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How to Teach Your Child to Be a Critical Thinker

Blue Planet Studio / iStockphoto

What Is Critical Thinking?

  • Importance of Critical Thinking

Benefits of Critical Thinking Skills

  • Teach Kids to Be Critical Thinkers

Every day kids are bombarded with messages, information, and images. Whether they are at school, online, or talking to their friends, they need to know how to evaluate what they are hearing and seeing in order to form their own opinions and beliefs. Critical thinking skills are the foundation of education as well as an important life skill. Without the ability to think critically, kids will struggle academically, especially as they get older.

In fact, no matter what your child plans to do professionally someday, they will need to know how to think critically, solve problems, and make decisions. As a parent, it's important that you ensure that your kids can think for themselves and have developed a healthy critical mindset before they leave the nest.

Doing so will help them succeed both academically and professionally as well as benefit their future relationships. Here is what you need to know about critical thinking, including how to teach your kids to be critical thinkers.

Critical thinking skills are the ability to imagine, analyze, and evaluate information in order to determine its integrity and validity, such as what is factual and what isn't. These skills help people form opinions and ideas as well as help them know who is being a good friend and who isn't.

"Critical thinking also can involve taking a complex problem and developing clear solutions," says Amy Morin, LCSW, a psychotherapist and author of the best-selling books "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do" and "13 Things Mentally Strong Parents Don't Do."

In fact, critical thinking is an essential part of problem-solving, decision-making, and goal-setting . It also is the basis of education, especially when combined with reading comprehension . These two skills together allow kids to master information.

Why Critical Thinking Skills Are Important

According to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which evaluated 15-year-old children in 44 different countries, more than one in six students in the United States are unable to solve critical thinking problems. What's more, research indicates that kids who lack critical thinking skills face a higher risk of behavioral problems.

If kids are not being critical thinkers, then they are not thinking carefully, says Amanda Pickerill, Ph.D. Pickerill is licensed with the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Board of Psychology and is in practice at the Ohio State School for the Blind in Columbus, Ohio.

"Not thinking carefully [and critically] can lead to information being misconstrued; [and] misconstrued information can lead to problems in school, work, and relationships," she says.

Critical thinking also allows kids to gain a deeper understanding of the world including how they see themselves in that world. Additionally, kids who learn to think critically tend to be observant and open-minded.

Amy Morin, LCSW

Critical thinking skills can help someone better understand themselves, other people, and the world around them. [They] can assist in everyday problem-solving, creativity, and productivity.

There are many ways critical thinking skills can benefit your child, Dr. Pickerill says. From being able to solve complex problems in school and determining how they feel about particular issues to building relationships and dealing with peer pressure, critical thinking skills equip your child to deal with life's challenges and obstacles.

"Critical thinking skills [are beneficial] in solving a math problem, in comparing and contrasting [things], and when forming an argument," Dr. Pickerill says. "As a psychologist, I find critical thinking skills also to be helpful in self-reflection. When an individual is struggling to reach a personal goal or to maintain a satisfactory relationship it is very helpful to apply critical thinking."

Critical thinking also fosters independence, enhances creativity, and encourages curiosity. Kids who are taught to use critical thinking skills ask a lot of questions and never just take things at face value—they want to know the "why" behind things.

"Good critical thinking skills also can lead to better relationships, reduced distress, and improved life satisfaction," says Morin. "Someone who can solve everyday problems is likely to feel more confident in their ability to handle whatever challenges life throws their way."

How to Teach Kids to Be Critical Thinkers

Teaching kids to think critically is an important part of parenting. In fact, when we teach kids to be critical thinkers, we are also teaching them to be independent . They learn to form their own opinions and come to their own conclusions without a lot of outside influence. Here are some ways that you can teach your kids to become critical thinkers.

Be a Good Role Model

Sometimes the best way to teach your kids an important life skill is to model it in your own life. After all, kids tend to copy the behaviors they see in their parents. Be sure you are modeling critical thinking in your own life by researching things that sound untrue and challenging statements that seem unethical or unfair.

"Parents, being the critical thinkers that they are, can begin modeling critical thinking from day one by verbalizing their thinking skills," Dr. Pickerill says. "It’s great for children to hear how parents critically think things through. This modeling of critical thinking allows children to observe their parents' thought processes and that modeling lends itself to the child imitating what [they have] observed."

Play With Them

Children are constantly learning by trial and error and play is a great trial and error activity, says Dr, Pickerill. In fact, regularly playing with your child at a very young age is setting the foundation for critical thinking and the depth of their critical thinking skills will advance as they develop, she says.

"You will find your child’s thinking will be more on a concrete level in the earlier years and as they advance in age it will become more abstract," Dr. Pickerill says. "Peer play is also helpful in developing critical thinking skills but parents need to be available to assist when conflicts arise or when bantering takes a turn for the worse."

As your kids get older, you can play board games together or simply spend time talking about something of interest to them. The key is that you are spending quality time together that allows you the opportunity to discuss things on a deeper level and to examine issues critically.

Teach Them to Solve Problems

Morin says one way to teach kids to think critically is to teach them how to solve problems. For instance, ask them to brainstorm at least five different ways to solve a particular problem, she says.

"You might challenge them to move an object from one side of the room to the other without using their hands," she says. "At first, they might think it’s impossible. But with a little support from you, they might see there are dozens of solutions (like using their feet or putting on gloves). Help them brainstorm a variety of solutions to the same problem and then pick one to see if it works."

Over time, you can help your kids see that there are many ways to view and solve the same problem, Morin says.

Encourage Them to Ask Questions

As exhausting as it can be at times to answer a constant barrage of questions, it's important that you encourage your child to question things. Asking questions is the basis of critical thinking and the time you invest in answering your child's questions—or finding the answers together— will pay off in the end.

Your child will learn not only learn how to articulate themselves, but they also will get better and better at identifying untrue or misleading information or statements from others. You also can model this type of questioning behavior by allowing your child to see you question things as well.

Practice Making Choices

Like everything in life, your child will often learn through trial and error. And, part of learning to be a critical thinker involves making decisions. One way that you can get your child thinking about and making choices is to give them a say in how they want to spend their time.

Allow them to say no thank-you to playdates or party invitations if they want. You also can give them an allowance and allow them to make some choices about what to do with the money. Either of these scenarios requires your child to think critically about their choices and the potential consequences before they make a decision.

As they get older, talk to them about how to deal with issues like bullying and peer pressure . And coach them on how to make healthy choices regarding social media use . All of these situations require critical thinking on your child's part.

Encourage Open-Mindedness

Although teaching open-mindedness can be a challenging concept to teach at times, it is an important one. Part of becoming a critical thinker is the ability to be objective and evaluate ideas without bias.

Teach your kids that in order to look at things with an open mind, they need leave their own judgments and assumptions aside. Some concepts you should be talking about that encourage open-mindedness include diversity , inclusiveness , and fairness.

A Word From Verywell

Developing a critical mindset is one of the most important life skills you can impart to your kids. In fact, in today's information-saturated world, they need these skills in order to thrive and survive. These skills will help them make better decisions, form healthy relationships, and determine what they value and believe.

Plus, when you teach your kids to critically examine the world around them, you are giving them an advantage that will serve them for years to come—one that will benefit them academically, professionally, and relationally. In the end, they will not only be able to think for themselves, but they also will become more capable adults someday.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA): Results from PISA 2012 problem-solving .

Sun RC, Hui EK. Cognitive competence as a positive youth development construct: a conceptual review .  ScientificWorldJournal . 2012;2012:210953. doi:10.1100/2012/210953

Ghazivakili Z, Norouzi Nia R, Panahi F, Karimi M, Gholsorkhi H, Ahmadi Z. The role of critical thinking skills and learning styles of university students in their academic performance .  J Adv Med Educ Prof . 2014;2(3):95-102. PMID:25512928

Schmaltz RM, Jansen E, Wenckowski N. Redefining critical thinking: teaching students to think like scientists .  Front Psychol . 2017;8:459. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00459

By Sherri Gordon Sherri Gordon, CLC is a published author, certified professional life coach, and bullying prevention expert. 

my child has no critical thinking skills

Parents' Guide

General introduction, why is critical thinking important.

Why is critical thinking important? In short, because thinking skills are needed to navigate today’s world. Typically, learning how to think is something we reserve for upper-level students in high school or college. This is a missed opportunity. We should pay more attention to child thinking. Children think more and at a higher level than we typically give them credit for, and critical thinking skills are vital for children’s general development and, ultimately, for the health of society as a whole.

my child has no critical thinking skills

Young people are especially vulnerable to the many distractions and influences that can impede critical thinking and cognitive development. Media literacy and information literacy should not just be considered niche subjects; they’re an absolute must for children growing up in such a complicated, information-rich, and, at times, confusing world. Building healthy habits of mind from a young age can prepare children for these challenges and provide a lifelong foundation for effective thinking.

This guide strives to provide parents with an understanding of what critical thinking is and how to foster it in their children. Critical thinking is not a peripheral skill, but central to the development of children’s language and reasoning skills, to their relationships with both their parents and peers, and even to their very sense of self.

Critical thinking cannot be taught exactly the way arithmetic or vocabulary is taught. To a certain extent, children must develop the habits of independent thought on their own. But there is still a great deal that parents can do to encourage critical engagement in their children, help them develop long-term interests and habits, and warn them against the numerous obstacles to clear thinking they will face.

This website is divided into three sections by age group:

my child has no critical thinking skills

Ages 5 to 9

my child has no critical thinking skills

Ages 10 to 12

my child has no critical thinking skills

1 – Awakening a Critical Perspective

Critical thinking involves looking at the world from a certain point of view, what’s sometimes called a “critical perspective.” But what exactly is a critical perspective and how should we go about achieving it ourselves and awakening it in others? 

Simply put, a critical perspective is a standpoint from which a person is able to interpret an issue and take a well-considered and open-minded position on it.

Take the following question as an example:

“Should we stop eating meat?”

Ask this question to a group of children. What happens?

Some children may express their opinion, while others may shy away from speaking. Among those children who do voice an opinion, many will repeat arguments they may have heard from authority figures, such as their parents or the media. Many will have strong positions and be convinced they’re right, but be unable to back up their position when challenged.

A smaller number may venture a personal opinion—one that stems from their own reflection on both the question and the information they have been given. A still smaller number may also support their position with original arguments and be willing to consider other points of view, as well as criticism of their own position. 

my child has no critical thinking skills

2 – What Is Critical Thinking?

my child has no critical thinking skills

3 – Dimensions of Critical Thinking

More than merely reasoning correctly, critical thinking involves the high-level functioning of a number of different psychological, emotional, and social faculties. 

Consequently, the study of the development of critical thinking spans all branches of psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience.

The cognitive dimension of critical thinking:

The psychological dimension of critical thinking:.

Critical thinking is only possible if children have enough self-esteem to think for themselves. This requires both love as well as the imposition of certain limits from parents.

my child has no critical thinking skills

Self-esteem gives children the confidence to rely on their own reasoning rather than just unthinkingly adopting the attitudes of others. It also allows them to have influence on a given discussion. Their criticisms and opinions can only have an impact if they have the self-assurance to voice them.

To enable critical thinking, we must also possess emotional management skills in order to rise above attractions, distractions, and compulsive urges.

my child has no critical thinking skills

Maintaining balance between the cognitive and emotional dimensions of thinking is dependent upon psychological stability. A paranoid person, for example, may interpret a logical or argumentative weak spot in an argument as an attempt to manipulate rather than an honest mistake. Children or adults with low self-esteem may become paralyzed by their emotions and be unable to defend their own position.

Our emotions, if excessive and unchecked, can weaken our cognitive faculties and our critical thinking skills, lowering the quality of the discussion and giving free rein to cognitive biases. These biases can, in turn, provoke emotional responses from the other side of the argument, turning a rational debate into a fight.

The social dimension of critical thinking:

Critical thinking, from a very early age, requires a learning environment that affirms and communicates free thinking and individuality. It is usually not until the ages of 10 to 12 that the education system begins to emphasize argumentative skills for English, mathematical logic and proofs, or debate. But this is starting to change. For example, the all-too-rare introduction of philosophical debate in elementary schools has been a resounding success. Students are highly enthusiastic about it, and they come up with remarkably sharp arguments.

