April 6, 2021

April 6, 2021

Why Learning To Think Critically At A Young Age Is So Important

If there’s one thing parents want, it’s for their children to grow up to be independent adults, prepared for the challenges of the world. To empower your children to make smart choices, one thing parents can do is encourage critical thinking.

What is critical thinking? It’s the ability to analyze facts and information to form an educated opinion on a topic. Critical thinking involves using rational thought, observation, skepticism, and unbiased analysis. While it’s a skill that adults might take for granted, it’s actually something children need to learn. However, it’s never too early to help your child develop critical thinking skills.

If you’re wondering “Why is critical thinking so important?”, it’s because it impacts almost everything we do. It plays a vital role in language, writing, making decisions, solving problems, and even understanding who we are.

So why is it important for students to think critically in particular? And how can parents help their children develop this skill? Here are a few ways parents and teachers can help children grow up to be masters of critical thinking.

Why learning to think critically at a young age is so important
Critical thinking is one of the most important life skills, so children should be exposed to its concepts as soon as they’re able to understand. Now, at what age does critical thinking develop? While most researchers believe critical thinking, as we know it, is fully understood by children in their tween years (around 11–13), there are several stages of critical thinking that children progress through until they're finally able to solve complex problems and understand reasoning and logic.

However, there is plenty that parents and teachers can do with children of a younger age to help them develop independent thinking skills. By putting an emphasis on critical thinking, you’re helping your children both academically and mentally, so that they can be successful throughout their education and adult life.

How can I make my child a critical thinker?
As a parent, there’s plenty you can do to help your children learn to think critically. Below are a few ideas that you can use to help – but always remember that children learn from the people around them. By demonstrating critical thinking skills yourself, children can learn by example as well.

1. Ask open-ended questions
Parents, teachers, and carers can help children think by asking them questions – especially questions that are open-ended so that kids have to think about their reply, not just give a simple yes or no.

Ask children to share their thoughts on things; encourage them to share opinions and to speak up if they think something isn’t right. You can also encourage children to ask you questions too, as this can help inspire curiosity and learning, even outside of the classroom.

When discussing why something is done a certain way, always explain why that is and let children know that they can always ask you questions about it, helping them process their surroundings.

2. Encourage imagination and creativity
Children of any age (and adults!) can benefit from plenty of creativity and imagination. The mind is a muscle, so encouraging brain activity from a young age is a good thing.

Coloring and writing are great ways to encourage kids to think outside the box, as are puzzles, educational toys, and books. However, even without any toys or games, children love using their minds to come up with games, scenarios, and new ideas. To help with this, make sure kids get enough playtime and limit their screen time.

3. Play games
Age-appropriate games can do wonders for a child’s thinking skills. Whether they’re learning how to play a new game or even making up their own game, it helps them learn thinking skills. For example, learning rules to a game requires critical thinking to decide when and how to apply the rules; it’s a fun way to help little ones think for themselves.

4. Read together
One fantastic way that parents and teachers can help children is by reading together. From sharing bedtime stories to setting a positive example by reading books at home in the evening instead of watching TV, this can help foster a love for reading and learning in children.

After reading to a child, you may want to ask them to summarize what you just read. This helps them learn how to take multiple pieces of information and concisely share what they learned, which is an important part of critical thinking.

5. Teach kids how to collaborate with others
Working in teams is a huge skill to learn in life. Through collaborating with people, we learn how to respect others’ opinions, learn different viewpoints, and think about doing things in a way different than our own – all important aspects of critical thinking.

It can start with something as simple as teaching a child how to share toys. Team sports can be a great way to learn teamwork skills, too, as can group project work in the classroom. This can also help children learn respect, tolerance, and kindness towards those different from themselves, another essential skill in life.

To help your child, one of the best things you can do is foster their critical thinking skills. Using the suggestions above, start thinking about age-appropriate ways to help your child think and grow. Even at a young age, you can start fostering logic and critical thinking in children, even if they’re too young to understand the concept. This will help them grow into confident students, prepared to face the challenges of not only the classroom, but also the world around them.

Featured image by Robo Wunderkind on Unsplash