Effective Tips to Enhance Critical Thinking Skills in Kids

Is it important for your child to think critically? Yes, it is! Not only is it important for your child to learn from what is taught to him, but it is equally important for a child to analyze, contrast, compare and make interferences of the things that are taught to him. Therefore, there are no second thoughts regarding the importance of critical thinking in a child’s educational development. However, if you are wondering how to enhance your kid’s critical thinking skills, you should read the following article to know some effective tips for enhancing the critical thinking skills of your kid.

Video: Effective Tips to Enhance Critical Thinking Skills in Kids

What is Critical Thinking?

What exactly is critical thinking definition for kids? Well, critical thinking may involve your kid’s ability to think rationally and clearly as it engages your kid in independent and reflective thinking. It is not only gathering and remembering information; rather it is vaster than that. It involves your kid to deduce consequences from his learning and then make use of that information or look for other sources to solve various problems.

Why is it Important to Teach Critical Thinking Skills to Children?

Following are some reasons that may explain to you that why critical thinking skills in early childhood education are important:

• It may help in expanding your kid’s knowledge because if your kid is vested deeply into some topic, it will help him gain better knowledge and develop his passion.
• It may help your kid to make more sense of the world around him.
• It may help your kid in making valuable judgements and also figure out things that may not make so much sense.
• It may help your kid to excel in solving various problems.
• It may help your kid to become independent thinkers and they may soon take their own sensible decisions.
• It may help improve your kid’s academic performance.
• It may help enhance your kid’s creative streak.
• It may help your kid to have a better understanding and relationship with the peers.

How to Develop Critical Thinking Skills in a Child?

If you are looking out for ways of teaching kids critical thinking skills or looking out for critical thinking activities for kids, the following tips may help:

1. Solving Riddles

As simple as it may sound but asking riddles is not only a fun activity but it is also a great problem-solving activity for your child. This activity helps your kid to analyze information too.

2. Newspaper Reading

Encouraging your kid to read the newspaper on regular basis not only helps in keeping him well-versed with the world but it is also a great way of putting your little one’s mind at work. You may tell him to read a few articles and ask what he may have understood or assimilated from it.

3. Reading Books

You may encourage your kid to read books as this is a great way of making your kid analyze various situations. After your kid is through with the book, you may ask him to summarize it for you. You may ask him about various characters and situations from the book.

4. Inculcate Good Listening Skills

In order to be a good thinker, it is very important that your kid is a good listener too. This means that your kid should listen to and value the opinion of the other person and then keeps his view forward.

5. Helping Them Understand What’s True and What’s Fake

In today’s media and social media frenzied world, it is very difficult to determine what may be true and what may be a sheer rumour. Here comes the need of doubt, which means that your child may have to learn to practise ‘doubt’ where he feels the information may or may not be true.

6. Talking About Implications

Teaching your kid the probable and possible conclusions of a particular action, is also an important aspect of critical thinking. This means teaching your kid, what will happen if a certain decision is made or not made.

7. Discuss More with Your Kid

You may think that a child’s opinion may not matter but it does and it holds more value to your kid than to you because it instigates his thinking. Ask your kid for his advice, opinion or suggestions on various day to day issues of the house.

8. Ask ‘Why’

This means asking more questions and then expecting your kid to give reasons for the answers too. For example, if your kid is mad at his friend for taking his pencil without his knowledge and your kid feels that his friend is wrong, you should ask him why he thinks that it is wrong and also what did he expect from his friend.

9. Do Not Jump to Solve Problems for Your Child

As parents, you may have the innate urge to iron out everything for your child and same may apply when there comes a time when your kid needs to make his own decisions. Let your child deal with his problems and come out with solutions on his own. However, you may guide him when you feel your kid is stuck.

10. Free Play Activities

This is a great way of teaching creative skills to your child. You may give him toys or props that may not guide your kid what to do but he may have to think on his own as to what he should do. For example, you may give building blocks to your child and he may make anything that he wishes to make with it or alternatively you may give your kid a drawing book and let him express his emotions and feelings on the paper.

It is not a tedious task to teach creative thinking skills to your child, however, we recommend that you begin teaching this concept from a young age.

Also Read: Tips to Develop Your Kid’s Concentration