Programs like philosophy for kids can help provide the social context for critical thinking. They give students practice developing confidence and assertiveness, learning how to make their mark within a social group, and thinking for themselves. These are not universal or automatic values. If teachers set themselves up as absolute authorities, for example, students have no chance to challenge ideas and learn independent thinking. 

A student may be logical and able to manage their emotions. But without certain cultural values in place, critical thinking will never become a part of their behavioral skill-set.

Metacognition

To develop critical thinking in children and teenagers, parents and educators must grapple with these three dimensions. In so doing, they can begin to instill in children the ability to think about their own thinking. This practice, called “metacognition,” is a crucial precondition for developing the analytical skills central to critical thinking. It is both possible and important to develop children’s critical capacities through metacognition beginning at around the age of eight. For children younger than eight, it is much more important to develop self-esteem and emotional management skills.

Metacognition is the ability to analyze one’s own mechanisms of thought and one’s own cognitive processes in general.

If children who think “eating meat is wrong” recognize that this opinion may be adopted by certain people only because it is fashionable, rather than because of ethical concerns, they are thinking about their thinking.

Through metacognition, children accept that an opinion is not an absolute. Other people may disagree; persuasion and argument are, therefore, necessary. What’s more, metacognition encourages children to listen to other people’s arguments and reflect before accepting or rejecting them. Rapidly, argumentative and reflective modes of thought are reinforced and become a source of enjoyment.

my child has no critical thinking skills

A crucial part of metacognition is being able to understand and identify with perspectives other than one’s own. For young children, emotion seems to be an argument in itself. An emotion is, by its very nature, irrational and always seems absolutely correct from a child’s point of view. Parents must help their children realize that their emotional reactions are not the same as everyone else’s.

Although a child may be repulsed by hamburgers, for example, he or she can come to recognize that other children delight in eating them. A child can, empathetically and calmly, learn to mull over such thoughts and use critical thinking to shift focus away from their emotions and onto their thoughts.

The goal should not necessarily be to change the child’s mind. Critical thinking can serve to teach your children to respect others and to base their arguments on something other than their emotions. This training in argument stimulates the mind, fostering the growth of new neural pathways and improving cognitive efficiency. It also lays the groundwork for a mode of thought that complements, if not surpasses, argument: that of reasoning.

4 – Childhood Stages of Development

The level of development that parents can expect their children to reach depends heavily on their age group. The pioneering psychologist Jean Piaget offers a useful developmental framework that will help guide parents in determining how to best support their children’s critical thinking development through the various phases of childhood.

my child has no critical thinking skills

Piaget's stages of cognitive development

1. the sensorimotor stage.

This stage spans from birth until around the age of two. Over this period, children’s contact with their surrounding environment depends entirely on movements they make and sensations they experience. Children systematically touch, throw, and taste new objects to discover each object’s characteristics through trial and error. Halfway through this stage, just before children turn two, they grasp the notion of object permanence (the fact that objects continue to exist even when they cannot see them).

2. The Preoperational Stage

This stage begins from around age two and ends around age six or seven. During this early childhood stage—characterized by, among other things, the first stages of language production—children become capable of thinking in symbolic terms, of representing things through words and symbols. Children also learn to grasp the notions of quantity and space, as well as the distinction between the past and the future. But, above all, they remain geared toward the present and toward tangible physical situations, finding abstract concepts hard to grasp. Their thinking is also very egocentric. They often assume that others see things from their own point of view.

3. The Concrete Operational Stage

This stage takes place from the age of six or seven to 11 or 12. Having accumulated some experience of the world, children gain the ability to conceive of events totally alien to their own lives.

Between the ages of six and nine, children’s vocabulary expands considerably, and although their ability to reason remains very limited, they become increasingly capable of arguing, defending, or rejecting an idea based on their own concrete experience and various other influential sources.

From the age of nine or 10, children get better and better at conceptualizing and creating lines of reasoning that still, despite all the progress made up to this point, require a direct relationship to their concrete experience. A certain degree of abstraction also allows them to tackle mathematics beyond mere arithmetic. It becomes possible for a child to resolve problems involving numbers and reasoning, though these must still be related to observable phenomena. At this stage, only gifted children are able to solve abstract problems by systematically dissecting several variables.  

4. The Formal Operational Stage

This stage gradually develops from the age of 11 or 12. New skills at this stage, like hypothetic-deductive reasoning (the ability to form and evaluate if-then statements) and the ability to establish abstract relationships, are generally mastered around the age of 15 or 16. At the end of this stage, children, like adults, are able to use formal and abstract logic, but only if they have learned logical vocabulary (the formal meanings of words like “if,” “then,” “therefore,” etc.) and have put it into practice. They can also start to reflect on probabilities and on moral concepts, such as justice, as they become able to better reason with generalizations about concrete situations. 

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11 ways to help your child develop critical thinking skills

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Every parent wants to see their child succeed. And the groundwork you put in with them at a young age has a huge impact on where they get to later in life.

Problem is, it’s hard to know exactly what a child needs, to grow into the very best version of themselves.

Should they learn another language? Pick up an instrument? Play sports, or master chess, or learn how to code? Sure, these skills will certainly give them an edge, but it won’t be enough unless they learn the essential life skill that is critical thinking .

What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking is not just seeing the world around you, but taking the time to process, analyze, and question situations in order to form a judgment. It’s a deeper form of thinking — one that’s a necessary part of everyday life in our complex world.

By teaching critical thinking to young children, you’re giving them the skills they’ll need in their teen years and adulthood. Critical thinking helps to expand their minds so they can absorb new information and quickly solve difficult problems.

It all sounds a bit abstract . But critical thinking is about learning how to approach issues with perspective. It’s about learning that not all questions have multiple-choice options — in fact, some questions have no definite answers at all.

Critical thinking skills develop over time — it’s not something your child can sit down and study in a textbook.

Instead, here’s what you need to do…

Don’t answer every question they have off the bat

Kids are full of questions, aren’t they? And most of them are extremely random and/or out of left-field. Rather than trying to answer all of your little one’s queries, you could respond with another question: “What do you think?.

This encourages your children to come up with a solution on their own. Even if they’re completely wrong, they’re developing critical thinking skills by trying to figure it out. Then together, you can go online to research and find the correct answer.

Dive further into questions

You can also take a moment to further explore any questions your children come to you with. Instead of just asking “what”, encourage them to discover the “how” and “why” as well. For example, if they ask what clouds are, you could then explore how clouds are formed and why we need them .

Give them time to answer

Some children will take a long time to digest information and form a response. If you ask them a probing question, allow them to take their time in coming up with an answer.

Again, once they’ve responded, leave another period of silence. This will give them time to reflect on what they’ve said, in case they want to amend their gut reply.

Encourage them to think of others’ experiences

It’s understandable for young kids to assume their own experience is the same as everyone else’s. But as they grow up, it’s important for them to acknowledge the perspectives of others and look beyond their own point of view.

You can encourage this by reading books and talking about how the characters might be feeling. Identify their emotions and the reasons behind their feelings. You can also check out our senses and feelings worksheet pack to help learn how to differentiate the two.

Give them opportunities to explore

Toddlers are constantly building critical thinking skills: they love to wander around, play with stuff, and learn cause and effect. They’ll drop their spoon off a high chair repeatedly just to see what will happen — annoying as it is, that’s their critical thinking on display!

As your child ages, continue to give them indoor and outdoor space to experience the world and exercise their natural curiosity.

Ask them to build hypotheses

While playing with your child, ask them what they think will happen as the result of an action. Try asking something like, “If we do this, what do you think will happen?” or “Let’s predict what we think will happen next”.

It could be pushing a Slinky down the stairs, or mixing paint colors together.

Encourage children to form opinions

Learning how to form well-reasoned opinions is an important part of critical thinking practice. Start out by making sure they know the difference between fact and opinion , then encourage them to list some opinions that are important to them.

You could even stage a mini-debate and ask them to come up with a convincing fact-based argument for their opinion.

Give them a journal

While some kids might be opposed to it, keeping a daily journal is a great way to flex critical thinking skills. Even capturing one page a night will make children reflect on their day, on situations that arose, and learn how to analyze what happened.

They can keep the diary private, which may help them be more honest with the thoughts they share. If your child isn’t keen on writing, drawing pictures is also a good tool to work through a situation in their head.

Talk about current affairs

This one varies with the age of your children, and how much you want to expose them to the news cycle.

There are some great news sources for young kids — like KidNuz , a daily five-minute podcast with headlines suitable for children from 5-8 years old. Use this as a jumping-off point for discussions that’ll help broaden their understanding of the world. You can put news stories in context, then ask questions like “What do you think about these events?”,  “How do you think these things happen?”.

Here’s some more insight on how to talk about the news with kids .

Find similarities and differences

This is a great one for toddlers. Pick up two similar items — like a fork and a spoon — and ask your child what makes them similar and what makes them different.

Having to distinguish two similar items but identify why they’re not the same will help build a basis of their critical thinking skills.

Play 20 Questions

This is a simple and fun game — excellent for long car rides. One player thinks of a person, place, or thing, and the other competitors must ask fewer than 20 questions to figure out what it is. It’s an educational exercise in processing information and analyzing it to narrow down options.

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How to Develop Critical Thinking Skills in Your Kids [in a fun way that won’t feel like learning!]

my child has no critical thinking skills

🤔 Critical thinking. Problem solving. Logical and lateral thinking. We hear these terms all the time, but what do they actually mean and why do they matter so much?

In this ultimate guide to developing critical thinking skills in kids I will answer this for you AND leave you with some super practical tools and tips to developing these key skills in the comfort of your own home.

Many of the examples I give you will draw from the “ KidCoachApp ” - a simple but innovative app I have developed to help parents build talking and thinking skills in children at home. It’s a really quick, fun and effective method to build critical thinking, taking just five minutes a day and with no preparation or materials required whatsoever!

Let’s get stuck in.

What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking is an ancient concept, dating back to the time of Socrates and Plato. We don’t seem to have one single definition of it, so let me give you a few to paint a decent picture.

Wikipedia defines critical thinking as “the analysis of facts to form a judgment” . They also say that requires “self-directed and self-corrective thinking” and that it develops “effective communication and problem-solving abilities.”

Criticathinking.org says it is “that mode of thinking - about any subject, content, or problem - in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skilfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them.”

Global Education company Pearson defines critical thinking as “the purposeful and goal-directed thinking used to define and solve problems, make decisions, and form judgments related to a particular situation or set of circumstances. It involves cognitive, metacognitive and dispositional components which may manifest (or be applied) differently in specific contexts.”

Pretty brainy stuff. 🧠 But don’t worry. This is not meant to be a scientific article on the topic, you will be glad to know!

I want to offer my own very simple definition of critical thinking, specifically for kids.

“Critical thinking for kids is getting them to think, really think, about what they are saying. It is NOT about remembering stuff or being right, but it IS about thinking ‘all the way around’ a problem.”

Sometimes it also helps to explain what something is NOT.

Here are three examples:

❌ If your child did the multiplication 6 x 9 to get 54 that would NOT be critical thinking. ✔️But if they then explained to you all the other ways they could get the number 54, then it could be.

❌If your child memorised the lyrics to their favourite song that would NOT be critical thinking. ✔️But if they compared and contrasted it to lyrics of other songs by the same artist, then it could be.

❌Or if your child watched a clever movie with lots of twists and turns that would NOT be critical thinking. ✔️But if they tried predicting what happens next and based on whether they were right or wrong, refined their predictions for the next scene, that could be.

Is this helping?

The terms problem solving or logical and lateral thinking get used quite a lot too. It basically all means the same thing.

Finally, you might have also heard the term “metacognition” which means “thinking about thinking.” This is a good one to bear in mind also as it makes us ask ourselves things like: “Why do I think this?”, “How could I be wrong?”, “What would other people think?” Metacognition is like when someone is speaking out loud your thoughts!

So, having understood what critical thinking is (or logical or lateral thinking is), let’s look at why it is just so important to develop in our kids.

