The central goal of this study was to gather information on how mothers and children solve problems. The sample consisted of 38 mother-child dyads recruited from the community. Children were between the ages of 8 and 12. Each mother and child completed self-report questionnaires and participated in a five-minute problem-solving task during which the dyad was videotaped as they discussed a family problem. Results indicate that mothers are more active participants than children in a problem-solving situation and that girls are significantly less engaged than boys in problem-solving tasks with a parent. Several of the coded problem-solving variables are significantly related to parenting stress. Future study might include live coding of observed problem-solving variables to make the findings more applicable to clinical practice.