Clare's method
Interchanging the digits should make the number smaller (about half), so the first digit should be greater (about double), like 42, 84 (only such pairs since Alberta's age should be even).
42, 24 +1 is a bit too big so try making 42 a bit bigger
52, 25 +1 = 26, perfect!
84, 48 +1 = 49 is half of 98, much too big
94, 49 +1 = 50 no
Charlie's method
If Alberta is $ab$ years old, then her age is $10a+b$
If the digits are interchanged this becomes $ba$, so $10b+a+1$ is half of $10a+b$ $$\begin{align}\therefore 10a+b &=2(10b+a+1)\\
10a+b&=20b+2a+2\\
8a&=19b+2\end{align}$$