Why is critical thinking important?

Simply put, critical thinking is a key way of ⭐ differentiating ⭐ our kids and preparing them for their future.

Those that can think critically and for themselves will stand out from those can’t. When our kids emerge into the rapidly-changing world of work, those that have good critical thinking skills will be able to cope the best.

1. The world is changing fast.

Did you know that 85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 have not even been invented yet? That is according to a study done by the Institute for the Future , in 2017. They cite the increasing amount of technology (think artificial intelligence and machine learning) as carving out thousands of new jobs that we can’t even comprehend today.

Think about your own kids for a moment. What will they do for work?

Maybe one will be a genetic chef 🍲 – coming up with new recipes, analytically put together to be specifically optimised for people based on their genetic profiles?

Maybe another child will be a space traffic controller 🚀 – managing the algorithms computing the many orbital trajectories of shuttles for maximum safety and efficiency?

Or perhaps one will be a virtual reality engineer  👷 – building the new “Zoom” meeting places for employees to work effectively from home?

None of these jobs exist today, but all are completely plausible in just 10 years time.

The chef needs to understand the human genome and think carefully about what goes together, the space traffic controller needs to solve multi-dimensional problems in real time, the virtual reality engineer needs to invent cutting edge new technologies. All of these require massive brain power and ability to think critically in new situations.

Memorising facts just won’t do anymore! ⚠️

And don’t forget – the world will continue to change rapidly, so your kids will constantly have to skill and re-skill in their 20s, 30s, 40s and so on as they launch multiple careers. Maybe they start off in nutrition, then go to transportation, then communication…who knows?

Critical thinking is a transferable skill that your kids can take from one job to another, and will set them up well for life, no matter what decade they are working in.

2. We need better filters

There is a lot of information out there on Google, but the problem is that there is also a lot of disinformation. Knowledge is no longer an issue, but the application of that knowledge is.

I don’t just mean fake news, but also biased sources with agendas.

Take global warming as an example. 🌍

Ask your child to Google “is climate change bad?” See how they interpret what they see. Can they spot the sources and identify biases, for instance climate change activists vs oil companies vs paying advertisers? What other searches could they do to advance their thinking?

Here is a free conversation card you could you use for this exercise, which comes from the KidCoachApp and is a good example of a quick critical exercise you can do with your kids.

(By the way, if you were critically thinking about this article, you might discount what I am saying because I am trying to promote the KidCoachApp . You could, but I hope you don’t, as I really happen to believe in this stuff 😊)

3. Schools can't do enough

Unfortunately most schooling systems are not able to place enough emphasis on critical thinking and related skills. Even if they recognise its importance and want to spend more time on it, their hands are tied and they can’t allocate the necessary timetable space or budget for materials. There is normally just too much pressure to get those high grades in math and English etc.

As the Sutton Trust report of 2017 said: “97% of teachers agree that skills [like critical thinking] are as or more important than academic qualifications” and yet the Princes Trust report in the very same year found that “91% of teachers think schools should be doing more to help students develop [these skills].”

There ARE increasing attempts at embedding critical thinking into every traditional subject taught, for instance the examples I gave above about different ways to make the number 54 (math) or comparing lyrics of songs (English), but many feel this is not happening fast enough.

So what can we as parents do to accelerate this?

What parents need to do at home

The single biggest thing we can do as parents to develop critical thinking skills is to have the right conversations on a daily basis. If we are always asking the right questions, and encouraging our kids to as well, then we are instilling in them fantastic critical thinking skills.

Let’s see how this could pan out over the course of a typical week.

It's Monday and you are helping your child with their homework. Today they are learning all about space, our solar system and the eight planets. To complete the homework all they need to do is draw a diagram of the solar system and label it. But you want to do more and you spot an opportunity to ask some good questions.

💡 While they are working you also ask them how we know there are only eight planets? (it was only a few years ago we included Pluto to be the ninth). You ask how we can be sure they all orbit the Sun? (a few hundred years ago people believed the Earth was at the centre).  You also ask how likely there are more Earth-like planets with life out there (perhaps using this conversation card from the KidCoachApp)?

Do you see how by asking just a few follow-on questions we can easily push their thinking?

It's Wednesday and you are watching the news together. There is a story about some recent lottery winners who have splashed the cash and ended up bankrupt after just one year. Oh dear! You could talk about how silly they are, but you see it as a coaching moment to develop critical thinking skills instead.

💡 So you start to talk about money, and what it can do. You ask them to imagine what it must be like to win the lottery. How would they feel? Can they ever really know until it happens? You ask them to think carefully about how they would spend the money (using this conversation card from the KidCoachApp)?

This approach can work for nearly any news story you happen to watch on the TV - try it out next time!

It's Friday and you have popped to the shops with your child. As an end-of-week treat you bought them a chocolate bar. You are just about to walk home when it starts pouring with rain. You decide to wait it out in the shops. Normally you would check your phone for a while but today you are feeling talkative and you are getting the hang of this “KidCoach” thing.

💡 You start talking about rain. What is it? Why is it important? What would we do without it? When is it helpful? When is it a problem? Then you see the chocolate in your child’s hand, and see how it is still raining, which inspires you to ask something fun and silly like this from the KidCoachApp (which also happens to develop excellent critical thinking skills)!

Kids love silly questions like this -they don't even realise that you are actually building their critical thinking skills, in this case by getting them to think through the pros and cons!

How realistic is it to do something like the above?

I know life as parents is super busy but this approach only takes five minutes a day.

Who doesn’t have five minutes to talk to their child each day? 🧒

Probably the hardest part is having the energy and inspiration to come up with a quick, fun question that gets kids thinking in new ways. That’s where the KidCoachApp massively helps.

We have spent hours curating and testing out the best critical thinking questions for kids! We have also written multiple prompts for each question, which parents say is very handy. These follow best practice methodologies used by many schools and education experts (see for instance the Philosophy For Children approach).

I promise that if you get into the habit of using the KidCoachApp to ask these sorts of questions, you will quickly find yourself coming up with all sorts of amazing questions on the fly based on what your kids are doing. Then you might not even need the app anymore!

THE KEY IS TO DEVELOP THE HABIT.

If we do 5 minutes of sit-ups each morning then we will quickly develop a strong core. 😅

Similarly if we exercise our children’s critical thinking muscles for five minutes every day, through a fun conversation starter, then guess what will happen to their thinking muscle? 🧠

Just find the time in the day that works for you and your family. Some like to do it during the school run, others at dinner time, others before bed.

It doesn’t matter when. Just find a five minute window and start asking great questions!

SOME OTHER THINGS YOU CAN DO.

Questioning our kids is THE best way of developing critical thinking skills in a quick, easy, fun and effective way at home.

For completeness however, I will mention a few more things that we can do as parents. All of these further reinforce the development of critical thinking skills:

❓ Do puzzles, riddles or brainteasers. There are plenty to google but here for instance is a list that spans from fun to serious. I like them since they are quick to ask but take a while to think about.

🎲 Play strategy board games. There are many strategy games available nowadays, see for instance this top 10 list . Chess is my all-time favourite and even playing against the computer is a good way to build critical thinking skills.

📲 Use critical thinking apps for kids. Our “ KidCoachApp ” requires interaction between parent and child, but if you want to park your child in front of the iPad for a while then check out this list. They cover critical thinking skills that also train the brain in terms of memory, concentration and reasoning.

                                                     

Critical thinking frameworks to teach your child

Kids sometimes ask me: “ But what do I think about first?”

This is where thinking frameworks are really handy to help kids deal with new situations. They are a way for your children to create certainty from uncertainty.

Let’s go through some simple examples you can teach them.

1. Think about pros and cons 👍 👎

For any situation that has at least two options / outcomes / answers, simply think of all the reasons for and against, i.e. the pros and cons. A good way of phrasing it for kids is “This would be good because….” and “This would be bad because…”

This teaches them to not jump to a solution but to take the time to consider each side of the argument, before making up their mind a balanced and considered way. It also helps them justify their response if someone asks “Why?”

👉Practice using this conversation card from the KidCoachApp, asking if social media is a good or a bad thing.

2. Ask what would X say? 💬

Perspective is so important. The world is full of diverse backgrounds, opinions and also biases. Let’s encourage our kids to seek out other viewpoints and simply asking “What would X say?” is a powerful way to help yourself see things from different sides.

👉Try it for example on this debating conversation card , on whether children need to go to school or if they can just learn from home! What your mum thinks, what your teacher would say and what your future-self would advise are all likely to be very different.

3. Put on different thinking hats 🎩

Edward de Bono came up with a great tool to help people think in different ways, called 6 Thinking Hats . The idea is that there are different colour hats which resemble different attitudes. For instance: Yellow is optimistic and benefits-led, White is data driven and analytical, Red is gut feel and instinct.

You can even state which hat you are putting on temporarily. This which gives you permission to think in a way that might be unpopular, without fear of being criticised, since you can just take the hat off again e.g. “Putting my black hat on, this will never work since….but putting my green hat on we could try something radical like….”

👉 Practice on this conversation card asking how we can reduce traffic on the roads. If there are pessimistic people in you group saying it just can’t be done, you can say “Well, just putting my Yellow hat on I think we would have far fewer accidents and much less air pollution if we did manage to reduce traffic on the roads. Wouldn’t that be a great thing? So why don’t we think harder about it for a moment? ” Then you can easily switch to a White Hat: “But being realistic and looking at the data, number of people and number of cars being made are just going up and up and up in our country. Maybe we can look at the data from another country to inspire us?”

Do you see how 6 Thinking Hats helps the very same child switch modes of thought seamlessly, by putting on different “hats”?

4. Use thinking moves 🔤

The most advanced framework we will cover here is from a company called DialogueWorks. They are on the Advisory Board for the KidCoachApp, and have come up with a neat list of 26 different thinking moves , one for each letter of the alphabet.

Each thinking move is a way of thinking about a situation task or problem. I find the framework very memorable.

Here are some of the most important ones here, along with the key question you can ask yourself when doing the move.

  • Ahead: what could happen next?
  • Back: what happened the last time?
  • Connect: how do those connect?
  • Divide: how do those differ?
  • Formulate: what ideas can we come up with?
  • Listen/Look: what do you notice?
  • Question: what’s is the best question to ask here?
  • Test: how can we tell if that will work?
  • eXemplify: Can you give me an example?
  • Zoom in/out: what is the bigger picture?      

Practice using this conversation card from the KidCoachApp. It’s a philosophical topic on if you would want to live forever!

Here is how the thinking moves above might play out (just some examples to illustrate):

  • Ahead: If I lived forever I would be able to do so many things
  • ‍ Back: People have tried to live forever in the past but it hasn’t really worked
  • ‍ Formulate: Let’s ask others for ideas on what we could do
  • ‍ Listen/Look: Let’s go talk to someone really old to see what their life is like
  • ‍ Question: Can my family live forever with me too?
  • ‍ Test: How can I try it for awhile but still be able to go back if I want to?
  • ‍ eXemplify: If I lived forever I would be able to travel to Mars one day!
  • ‍ Zoom: I wonder if doing more stuff is really going to make me happy?

I hope these frameworks help. Teach some to your kids to use when faced with a challenging problem to solve!

An example of excellent critical thinking

🏙️ A few years ago Emma was working as a facilities manager of a tall skyscraper in London. There was a problem with the lifts serving all the different companies. She noticed that at lunchtime there were large queues forming on many floors as office workers all wanted to go and get a sandwich at the same time. This was causing irritation and lots of complaint emails were being sent her way!

Being a good critical thinker, she set out to find a nice solution to this problem. Maybe Emma could stagger the lunchtimes by floor somehow? Or maybe she could install sandwich kiosks on some floors? Maybe she could get people to use the stairs? Or did she need to build more lifts and lift shafts?

This could all work but would the issue was that it would require people to either change their behaviour (difficult) or build new things (costly).

Then she “zoomed out” and asked herself, one simple question:

“ Am I solving the right problem? ”

💡 Emma quickly realised she was solving the problem of "long queues", when actually the real problem was "people getting annoyed."

So what did she do?

Her solution was to simply to install full length mirrors next to the lift doors , so while people were waiting they could see themselves and be distracted for a while.

Sounds too simple but it worked! Complaints went way down and people were much happier. Through the power of critical thinking, Emma found a low cost and super effective solution to her problem.

What would your child do in this situation? Here is a free conversation card from the KidCoachApp to guide you.  Try it out tonight!

What is the best age to start?

Right. Now.

Children are naturally good critical thinkers. Their world has no bounds and everything is still possible. So let’s keep nurturing the creativity, curiosity and critical thinking skills from as young an age as possible!

The conversation cards in the KidCoachApp are perfect for 6 – 12 year olds.

As kids grow into adults they will set more boundaries on things, just like we do: “We have always done it like this!” or “That’s not possible.”

Let’s delay this for as long as possible!!!

Let me give you an example.

I was watching TV with my daughter recently and a donation appeal popped up, asking for money to feed hungry children in Africa. My daughter started asking why they are hungry, and I said “Because they are” , and she said “Why can’t we give them more food” , and I said “Because it is difficult” etc. But my daughter kept pressing – “Why? Why? Why?”

And frankly, she has a good point.

There is an awful lot of food in the world, but perhaps it is just not distributed well enough. How much food goes to waste in an average “Western” household, and how could that instead end up feeding the needy in Africa or other places?

Perhaps it requires a next generation of super critical thinkers to break through the commonly accepted “wisdom” of us grown-ups, to find a new way of doing important things.

💚 Raising a child who is a good critical thinking is not just good for them, but will undoubtedly help society also! 💚

10 free critical thinking questions for kids

I've linked to loads of our questions free for you in this article, but I want to give you even more ideas here!

Because I am feeling generous I am including links to some of these complete questions cards in the KidCoachApp , where you will find lots of helpful prompts and guidance. It's normally paid for, although just £4.99 / month and with a completely free 2 week trial, so I think very reasonable.

  • How many iPads do you think there are in the world?
  • ‍ How many grains of sand do you think there are on a typical beach?
  • ‍ If you could go back in time and change one thing, what would it be and why?
  • ‍ How would you improve a sofa to make it better?
  • ‍ If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

For the rest of these links you will just have to download the KidCoachApp 😊:

  • How can you make £100 by next week if you wanted to?
  • What would you name a new colour?
  • What are 10 different things you can do a cup?
  • When Baby Shark grows up, will he still be called Baby Shark?
  • What would happen if it never rained?

Does the KidCoachApp really work?

Yes! It really does. 😃

But don’t just take my word for it.

Listen to this TED talk by Ian Gilbert, author of the famous THUNKS – questions to make kids’ brains go ouch! Ian is also a member of our Advisory Board at KidCoachApp , and we have worked with him closely in the development of the app. He said: “What gives anyone the edge is their ability to think - deeply, analytically, critically, creatively, empathically and for themselves. I think the range and quality of the questions in the KidCoachApp will support any parent who wants to give their child that edge."

Or take Jane Slinn , who is the founder of Independent Thinkers tuition agency. She said that: “I always emphasise to parents that they should sustain learning and encourage intellectual curiosity between and beyond weekly tutoring sessions. The KidCoachApp is perfect for this: it provides parents with hundreds of fun, stimulating questions to ask their kids that will get them talking and thinking."

And what about parents themselves? There are countless testimonials to pick from. You could watch what Bhavisha had to say here or read any review on the app stores, like this one from Alison:  

💬 “Fantastic app for developing young minds. This app is a really effective way of helping parents think of interesting topics to discuss with their kids and helps develop communication, confidence, analytical thinking, creativity and more. It supports us in progressing the conversation to get the most from it and has some great topics to discuss. Such a great idea, thank you!”

‍ What shall I do next?

By now you will be excited about how you can effectively build critical thinking skills simply through conversation with your kids. A five minute conversation every other day is so easy to fit in, and we do all the hard work for you putting fantastic thinking questions right in the palm of your hand.

💥To make the most of this, you need to download the KidCoachApp from your usual app store to start your 2 week free trial within seconds. No payment details needed – so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. After that it is just £4.99/ month, or even cheaper if you go for the annual plan (like many parents do).

💓 I am super passionate about helping parents develop key skills in their kids, simply through conversation. I even quit my cushy corporate job to start up KidCoachApp, such was my passion and belief that I can be helpful.

💡  Let me inspire you now.

Download the KidCoachApp now! 👇

Start your free 2 week trial seconds. No payment details needed.

my child has no critical thinking skills

Kavin Wadhar

Kavin Wadhar is a parent of 2 kids and founder of www.KidCoach.app: guided conversations for parents to get their kids talking, thinking and feeling. Kavin left his corporate role in education publishing to pursue his passion to help parents develop in their kids the skills they need to thrive in tomorrow’s world. Working with a team of parents and education experts, Kavin has built an App for parents with hundreds of questions like those in this article, and with additional guidance / prompts to take conversations deeper. Check it out!

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Most popular articles:, connect through conversation, download the kidcoachapp free for hundreds of quick, fun and thought-provoking questions your kids will love.

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How to Teach Critical Thinking Skills to Kids

Easy strategies to incorporate into everyday life.

Sanya Pelini headshot

By Sanya Pelini, Ph.D.

Published on: august 23, 2023.

Young girl playing chess

In the late 1800s, Thomas Edison began working on a new kind of storage battery that he hoped would revolutionize the electrical industry. He wanted to create batteries that were lighter, more durable and much more powerful. He conducted thousands of tests and poured almost $1 million of his own money into the project.

In 1903, the battery was finished and made available to the public, which soon discovered that the promises made about the new apparatus fell far short of expectations. Battery leakages were reported by many consumers, making the devices practically useless, and those batteries that did not leak did not last as long as consumers had been led to believe.

This was a major setback for Edison, but he refused to believe that all hope was lost. Instead, he saw the predicament as an opportunity to practice critical thinking. He shut down the factory and over the next three years, he experimented with different materials to try to find a solution to the problem. He failed over and over again, but each failure led him to try a different approach to the problem. Through trial and error, he eventually discovered that adding a small amount of alkaline to the acid prevented leaks.

Thanks to his critical thinking skills and his perseverance, Edison eventually succeeded in developing a battery that was far better than the original one. These skills laid the groundwork for many other important inventions.

Edison’s ability to approach problems with an open mind — and his willingness to experiment and try new things — explains why he is remembered as one of the greatest inventors of all time.

As a parent or educator, you may have asked yourself whether it is possible to teach critical thinking skills to children. In other words, are these skills inborn or can they be developed?

What science says about critical thinking skills

Several researchers  refer to the ability to acquire critical thinking skills as the “development of a mind of one’s own.”

Critical thinking is about being able to look at an issue or problem from different angles. Being a critical thinker requires kids to keep an open mind, to be able and willing to see things from different perspectives, and to trust in their ability to find a solution to their challenges.

Critical thinkers are therefore curious experimenters who are not afraid to fail or who see failure as an opportunity to learn new things.

Does critical thinking come more naturally to some kids than to others? Possibly so. But science  indicates that kids primarily learn to become critical thinkers when they practice these skills.

Many of the researchers who have focused on the development of critical thinking skills suggest that children develop thinking skills more easily when an intentional attempt is made to promote those skills.

Some studies  have found that children taught using a critical thinking approach become better at solving problems. Others have determined that teaching thinking skills may increase the ability to reason, use language, solve problems, be inventive and make decisions.

The good news is that it is possible to teach critical thinking skills at home. Here are some easy tips to get started.

How to incorporate critical thinking skills into your child’s everyday life

Ask questions..

The more you make it a habit to ask your child questions, the more you help them practice their critical thinking skills. That said, it is important to avoid questions that prompt straightforward “yes” or “no” responses. So, instead of asking, “Did you have a good day?” try something along the lines of “What was the most interesting thing you did today?”

Making it a habit to ask for your child’s opinion — “What do you think?” or “How are you going to do it?” — is an easy way to make them reflect on possible responses and solutions.

Ask your child to put things into their own words.

One of the easiest ways to teach critical thinking skills is to ask your child to use their own words when expressing themselves. For example, after watching a movie together, inquire: “What did you understand?” “What did you learn from the story?” “What did you think of his/her reaction?” “What would you do if you were in their shoes?”

Prioritize play with open-ended toys.

Open-ended toys are great playthings because they encourage creativity. Your child can engage with them in many different ways, which means that they are encouraged to come up with new ways to interact with the same toys. Toys such as building blocks or nesting puzzles (for younger kids) and KAPLA or KEVA  planks (for older kids) are good examples of toys that can help increase your child’s creativity and therefore their critical thinking skills.

Provide an environment that favors the development of critical thinking skills.

By allowing your child to participate in the decision-making process, and by accepting their solutions even when your view differs, you help them to practice their critical thinking skills. Do not rush in to help your child find a solution: Let them think of ways to solve problems on their own.

Ask your child to come up with alternative solutions or explanations.

Ask: “How else can you do it?” “What will you do next time?” “How would you do it?” “What would you do differently?”

Play games that require critical thinking skills:

Playing Scrabble, chess or sudoku is an easy way to help your child strengthen their critical thinking skills.

Remember that modeling critical thinking is one of the most effective ways to teach those skills to your child. This could be in the form of asking questions, considering alternative solutions, showing your openness to different views and opinions, or even working together (and considering their proposals) to solve a problem.

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About the author.

Sanya Pelini headshot

Sanya Pelini is a parent and researcher in education. She is passionate about child development issues and holds a Ph.D. in educational research. She transforms educational research into practical tools and resources on her blog Raising Independent Kids .

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What Are Critical Thinking Skills? Here’s How to Help Your Kids Develop Them

my child has no critical thinking skills

It's no secret that critical thinking skills are essential for success in life, but how can parents help their children develop these important abilities? Critical thinking doesn't happen naturally; it must be taught and nurtured.

child learning critical thinking skills by playing chess

Play. Learn. Thrive.™ only endorses products we authentically love and use. Some of the product links in this post may be affiliate links. That means that if you click them and make a purchase, this site makes a commission. Play. Learn. Thrive.™ is also an Amazon Associate. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. It will have no impact on the price you pay or the experience of your purchase. 

This article will discuss the importance of developing critical thinking skills in children and provide strategies to encourage your child’s growth.

We'll also look at role play in fostering this skill set and the resources available for parents who want more information on teaching their kids problem-solving techniques.

So if you're looking for ways to help your little one grow into an independent thinker with strong decision-making capabilities, keep reading.

What are Critical Thinking Skills?

Critical thinking skills are thinking logically and rationally, analyzing information objectively, drawing conclusions based on evidence, and solving problems. It is an important life skill that can help you make better decisions in all aspects of your life.

Definition of Critical Thinking:

Critical thinking involves using logic and reasoning to evaluate arguments or ideas. It requires a person to be able to identify facts from opinions, recognize assumptions being made, understand different points of view, and consider alternative solutions before making a decision.

Benefits of Critical Thinking:

Developing strong critical thinking skills can help people become more effective problem solvers. It also helps them make better decisions by considering all possible outcomes before taking action. Additionally, it allows people to develop their unique perspectives on various topics, which can lead to creative solutions for difficult problems.

Critical thinking skills are an important part of a child's development . They help them to think flexibly, analyze situations, and make informed decisions. Here are some reasons why Critical thinking is so important for children:

  • It helps children to learn how to make sense of the world around them
  • It encourages problem-solving and creative thinking.
  • It helps children become better communicators and more resilient in the face of change.
  • It allows children to go beyond memorizing facts and develop a deeper understanding.
  • It promotes scientific inquiry and collaboration with others.

Parents can help foster these skills by encouraging creative problem-solving, open-ended questions, and discussion, as well as introducing new experiences and challenges. Let's look at how to develop critical thinking skills in children next.

my child has no critical thinking skills

How to Develop Critical Thinking Skills in Children?

Developing critical thinking skills in children is an important part of their overall development. Critical thinking involves analyzing information, evaluating evidence, and making informed decisions. Parents can help foster these skills by encouraging creative problem-solving, promoting open-ended questions and discussion, and introducing new experiences and challenges.

