Handling Technology That Doesn't Work: Building Tech Problem-Solving in Children

Last Thursday, my 8-year-old’s tablet froze and wouldn’t respond. She immediately handed it to me, expecting me to fix it. Instead of immediately taking over, I remembered our family’s commitment to the Life-Ready approach. I said, “Let’s think about what we can try to fix this.” Together we talked through troubleshooting steps, and she pressed the reset button herself. The look of concentration and then pride on her face when it restarted told me we had a perfect opportunity to practice tech problem-solving in a low-stakes environment. ...

February 20, 2026 · 10 min · 1945 words · Ojakee Team