Problem solving is one of the important skills, which enables individuals to adapt to life and is
associated with skills like theory of mind, empathy and self-regulation, in their life. Problem
solving is an improvable skill and should be supported as from early childhood years. The purpose
of this study is to determine how children generate solutions to problems and how they feel in
such cases. As long as children are good problem solvers, they will find effective solutions to all
kinds of problems. In the study, the qualitative model and the case design were used. The data of
study were obtained from the children attending a kindergarten in the city center of Kırklareli in
the school year of 2016-2017. Eleven children who were selected on a volunteer basis were
included in the study where content analysis was carried out. Among the children who
participated in the study, six were girls and five were boys. During the application, a puppet and
five problem statuses were used. The data collected as a result of one-to-one applications with
the children were examined with content analysis method. As a result of the study, it was
observed that the children were able to generate effective solutions including the use of
empathy and self-regulation skills to the problem statuses; however, they had difficulty in naming
their emotions in relation to problem statuses. The results of the study suggest that primarily
parents and educators should emphasize emotions more and encourage children to think about
their emotions. Additionally, qualitative studies with larger sample groups concerning theory of
mind, problem solving, empathy and self-regulation skills can help to understand the
development process of these skills better.