Encouraging Creative Problem Solving:

Creative problem-solving helps children learn how to think outside the box when faced with a challenge or difficult situation. Parents can encourage this thinking by providing opportunities for their children to develop unique solutions to problems they encounter throughout the day. This could be as simple as asking them “how else” they could approach a task or giving them multiple options for completing it.

Promoting Open-Ended Questions and Discussion:

Asking open-ended questions encourages kids to think more deeply about topics that interest them while also helping develop their critical thinking skills.

These questions require more than a yes/no answer; instead, they prompt your child to explain why something happened or how they feel about it.

You can also engage in meaningful conversations with your child by discussing current events or books you have read together – this will help build their understanding of different perspectives on various issues, which is essential for developing critical thinking abilities.

Introducing new experiences allows kids to explore unfamiliar situations, which requires them to use higher-order reasoning skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, all of which are necessary components of critical thinking processes.

Taking trips together (even if virtual), and trying out different activities like cooking classes or art projects are great ways for parents to introduce new experiences that will challenge their child's cognitive abilities while still being fun.

By providing children with opportunities to explore, think critically, and problem-solve through play, parents can help develop their child's critical thinking skills. Moving on to the importance of play in developing these skills…

The Importance of Play in Developing Critical Thinking Skills

Play is an essential part of a child’s development and growth. It not only helps children learn about the world around them, but it also encourages critical thinking skills. Children can explore their environment, develop problem-solving strategies, practice communication skills, and build relationships with others through play.

my child has no critical thinking skills

Role of Play in Cognitive Development:

Play provides opportunities for children to use their imaginations and express themselves creatively. They develop cognitive abilities such as memory recall and problem-solving as they engage in different play activities, such as building blocks or playing pretend games. They are also learning how to make decisions based on what they observe in their environment. This type of learning helps them develop the ability to think critically later on in life.

Benefits of Play for Learning and Development:

Through play, children can learn important lessons about collaboration and cooperation with others while having fun at the same time. Playing together teaches kids how to share ideas and work together towards a common goal which will help them succeed both academically and socially throughout life. Additionally, engaging in imaginative play can help improve language skills by allowing kids to practice speaking out loud using new words that may have been learned during school or from books read at home.

Many types of play can foster critical thinking skills, such as board games like chess or checkers; puzzles; role-playing activities; outdoor sports like soccer or basketball; creative arts like drawing or painting; science experiments; cooking projects, etc. All these activities require some level of planning which develops analytical thinking skills needed for problem-solving later on down the road.

By providing ample opportunities for playful exploration within a safe environment filled with love and support, parents can ensure their child has all the tools necessary to become successful thinkers and doers when they grow up.

Playing is an essential part of a child's development and can help them to build the critical thinking skills they need to succeed. With the right strategies, parents can create stimulating environments for their children that foster learning and exploration.

Key Takeaway: Through play, children can develop critical thinking skills such as problem-solving, decision-making, and collaboration. Benefits include improved language skills, analytical thinking, and the ability to work towards a common goal.

my child has no critical thinking skills

Strategies for Teaching Critical Thinking Skills at Home

Creating a stimulating environment for learning:.

Parents can create an environment that encourages critical thinking by providing stimulating activities and materials. This could include puzzles, books, games, art supplies , blocks, and other open-ended toys. These items should be accessible to children so they can explore them freely. Providing time for unstructured play is also important, as this helps foster creativity and problem-solving skills.

Modeling Good Problem-Solving Techniques:

Children learn best when they observe adults modeling the behavior they want them to adopt. When faced with a problem or challenge, parents should demonstrate how to approach it calmly, using logical reasoning skills, such as breaking down the issue into smaller parts or looking at it from different perspectives.

Parents can help their children develop critical thinking skills by encouraging curiosity through conversation and exploring new topics or experiences.

They can also ask open-ended questions that require more than one-word answers, which will help stimulate deeper thought processes in their child’s mind.

Parents are creating an environment that encourages critical thinking by providing stimulating activities and materials such as puzzles, books, games, art supplies , blocks, and other open-ended toys for children to explore freely and allowing time for unstructured play.

Additionally, modeling good problem-solving techniques when faced with a challenge is important so that children learn how to approach it calmly while using logical reasoning skills such as breaking down the issue into smaller parts or looking at it from different perspectives.

Parents can teach their children critical thinking skills at home by understanding the importance of creating a stimulating environment, modeling good problem-solving techniques, and encouraging exploration and curiosity. See the next heading for more resources on developing these skills in children.

Resources for Parents on Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Children

Parents looking to understand better critical thinking skills and how to develop them in their children can find a wealth of resources in books. You can see a list of my favorites in my Amazon shop here .

These books provide an overview of critical thinking and offer practical strategies for helping children hone their skills.

FAQs about What Are Critical Thinking Skills

What is meant by critical thinking skills.

It involves using logic and reasoning to identify arguments' strengths and weaknesses, recognize assumptions, assess underlying motives, and consider alternative solutions or perspectives. Critical thinking also involves questioning one’s beliefs to better understand an issue or situation. Ultimately it is about making informed decisions based on facts rather than emotions or opinions.

What is an example of critical thinking skills?

Critical thinking skills involve analyzing and evaluating information, drawing conclusions, and making evidence-based decisions. It involves thinking objectively and rationally about a situation or problem to develop an informed solution. Critical thinking also requires identifying assumptions, recognizing logical fallacies, and distinguishing between facts and opinions. Furthermore, it involves creative problem-solving techniques such as brainstorming or mind mapping to generate new ideas or solutions.

Here is a list of other important thinking skills that are important to develop.

  • Analytical Thinking: the ability to break down complex problems into smaller parts and analyze them to understand their underlying causes.
  • Logical Thinking: the ability to reason logically and draw valid conclusions from given information.
  • Creative Thinking: the capacity for generating new ideas, solutions, or approaches to problems by combining existing knowledge in novel ways.
  • Critical Thinking: the skill of evaluating arguments and evidence objectively to form sound judgments and reach well-supported conclusions.
  • Problem-Solving: the process of identifying a problem, gathering relevant data, analyzing it systematically, forming hypotheses, testing those hypotheses against reality, and developing solutions that address the issue at hand.
  • Decision Making: The process of weighing options before selecting one is based on evaluating its potential outcomes relative to other alternatives available at that period or contextually speaking.
  • Reflective Thinking: The ability to pause and consider how our thoughts influence our actions; this includes being able to reflect on past experiences as well as considering future implications when making decisions or solving problems

What is critical thinking in simple words?

Critical thinking is the ability to analyze information objectively and make informed decisions based on evidence. It involves using logic, questioning assumptions, and examining different perspectives to reach a reasoned conclusion. Critical thinking also requires an open mind and the willingness to consider alternative solutions or ideas that may not be immediately obvious. Ultimately, it helps us become better problem solvers and more effective communicators.

Critical thinking skills are essential for children to develop. Parents play an important role in helping their children learn and practice these skills. By providing opportunities for creative play, engaging in meaningful conversations, and teaching strategies such as questioning and problem-solving, parents can help their children build strong critical thinking skills. With the right guidance and resources, parents can ensure their child develops the necessary critical thinking skills to succeed.

my child has no critical thinking skills

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my child has no critical thinking skills

How to help your child become a strong critical thinker

Helping kids develop critical thinking skills allows them to make sense of life and the myriad of information available. Set them up for success.

In today’s world, kids have an unprecedented amount of information to navigate. Helping them develop critical thinking skills to make sense of the myriad of information can help set them up for success in school and beyond. Critical thinking is one of the National Education Association’s “Four Cs” for 21st-century teaching—the four most important skills for K-12 education in a global society.

If it’s been a while since you were in school, you might have been expecting four core subjects to be the most important skills—that’s the classic list of math , science , English , and history .

But, the modern lens on education sees those as merely content areas and the Four Cs—critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration—as the essential skills that can help a learner unlock understanding of any content area, problem, or decision they encounter. In this article, we focus on critical thinking.

What is critical thinking?

Simply put, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines the term critical thinking as, “careful thinking, directed to a goal.” “Careful thinking” is the intellectual process we use to analyze and evaluate an idea, and “directed to a goal” means that we apply this process with the goal to make a judgment or decision.

The critical thinking process helps us take an idea and examine it to make sure we’re being told the whole story. It also helps us evaluate the idea to make sure it’s not just the power, influence, or storytelling skills of the person with the idea tricking us into believing something that isn’t really a logical idea worthy of our belief.

The origins of critical thinking

Critical thinking is an ancient tradition rooted in Greek history and first developed by the philosopher Socrates, which is why you’ll often hear critical thinking associated with the Socratic method. The Socratic method sounds complicated, but it’s as simple as asking questions in order to break through the facade of an idea.

The concepts and principles of the Socratic method are all aimed at asking questions to expose contradiction, engage in discussion, and develop the ability to analyze ideas that we may have typically accepted as facts.

Socrates asked his students questions that probed the evidence and reasoning behind an idea, with the ultimate goal of helping students determine if the idea is worth believing in. It’s a thought process that challenges ideas and builds independent thinkers who enjoy solving problems and drawing conclusions.

Pick out an online critical thinking class for your kids.

Critical thinking skills vs. mindset

Critical thinking is a skill and experienced critical thinkers also develop a mindset. Skills are what critical thinkers do; mindset is the attitude they hold. The critical thinker attitude is open-minded, skeptical, curious, reflective, self-aware, truth-seeking, fair, unbiased, and rational. As your child practices critical thinking skills, they will develop the mindset, which they can apply in a number of different environments: higher education, career, parenting their own children, and more.

In the NEA’s Guide to the Four Cs, educational researchers break down critical thinking skills into core behaviors to show what it looks like to be a critical thinker. These behaviors make for engaged and inquisitive college students, great employees (and entrepreneurs!), and curious lifelong learners. According to the NEA , critical thinkers:

Think using systems.

By systematically breaking down complex problems and ideas into their parts.

By analyzing big ideas to determine how each part is contributing to the whole picture.

Evaluate, judge, and decide.

By considering other points of view.

By interpreting evidence and information and drawing the best conclusion.

By analyzing and evaluating arguments.

By reflecting on their judgments and decisions.

Solve problems.

By asking questions that expose better solutions.

By not fearing new and unfamiliar problems.

How to practice critical thinking

The critical thinking mindset will come with time, practice, and the development of critical thinking skills. To help your children improve critical thinking skills, practice asking a series of questions aimed at getting to the “why” behind the idea or the why behind the decision your child has made. Your questions should:

Ask how and why (rather than what ). Why do you think that?

Ask for a defense with evidence or proof. How do you know that?

Consider other perspectives. What do you think so and so would think?

Don’t be afraid to follow this formula—it’s simple but effective and structure is a great way to ease kids into a new way of thinking. Knowing what question comes next does not lessen the quality of their response and eventually, they will internalize these questions and start asking themselves all on their own.

How parents can model critical thinking

Good critical thinking skills start with modeling for your kids. If you improve your skills with a little bit of practice and self-awareness, you’ll see the effects in the way your kids begin to approach problem-solving.

Remember, you don’t need subject matter expertise to model critical thinking. If you don’t understand what your kid is learning in advanced math , you can still ask how and why. Listening to them and encouraging analysis is the important skill here.

Tips for modeling critical thinking

Give reasons for your own decisions (avoid “just because”). When you are evaluating a purchase, let your child in on the process and show them your reasoning.

Talk about the internet and social media. Discuss how to vet information on the internet and make sure you are getting the full story. If your child is older, talk about influence and power.

Ask questions! If your child is older, try debating . This is a great way to practice the evidence element of critical thinking.

Don’t make reasoning or thinking critically only about school content areas. Discuss a topic they are passionate about—pop culture, politics, or sports. This helps model that critical thinking isn’t only an academic process, it’s a lifelong skill.

Learn critical thinking skills with Outschool

If you want to help your kids develop the skills they need, you've come to the right place. At Outschool kids can learn anything in a convenient, affordable, live online format. Try classes like speech and debate , critical thinking , logic , career readiness , and life skills .

*This article was originally published in July 2020 and was updated in November 2022.

