child Champions, who are committed to providing kids in poverty with programs for their holistic development, such as making sure they are healthy, have proper education, are taught Bible lessons, and are socio-emotionally ready for the world.
The same survey showed that 91% of the youths in the program say they have a Child Champion in the Hope Center whom they could talk to in times of difficulty. The presence of a safe person in their life helps a teen feel more confident when facing problems.
Advice Kids Learn From Their Child Champions
Since we all face problems in life, we asked some of these optimistic kids from a Hope Center in the Philippines to share their best advice when facing a problem. They say they gained most of their wisdom from their Child Champions. Here are their top five tips for dealing with problems.
According to 11-year-old Sheena, praying to God is the best thing to do when facing a problem. She believes that God will always help her with her problems.
Praying is our connection to God that is reliable and accessible anywhere and anytime, she says.
He is the one friend we can always count on and someone who is ever present in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1).
2. Trust God.
When you pray that God will help you, trust that He can. This is what 11-year-old Prince Kyle learned when he encountered a family problem once.
“I felt hopeless that time,” he says. “What I did was, I prayed and talked to God to help me.”
For him, it is important to trust God’s ways of helping us because His ways are always good (Psalm 3:5).
3. Be strong and courageous.
“Don’t cry and don’t mind what other people think,” says Rica, 13 (pictured in the photo at the top of the page).
When friends come to her because of family problems or even bullying problems, this is what she always tells them.
She says this to encourage her friends to face their problems with a strong heart.
Just like Joshua in the Bible who faced a big problem of suddenly leading the people of Israel when Moses died. God encouraged him to be strong and courageous because He is with him and will guide him in what to do. (Joshua 1:6)
4. Give a friend a hug.
When Necelle, 11, was crying because she missed her parents who were working far away, her friends Rica and Sheenah gave her a hug. A friend cheers us up whenever we are sad, and a hug can easily comfort us in hard times.
We may not have all the answers to our problems but knowing that we have a friend who is always there to comfort us helps us to be brave in facing our problems.
As the Bible says in Proverbs 17:17, “A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity.”
5. Ask for help from a person you trust.
Acknowledging that there are times we can’t face a problem on our own, asking for help from a person you trust or someone older or wiser is the way to go.
For the kids, that can be their parents or Child Champions at the Hope Center.
“We need to listen to them because they always know how to help us,” says Prince.
He knows that his Child Champions are godly people, and he trusts that advice he receives from them is wise counsel (Proverbs 19:20).
Even though Prince, Rica, Sheenah, and Necelle are young people, we can see that they have learned a lot from their Child Champions and have a lot of wisdom of their own.
You can help nurture a child’s future by sponsoring one today through OneChild!
We are accountable to the children we serve AND to our donors.
Our accountability to our donors is one of our highest priorities. Our goal is to use the funds entrusted to us as wise stewards. To do this requires continued monitoring of our fund distribution. OneChild is also a member in good standing with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA)