We all know that critical thinking is important. It helps in decision making, problem solving, creativity… the list goes on.
What can we do to kickstart the critical thinking adventure at home?
1. Never stop asking how or why.
Many children fall into the trap of giving one-word answers, or they just reply ‘I don’t know’. Asking your child ‘how’ and ‘why’ encourages them to think rather than simply waiting for an answer.
2. Ask ‘what do you think?’
Ask this when your child asks you ‘how’ and ‘why’ to prompt and encourage their thinking at a deeper level. Ask questions to lead them to the possible answer and avoid telling them what you think is the possible answer. Doing this also shows that you respect your child’s opinions.
3. Ask your children to justify themselves
This is something I love to do with my children, and they do feel quite exasperated about it sometimes. It encourages them to think of the reasons why they disagree with something or desire something, sharpening their thinking at the same time.
4. Ask for clarifications.
If your children’s explanations are not immediately clear at first, ask them to clarify and rephrase while keeping the same meaning. This encourages them to think of alternative ways to express themselves.
5. Write about whatever, whenever.
Give a topic and encourage your children to write whatever comes to mind. Don’t worry about grammar or spelling or punctuation. The purpose of this is to encourage your children to write whatever comes to mind – their thoughts, their opinions, their reactions, helping them to sharpen their thinking. In addition, this exercise can nurture their written self-expression too.
6. Encourage flexible thinking.
Encourage your children to think in different ways. What other explanations or solutions are there? Is there only one possible way of doing things or is there an alternative? Help your child understand that for every goal, there is more than one path to reach it.
7. Nurture awareness of consequences.
Every decision has a consequence, whether positive or negative. As our children think of different solutions to aid their decisions, encourage them to also think ahead of the consequences, and from there, make an informed choice of their next steps.
8. Read or watch news together.
Have deep conversations about what is happening in the community, how events could have unfolded and the different reactions or outcomes.
9. Encourage different perspectives.
Help your children to understand that for every issue, there are many different ways of looking at it. It is important to respect that there are many different perspectives and not be quick to judge.
10. Listen actively.
Besides being role models in critical thinking, the next best thing we can do is to listen actively. Let our children know that their opinions matter.
No matter how old your kids are, these tips can definitely help to boost their critical thinking. If we want them to have a mind of their own, and be able to articulate their thoughts, then we need to start the critical thinking adventure at home today.