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5 Critical Thinking Skills Every Kid Needs To Learn (And How To Teach Them)

Teach them to thoughtfully question the world around them.

Examples of critical thinking skills like correlation tick-tac-Toe, which teaches analysis skills and debates which teach evaluation skills.

Little kids love to ask questions. “Why is the sky blue?” “Where does the sun go at night?” Their innate curiosity helps them learn more about the world, and it’s key to their development. As they grow older, it’s important to encourage them to keep asking questions and to teach them the right kinds of questions to ask. We call these “critical thinking skills,” and they help kids become thoughtful adults who are able to make informed decisions as they grow older.

What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking allows us to examine a subject and develop an informed opinion about it. First, we need to be able to simply understand the information, then we build on that by analyzing, comparing, evaluating, reflecting, and more. Critical thinking is about asking questions, then looking closely at the answers to form conclusions that are backed by provable facts, not just “gut feelings” and opinion.

Critical thinkers tend to question everything, and that can drive teachers and parents a little crazy. The temptation to reply, “Because I said so!” is strong, but when you can, try to provide the reasons behind your answers. We want to raise children who take an active role in the world around them and who nurture curiosity throughout their entire lives.

Key Critical Thinking Skills

So, what are critical thinking skills? There’s no official list, but many people use Bloom’s Taxonomy to help lay out the skills kids should develop as they grow up.

A diagram showing Bloom's Taxonomy (Critical Thinking Skills)

Source: Vanderbilt University

Bloom’s Taxonomy is laid out as a pyramid, with foundational skills at the bottom providing a base for more advanced skills higher up. The lowest phase, “Remember,” doesn’t require much critical thinking. These are the skills kids use when they memorize math facts or world capitals or practice their spelling words. Critical thinking doesn’t begin to creep in until the next steps.

Understanding requires more than memorization. It’s the difference between a child reciting by rote “one times four is four, two times four is eight, three times four is twelve,” versus recognizing that multiplication is the same as adding a number to itself a certain number of times. Schools focus more these days on understanding concepts than they used to; pure memorization has its place, but when a student understands the concept behind something, they can then move on to the next phase.

Application opens up whole worlds to students. Once you realize you can use a concept you’ve already mastered and apply it to other examples, you’ve expanded your learning exponentially. It’s easy to see this in math or science, but it works in all subjects. Kids may memorize sight words to speed up their reading mastery, but it’s learning to apply phonics and other reading skills that allows them to tackle any new word that comes their way.

Analysis is the real leap into advanced critical thinking for most kids. When we analyze something, we don’t take it at face value. Analysis requires us to find facts that stand up to inquiry, even if we don’t like what those facts might mean. We put aside personal feelings or beliefs and explore, examine, research, compare and contrast, draw correlations, organize, experiment, and so much more. We learn to identify primary sources for information, and check into the validity of those sources. Analysis is a skill successful adults must use every day, so it’s something we must help kids learn as early as possible.

Almost at the top of Bloom’s pyramid, evaluation skills let us synthesize all the information we’ve learned, understood, applied, and analyzed, and to use it to support our opinions and decisions. Now we can reflect on the data we’ve gathered and use it to make choices, cast votes, or offer informed opinions. We can evaluate the statements of others too, using these same skills. True evaluation requires us to put aside our own biases and accept that there may be other valid points of view, even if we don’t necessarily agree with them.

In the final phase, we use every one of those previous skills to create something new. This could be a proposal, an essay, a theory, a plan—anything a person assembles that’s unique.

Note: Bloom’s original taxonomy included “synthesis” as opposed to “create,” and it was located between “apply” and “evaluate.” When you synthesize, you put various parts of different ideas together to form a new whole. In 2001, a group of cognitive psychologists removed that term from the taxonomy , replacing it with “create,” but it’s part of the same concept.

How To Teach Critical Thinking

Using critical thinking in your own life is vital, but passing it along to the next generation is just as important. Be sure to focus on analyzing and evaluating, two multifaceted sets of skills that take lots and lots of practice. Start with these 10 Tips for Teaching Kids To Be Awesome Critical Thinkers . Then try these critical thinking activities and games. Finally, try to incorporate some of these 100+ Critical Thinking Questions for Students into your lessons. They’ll help your students develop the skills they need to navigate a world full of conflicting facts and provocative opinions.

One of These Things Is Not Like the Other

This classic Sesame Street activity is terrific for introducing the ideas of classifying, sorting, and finding relationships. All you need are several different objects (or pictures of objects). Lay them out in front of students, and ask them to decide which one doesn’t belong to the group. Let them be creative: The answer they come up with might not be the one you envisioned, and that’s OK!

The Answer Is …

Post an “answer” and ask kids to come up with the question. For instance, if you’re reading the book Charlotte’s Web , the answer might be “Templeton.” Students could say, “Who helped save Wilbur even though he didn’t really like him?” or “What’s the name of the rat that lived in the barn?” Backwards thinking encourages creativity and requires a good understanding of the subject matter.

Forced Analogies

Forced Analogies: A Critical thinking Activity

Practice making connections and seeing relationships with this fun game. Kids write four random words in the corners of a Frayer Model and one more in the middle. The challenge? To link the center word to one of the others by making an analogy. The more far out the analogies, the better!

Learn more: Forced Analogies at The Owl Teacher

Primary Sources

Tired of hearing “I found it on Wikipedia!” when you ask kids where they got their answer? It’s time to take a closer look at primary sources. Show students how to follow a fact back to its original source, whether online or in print. We’ve got 10 terrific American history–based primary source activities to try here.

Science Experiments

Collage of students performing science experiments using critical thinking skills

Hands-on science experiments and STEM challenges are a surefire way to engage students, and they involve all sorts of critical thinking skills. We’ve got hundreds of experiment ideas for all ages on our STEM pages , starting with 50 Stem Activities To Help Kids Think Outside the Box .

Not the Answer

Multiple-choice questions can be a great way to work on critical thinking. Turn the questions into discussions, asking kids to eliminate wrong answers one by one. This gives them practice analyzing and evaluating, allowing them to make considered choices.

Learn more: Teaching in the Fast Lane

Correlation Tic-Tac-Toe

Two 3 by 3 grids of pictures showing mountains, islands, and other landforms, with Xs drawn in each grid to form tic-tac-toe lines.

Here’s a fun way to work on correlation, which is a part of analysis. Show kids a 3 x 3 grid with nine pictures, and ask them to find a way to link three in a row together to get tic-tac-toe. For instance, in the pictures above, you might link together the cracked ground, the landslide, and the tsunami as things that might happen after an earthquake. Take things a step further and discuss the fact that there are other ways those things might have happened (a landslide can be caused by heavy rain, for instance), so correlation doesn’t necessarily prove causation.

Learn more: Critical Thinking Tic-Tac-Toe at The Owl Teacher

Inventions That Changed the World

Explore the chain of cause and effect with this fun thought exercise. Start it off by asking one student to name an invention they believe changed the world. Each student then follows by explaining an effect that invention had on the world and their own lives. Challenge each student to come up with something different.

Learn more: Teaching With a Mountain View

Critical Thinking Games

Pile of board games that encourage critical thinking skills

There are so many board games that help kids learn to question, analyze, examine, make judgments, and more. In fact, pretty much any game that doesn’t leave things entirely up to chance (Sorry, Candy Land) requires players to use critical thinking skills. See one teacher’s favorites at the link below.

Learn more: Miss DeCarbo

This is one of those classic critical thinking activities that really prepares kids for the real world. Assign a topic (or let them choose one). Then give kids time to do some research to find good sources that support their point of view. Finally, let the debate begin! Check out 100 Middle School Debate Topics , 100 High School Debate Topics , and 60 Funny Debate Topics for Kids of All Ages .

How do you teach critical thinking skills in your classroom? Come share your ideas and ask for advice in the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, check out 38 simple ways to integrate social-emotional learning throughout the day ..

Get ideas and activities for teaching kids to use critical thinking skills to thoughtfully question the world and sort out fact from opinion.

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How to Improve Your Child’s Critical Thinking Skills

Oxford Languages defines critical thinking as “the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment.” It is the ability to interpret a question or situation and come up with the best-fitting solution. Children need critical thinking skills to interact with the world around them, but many children have experienced delayed skill development because of the pandemic.

The guide below explains why critical thinking is at a standstill and what you can do to boost your child’s analytical abilities.

Critical Thinking Has Plummeted Since the Pandemic

Do you feel like your children can’t think for themselves? Do you find yourself explaining every step of a task, even with instructions available?

Parents and teachers around the world have reported a sharp shift in children’s critical thinking skills since the start of the pandemic. This year has been particularly eye-opening because many students are back in school in person for the first time in two years.

There are several reasons why critical thinking skill development came to a halt during the pandemic. Here are some of the most common causes:

  • Online schooling forced many parents to become one-on-one tutors. Children now rely on constant prompting to complete tasks because they did not have social examples to follow in 2020.
  • Children expect to be given the right answer, even if they choose the wrong one initially. This is what happens on many online learning platforms, so children have developed a habit of picking an answer – any answer – just to complete the task. They know they’ll receive the right answer eventually, so they do not have to think about it for too long.
  • Teacher feedback has been minimal in the last two years, so students don’t have the same question-and-answer rhythm that they had before. Instead, they either rush through assignments or ask questions without actually reading the assignment.
  • Elementary students did not receive sufficient socialization during the pandemic, so they do not know how to interact with peers now. This creates feelings of anxiety, loneliness, frustration, and confusion, all of which may affect critical thinking abilities.
  • Students care more about getting the right answer than understanding why that is the answer. With online schooling, they got a boost of dopamine by clicking correct answers and completing assignments quickly. Their brains were conditioned to think that was the goal. It’s difficult to break that cycle.
  • Mental health struggles make learning difficult. Most children experienced trauma in 2020. They left their friends and teachers for the last time without warning and were thrust into an entirely new environment. Their brains aren’t developed enough to fully process that.

You know how much 2020 and the years that followed impacted your life as an adult. Layer those struggles with growth spurts, hormone changes, and the everyday obstacles growing children face. It’s easy to see why so many now have problems with critical thinking.

Do not rely on the school to teach your child critical thinking skills. They will certainly pick up some skills from school, but you need to further develop those abilities at home. Listed below are some ways you can help your child become a better critical thinker.

Do Not Automatically Intervene When Your Child Has a Problem

Kids learn through trial and error. They’re going to struggle at first but will only get better if you let them learn. Resist the urge to step in when your child is frustrated, confused, or discouraged. Encourage them to find their own solution before you take over the situation. They may still need you to provide the answer, but give them a chance to think on their own first.

Create an Environment of Imagination

Imagination is a cousin of critical thinking. Children learn to look at the world from unique perspectives when they use their imagination. Play make-believe with your kids. Hold a fort-building session every week with a new theme, or use building blocks to create new worlds night after night. The more you engage with them, the more they’ll learn.

Have Discussions about Books You’ve Read

Learning doesn’t have to end when the book closes. You could talk about some of the lessons within the book or ask your child about their favorite part. Use hypothetical questions to make them think critically. “What do you think would have happened if this had gone a different way?” You can prompt them with small suggestions, but let their growing mind take control of the conversation.

Narrate Your Own Problem Solving

Children are sponges. They absorb everything they see you do – good and bad. If you’re using your critical thinking skills, show that to your child. “I didn’t have the right tool to open this, but I figured out how to do it with a different tool.” You may even ask your child to help you solve a problem after you’ve found an appropriate solution. Let them participate in the process and celebrate the victory with you.

Ask Open-Ended Questions That Help Them Think in New Ways

Yes or no questions limit critical thinking. Your children will benefit from open-ended questions that allow them to tap into past experiences and learn something new. Try prompts like, “Let’s think of all the possible outcomes in this scenario” or “What would happen if we tried this instead?” They may not have the right answer or best answer right away, but they’re thinking. That is what is most important.

Ask Them about Things They Love

Children are told that they are wrong all day long. They rarely get to feel knowledgeable. Giving them a small boost of confidence will make a tremendous impact on their critical thinking development.

