On Friday I set this puzzle

John is sent out to complete a census. He knocks on the door of house number 56 and Jane answers.
Here is the conversation:
John: How many children do you have?
Jane: Three
John: What are their ages?
Jane: I am part of Richard Wiseman’s Friday puzzle and so cannot tell you directly.
John: Oh

Jane: However, I am allowed to tell you that when you multiply their ages together you get 36
John: Oh
Jane: Not only that, see that house directly across the street? Well, the sum of their ages is equal to the number of windows in that house.
John: Oh
Jane: And my oldest really likes bears.
John: Oh
At that point John knows the ages of the three children. What are their ages?

If you have not tried to solve it, have a go now.  For everyone else, answer after the break.

This is actually a pretty interesting puzzle. Take a moment to think about it. Then think a little more outside of the box. The answer, despite the rantings of some of the commenters, makes fair sense to me.

Admittedly I did not get a solution, but I do understand the solution. And I do think that those that are a bit cross about the methodology of the solution are not quite understanding the nuances of human behavior over pure logic.

Enough, go try it. I liked it.