Ask them about topics they love to discuss, like their favorite movie or video game. “Have you found any cool new items in your game?” “What do the Stormtroopers do?” You may know the answers already, but the point here is that your child feels empowered by knowledge. They’ll be driven by that feeling moving forward.

Don’t Ignore Mental Health Struggles

If your child is facing mental health challenges, don’t ignore them. Mental health will affect academic performance, no matter how smart or talented your child is. Your child needs to know how to regulate emotions and process feelings in order to effectively employ their critical thinking skills.

The same can be said for your own mental health. If you’re struggling in any way, reach out for support. Lean on your loved ones and confide in people you trust. Work with a licensed therapist to find personalized coping strategies. The specialists here at CNLD Testing & Therapy would be happy to help you.

Reach out to (734) 994-9466 if you’d like to meet with one of our mental healthcare providers. We work with parents, children, teens, families, caregivers, and everyone in between.

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What Causes a Lack of Critical Thinking Skills?

Woman reading book while sitting on chair.jpg

Critical thinking skills are an important tool, especially when it comes to personal beliefs and academics. When applied, critical thinking is a powerful defense against ideas and opinions that are potentially harmful or blatantly wrong. Unfortunately, not everyone possesses this ability, although it can be taught. Understanding what suppresses critical thinking is an important step to obtaining a more open mind.

Explore this article

  • Indoctrination
  • Lack of Intelligence
  • Cognitive Impairment

1 Indoctrination

Indoctrination is a major roadblock to critical thinking. When an individual is surrounded and constantly fed a one-sided view on things like personal beliefs or politics, it stifles critical thinking. Children and students are especially vulnerable to this, so critical thinking must always be encouraged. According to the Association of American Colleges & Universities, teaching students to be skeptical will "help them see through the distortions of propaganda, and enable them to assess judiciously the persuasiveness of powerful emotional appeals." (see source 1)

2 Lack of Intelligence

An article by the University of Phoenix, entitled "Can Critical Thinking be Taught in the Classroom?" asserts that a critical thinker "would need a level of intellectual and cognitive ability." The article implies that some people are more adept than others when it comes to being skeptical and analytical. This is understandable, because people who lack intelligence will find it much easier to simply accept certain ideas at face-value than take the time and effort to research them. According to the Media Awareness Network, "Critical thinking is about how to think, not what to think" and requires "curiosity, open-mindedness, skepticism, and persistence.' In other words, you cannot think critically if you are ignorant of its process. Critical thinking is not about assuming that everything you hear, read or see is potentially wrong. It is about taking any information provided and analyzing it using the critical thinking process. Without this understand, critical thinking skills will be nonexistent.

3 Arrogance

Your attitude can have a profound effect on critical thinking. Even if you are extremely intelligent, you will not think critically if you are not willing to venture outside your own opinions. According to the University of Phoenix, "What stifles critical thinking in some cases is an unwillingness to do research." In other words, if you are not humble, you will avoid examining alternate opinions for fear of being proven wrong.

4 Cognitive Impairment

According the Surgeon General, mental disability and mental illness can cause a variety of obstacles, including disturbances of thought and perception or cognitive dysfunction. As a result, individuals suffering from such issues may be at an intellectual disadvantage. Since critical thinking requires a certain degree of intelligence, cognitive impairment prevents people from grasping the complex rules and processes of critical thinking.

  • 1 University of Phoenix: Can Critical Thinking be Taught in the Classroom?

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Helping Your Child Develop Their Critical Thinking Skills

Helping Your Child Develop Their Critical Thinking Skills

by Rachel Wells

Critical thinking skills are a fundamental life skill, and are at the foundation of education. Without an ability to think critically kids will struggle academically and socially, especially as they get older.  When a child has a solid foundation of critical thinking skills they are more easily able to form their own opinions, build better relationships, have the skills needed to resist peer pressure, and are able to come up with creative solutions. Simply put, critical thinking skills equip your child to deal with life’s challenges and obstacles. If kids are not being critical thinkers, then they are not thinking carefully.

Building critical thinking skills in your child happens though everyday conversations, by asking open-ended questions, and by giving your child opportunities to experiment and solve problems on their own. There are things parents and teachers can do to help children form a healthy critical thinking mindset, and develop the desire to look for a deeper understanding for creative problem solving.

Check out some ways below:

Encourage Questions and Explain Everything

Young kids ask “why” a lot – don’t push those questions aside! Those questions are a critical first step in learning to think critically. Taking time to explain things from an early age teaches children how to ask questions, how to analyze information, and how to become adults who are confident in their own ability to answer questions with reason instead of with emotions. If you don’t know the answer to a question, try responding with “that’s a good question, let’s find out the answer together!” and actually take the time to do so.

Provide Opportunities for Play

Actives such as building with blocks, playing board games, or participating in dramatic play with others all help build critical thinking skills. You can ask questions during play such as “If we do this, what do you think will happen?” or “How would you solve this problem?” Remember that kids need challenges to grow – so give your child ample time to attempt a task, and wait and watch before you jump in to solve a problem yourself.

Ask Questions

During play and throughout the day ask plenty of open-ended questions. Give your child ample time to make a response so they have time to think through what they want to say, instead of responding with their first gut reaction.

Some great open-ended questions:

What ideas do you have?

What do you think is happening here?

That’s interesting, can you tell me why you think that?

What other ideas could we try?

Can you think of all the possible solutions?

Encourage Thinking in New Ways

Encouraging your child to think outside the box or in new and different ways allows them to practice their creative problem solving skills. Again, try not to step in too soon when your child is trying to solve something – giving them time to navigate their own problems is integral to the development of their critical thinking skills in the long run.

Be a Good Role Model

Kids tend to copy the behaviors of the adults they spend time with – so it’s important to model using critical thinking skills in your own life. Since children learn by observing, it can be hugely beneficial to verbalize your thoughts out loud the next time you are working through a decision making process. Your child will see how you are coming to a logical solution, which will lead them to imitating what they have observed.

Try Some Just-for-Fun Critical Thinking Questions for Kids

Don’t be afraid to have a little fun while helping your child develop their critical thinking skills too! During mealtimes, in the car, or whenever you have a few extra minutes, ask your child one of these fun critical thinking questions.

  • What would you do for fun if there were no TVs, tablets, video games, or smartphones?
  • Why do you think cartoon characters wear the same clothes every day?
  • What makes you different from the kids in your class?
  • How would your life be different if you had another brother or sister?
  • If you could choose your own name, what name would you choose?
  • Do you think Barbie could do all the jobs she does if she were a human?
  • What do you think would happen if your best friend was in charge of ROBLOX?
  • What would happen if it never rained?
  • What are all the ways you could get money to buy a new toy?
  • What do you think your teacher does when he/she isn’t at school?
  • How could you become a Lego Master Builder?
  • Someone gives you a penguin. If you can’t sell it or give it away, what do you do with it?
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How to teach children to be critical thinkers

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Critical thinking is knowing how to assess and discern the information we receive. We make our decisions based on that information and on our evaluation of it, so we need to know how to think clearly.

This skill is essential in today’s world, as we are flooded with information from so many sources. The Holy Father himself has spoken of the importance of this skill:

We are living in an information-driven society which bombards us indiscriminately with data—all treated as being of equal importance—and which leads to remarkable superficiality in the area of moral discernment. In response, we need to provide an education which teaches critical thinking and encourages the development of mature moral values. (Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium )

As important as critical thinking is, it seems increasingly rare and hard to find.

For parents and educators, teaching children to think well is not easy. But the ongoing growth of relativism in society today makes it a very necessary task.

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Promoting critical thinking in children allows them to enjoy greater freedom and ability to reason, to judge arguments, to acquire new knowledge and to be able to solve problems successfully. So how can we teach children to think critically?

We’re all born with the basic ability to think. Critical thinking, however, is a higher order of thinking, which must be practiced and learned. Dr. Robert Swartz, creator of the Thinking Based Learning (TBL) method, says that “while everyone thinks, not everyone thinks as carefully and as well as they could.”

Thinking skills

Robert Swartz argues that many of us engage in superficial, hasty, narrow-minded, unclear, and disorganized thinking. Therefore it’s vital to teach children thinking skills. We need to think critically especially when we make decisions, solve problems, predict, relate, compare, and contrast.

In order to train children in the art of thinking clearly, conscious practice is necessary. When they are at an early age, we can begin by inviting them to observe and interpret the world around them. They can ask themselves, “What do I see? What do I think about it?” This will lay the foundation for advanced thinking when they are older.

When we think, we form ideas in our heads that we automatically analyze in order to assess a certain situation. Therefore, critical thinking is a very useful skill in the world of learning too, and can help our children succeed academically.

Activities to teach children to think

Here are some activities that will help young children master critical thinking:

  • Reading stories with them and talking about the story : Reading is a proven way to improve children’s concentration. Discussing what you’ve read, meanwhile, promotes reading comprehension and helps them reflect on the story that they’ve just heard or read. In addition, stories with a moral offer a “hidden teaching” that children will have to interpret.
  • Deciphering puzzles and riddles : Who knew doing a simple puzzle teaches analytical reasoning?
  • Solving clue games or escape rooms : These activities are lots of fun, and they’re great for promoting thinking and logic, with the chance to make contributions to the group’s efforts.
  • Deciphering riddles and logical sequences : These provide a symbolic path of analysis that will lead to a satisfactory resolution.

READING

All of these activities teach children cognitive abilities and thinking skills. They naturally provoke children to start asking questions, seeking the reasons for things, and putting their own arguments to the test. And these activities encourage children to ask questions that help them intuit possible consequences of actions.

Teaching children to ask good questions in a new situation is a beautifully effective way of showing them the need to think critically. They’ll start to realize that this is an essential ability in today’s society.

As they practice this skill, children and young people will realize for themselves the benefits of thinking critically. This skill makes them more free, helps them make good decisions, reinforces their personality, and helps them build a healthy self-esteem and not be fooled by others.

Knowing how to think critically will prove useful in so many situations. They’ll use this skill for organizing their lives, recognizing their own mistakes, and taking a “big picture” view of any situation.

It’s clear to everyone that we’re living in a time of great change, and it can be difficult to orient ourselves in the current cultural context. The more challenges we face, the more the way we approach life becomes clear—and the more apparent is the need to act based on critical thinking.

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Growth Mindset

The decline of critical thinking skills, here's how to get back this important life skill..

Updated July 5, 2023 | Reviewed by Ray Parker

  • Young people find themselves stuck in practical or survival thinking as a result of the pandemic.
  • Thinking deeply is not easy in a world of distractions, so it's important to practice.
  • Here are several ways to boost your critical thinking skills, such as active listening and lifelong learning.

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Thinking clearly, deeply, and productively is one of our most valuable life skills. But, research shows that it is becoming one of the most endangered.

Unsurprisingly, there has been a decline in people’s ability to think deeply and reflectively in the past few years. One study, which focused on Millennial and Gen Z workers in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Japan, found that many people reported burning out and struggling to make ends meet. So they’ve been spending more time thinking about their immediate challenges, rather than the more profound, meaningful types of thinking that might lead to better outcomes.

One concern in the report (released by the Lenovo computer company ) is that the changes young people had to make to deal with the pressures of 2020 are not temporary. Instead, many young people seem to find themselves stuck in a practical or survival thinking mindset that can negatively impact their ability to function personally and professionally over time.

How can you improve your critical thinking skills? Here are some strategies that can help:

1. Avoid the urgency trap: If you tend to rush through decision-making when under the pressure of too many demands, you can develop self-awareness of your counterproductive habit, and learn to pause or take a break before rushing forward.

2. Engage in reflective thinking: Take the time to reflect on your own thoughts, experiences, and biases. Reflective thinking helps you gain self-awareness, consider different perspectives, and evaluate your own reasoning.

3. Practice active listening and effective communication: Engage in active listening to understand others’ viewpoints and perspectives. Practice expressing your thoughts clearly, constructively, and logically, fostering productive discussions and debates.

4. Solve problems systematically: Break down complex problems into smaller components, identify underlying issues, and consider multiple solutions. Practice problem-solving techniques, such as brainstorming, evaluating alternatives, and anticipating potential consequences.

5. Embrace curiosity and lifelong learning: Cultivate a mindset of interest and a thirst for knowledge. Be open to new ideas, seek diverse perspectives, and continuously expand your understanding through reading, research, and learning from others.

6. Engage in critical thinking exercises: Solve puzzles, riddles, or logical problems that challenge your reasoning abilities. Engage in debates, analyze case studies, or participate in critical thinking workshops or courses to sharpen your skills.

7. Practice self-compassion: Thinking deeply is not easy in a world of distractions. Develop a regular meditation or exercise practice to manage stress . Remember that deep thinking requires nurturing yourself and taking time to slow down.

Copyright 2023 Tara Well PhD

Tara Well Ph.D.

Tara Well, Ph.D. , is a professor in the department of psychology at Barnard College of Columbia University.

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Critical Thinking: How to Grow Your Child’s Mind

by Marilyn Price-Mitchell, PhD

Ability to seek and acquire new knowledge, skills, and ways of understanding the world.

Critical Thinking

Inquisitiveness, love of learning, open-mindedness.

Critical Thinking: How to Grow Your Child's Mind, by Marilyn Price-Mitchell PhD

Is critical thinking for kids? Absolutely! The art of critical thinking begins in childhood. What kind of thinker is your child?  Does he believe everything on TV?  Does she always figure out how to get what she wants? 

Does he ask questions?  Does she go along with what her friends suggest?  You can help develop your child’s critical thinking skills by learning a few key guidelines!

Whether your child is just starting summer vacation or in the midst of the school year, parents can help keep minds active in fun ways. Critical thinking skills don’t fully develop until adolescence, but the foundations for good thinking develop in younger children.

The nonprofit Foundation for Critical Thinking cultivates core intellectual virtues that lead to fair-minded thinking.  They have identified three ways K-6 children typically think.

  • Naïve Nancy doesn’t believe she needs to think because her parents do it for her! She believes most things she hears on TV, doesn’t ask questions, and goes along with what her friends decide.
  • Selfish Sam thinks a lot because it gets him what he wants. He believes whatever is necessary to achieve his goals, regardless of whether it hurts others. He figures out how to get other kids to do what he wants them to do. Sam is a clever manipulator of adults and other children.
  • Fair-minded Fran thinks a lot because it helps her learn. She knows she can’t always believe what people say or what she sees and hears on TV. Fran thinks about others as well as herself.  She is motivated to understand other people’s situations and attempts to put herself in their shoes.

Critical Thinking for Kids

What is critical thinking? Critical thinking comprises a number of different skills that help us learn to make decisions. It is the ability to evaluate information to determine whether it is right or wrong.  To think critically about an issue or a problem means to be open-minded and consider alternative ways of looking at solutions. As children grow into pre-adolescents and teenagers, their critical thinking skills will help them make judgments independently of parents.

To be good at thinking, children must believe that thinking is fun and want to be good at it. Parents can make thinking fun throughout the academic year as well as during the summer and on vacations. Good thinkers practice thinking just like they practice basketball or soccer.

You can talk about these ways of thinking with your children by watching this video together. Afterwards, have a discussion about how they can practice being like Fair-Minded Fran.

5 Ways to Help Kids Think Critically

The Foundation for Critical Thinking developed a short series of five “Intellectual Standards,” ways of helping elementary-aged children learn to think better.  Teach these standards to your kids, and then interact with them in ways that reinforce the five standards.

  • Invite them to BE CLEAR by asking for explanations and examples when they don’t understand something.  Let children know it is okay to be confused and ask questions.
  • Urge kids to BE ACCURATE, to check to see if something is true by researching the facts.
  • Encourage children to BE RELEVANT by discussing other topics that are pertinent to the discussion or problem at hand.  Help them stay on track by linking related and meaningful information to the question they are trying to answer or the topic they are learning about.
  • Support your child’s ability to BE LOGICAL.  Help her see how things fit together.  Question how she came to her conclusions and whether her assumptions are correct.
  • Set expectations that your child BE FAIR.  Promote empathy in his thinking processes.  Make sure he considers others when drawing conclusions.

An excellent video to share with your K-6 aged child reviews these five standards in ways that children can understand. Once parents and children speak a common language about the standards of critical thinking, employ them throughout the year and especially during the summer months!  Along with having fun, your child’s mind will learn to think critically about the world!

Photo Credit: JoeBenjamin

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About the author.

Marilyn Price-Mitchell

Marilyn Price-Mitchell, PhD, is founder of Roots of Action and author of Tomorrow's Change Makers: Reclaiming the Power of Citizenship for a New Generation . A developmental psychologist and researcher, she writes for Psychology Today and Edutopia on positive youth development, K-12 education, and family-school-community partnerships. Website // @DrPriceMitchell // Facebook

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The importance of critical thinking for young children.

Kylie Rymanowicz, Michigan State University Extension - May 03, 2016

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Critical thinking is essential life skill. Learn why it is so important and how you can help children learn and practice these skills.

It is important to teach children critical thinking skills.

We use critical thinking skills every day. They help us to make good decisions, understand the consequences of our actions and solve problems. These incredibly important skills are used in everything from putting together puzzles to mapping out the best route to work. It’s the process of using focus and self-control to solve problems and set and follow through on goals. It utilizes other important life skills like making connections , perspective taking and communicating . Basically, critical thinking helps us make good, sound decisions.

Critical thinking

In her book, “Mind in the Making: The seven essential life skills every child needs,” author Ellen Galinsky explains the importance of teaching children critical thinking skills. A child’s natural curiosity helps lay the foundation for critical thinking. Critical thinking requires us to take in information, analyze it and make judgements about it, and that type of active engagement requires imagination and inquisitiveness. As children take in new information, they fill up a library of sorts within their brain. They have to think about how the new information fits in with what they already know, or if it changes any information we already hold to be true.

Supporting the development of critical thinking

Michigan State University Extension has some tips on helping your child learn and practice critical thinking.

  • Encourage pursuits of curiosity . The dreaded “why” phase. Help them form and test theories, experiment and try to understand how the world works. Encourage children to explore, ask questions, test their theories, think critically about results and think about changes they could make or things they could do differently.
  • Learn from others. Help children think more deeply about things by instilling a love for learning and a desire to understand how things work. Seek out the answers to all of your children’s “why” questions using books, the internet, friends, family or other experts.
  • Help children evaluate information. We are often given lots of information at a time, and it is important we evaluate that information to determine if it is true, important and whether or not we should believe it. Help children learn these skills by teaching them to evaluate new information. Have them think about where or who the information is coming from, how it relates to what they already know and why it is or is not important.
  • Promote children’s interests. When children are deeply vested in a topic or pursuit, they are more engaged and willing to experiment. The process of expanding their knowledge brings about a lot of opportunities for critical thinking, so to encourage this action helps your child invest in their interests. Whether it is learning about trucks and vehicles or a keen interest in insects, help your child follow their passion.
  • Teach problem-solving skills. When dealing with problems or conflicts, it is necessary to use critical thinking skills to understand the problem and come up with possible solutions, so teach them the steps of problem-solving and they will use critical thinking in the process of finding solutions to problems.

For more articles on child development, academic success, parenting and life skill development, please visit the MSU Extension website.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension . For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu . To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters . To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts , or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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Home » Autism Parenting Advice » Teaching Autistic Children Critical Thinking Skills

Teaching Autistic Children Critical Thinking Skills

my child has no critical thinking skills

By   Donnesa McPherson, AAS

October 21, 2022

What is so important about teaching autistic children critical thinking skills? These skills are important to everyday decisions and obstacles an individual may face, there are many neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals that have a hard time with these skills.

Teaching Autistic Children Critical Thinking Skills

This article is going to outline abstract and conceptual thinking skills development, practice, and use in the school setting and at home. I plan on including ways that both parents and teachers will best be able to encourage and build these skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

It may take some creativity and thinking outside the box when interacting and teaching these skills. It is important to remember and take note of the differences and potential difficulties that your child may have when taking these ideas into consideration.

As always, these are merely the tip of the iceberg and may not work for everybody. That is why the ability of parents and educators to think outside the box and use their own critical thinking skills when figuring out what will work best for the child.

Neurodivergence, autism, and critical thinking skills

It has been thought that neurodivergent children, particularly autistic children, have a harder time with an abstract idea. In the article, Associations Between Conceptual Reasoning, Problem Solving, and Adaptive Ability in High-functioning Autism, they state that this thought is not entirely correct and cannot cover the spectrum that autism covers.

For instance, the article states that there are children that have learned some conceptual reasoning skills, along with abstract thinking in a therapy or school setting and do well. Then when they go about their everyday lives they tend to forget or have a hard time applying these skills to everyday occurrences.

There are also autistic children who have no need to further their problem solving and conceptual skills. As I stated, with the spectrum that autism falls under, it can be challenging to address all the differing areas of development in these areas.

Ways to promote and enhance abstract and conceptual thinking skills

In this section I will mainly focus on ways of developing these skills in the classroom environment. Also, what alterations and support can be put in place to help the individuals develop these skills.

Problem solving and critical thinking development in the classroom

The presentation, Understanding Autism Professional Development Curriculum: Strategies for Classroom Success and Effective Use of Teacher Supports, starts with explaining what autism is and moves into what affects the autistic students and ways to help and support these students.

What can affect the student with autism?

  • Unpredictability this can be daunting and even a little scary for a student that may rely on knowing what they should expect next when school events, like an unexpected pep rally in the loud gym, can be met with extreme difficulty and be more of a stressful event than something fun
  • Transitions knowing what is coming up next and have the time to prepare for these transitions can be key with some students keeping transitions and how they are handled in mind can help decrease difficult behaviors before they begin by making it easier for the student to transition smoothly
  • Environmental changes these changes can be anything from seating changes to adding a new plant to the classroom and can stimulate certain sensory sensitive individuals or be an unwelcome surprise they were not ready for
  • Sensory overload if a student is exhibiting unusual or difficult behaviors, it can occur from all the sounds in the hallway to the buzzing from the lights and can affect the individual that may have a sensitive sensory response
  • Sensory seeking these students need some type of sensory stimulating activity, or could be the individuals that need to move around during discussion because that is how their brain best functions
  • Navigation it can be confusing, especially if the student has any of the various communication difficulties and may lack the social skills needed to ask when navigating from classroom to classroom or learning center to learning center and can be further irritated by loud and unexpected sounds of voices and chairs scraping the floor
  • Expectations not knowing what is expected of them, if the student is still developing social skills they may not do what is asked because they are unsure of what the expectations were before the activity and/or task and are unaware of how to ask appropriately
  • Decision making if given too many possibilities for decisions, the student may become confused and irritated because they don’t know what to do and there are too many choices that have been presented to them

Ways to help and support these students

  • Provide structure and consistency organizational skills are so important when it comes to this step because it can require a posted classroom schedule and one that the students also have in their notebooks that they can refer to, if needed try to stay clear of visual clutter, as that can cause more confusion
  • Make information and supplies readily accessible label where items, homework, lessons, etc. go for the day don’t forget to verbally explain and show the students where they can find these areas and labels, if they haven’t been introduced
  • Predictability this is where having a schedule and following it helps and is a nice starting point also having different tools and visual supports that are easily accessible to the student makes it easier for them to use and understand
  • Consider potential distractions try to remember that open windows, fluorescent lighting, strong smells, and loud noises can be extremely distracting and are a few of the things that can affect a sensory sensitive student keeping these distractions down or altering them in a friendlier way can help the individual with paying attention to the task at hand
  • Provide plenty of visual supports visual supports are your friend and ones that are interactive, more so for younger students but can benefit older students who like the sensory stimulation when the student physically removes a piece to the complete side or has a visual schedule in front of them and knows to expect gym class after recess

What are five ways that teachers can support critical thinking in the classroom?

Whether the student is in a general education classroom or special education program, there are five ways that teachers and teaching aids can help support students:

  • Expose and prepare this a way that the teacher or aid could show and talk about the assignment before the assignment is taught and helps expose the student to the material and prepare them for what is going to be expected of them and what the assignment will entail
  • Provide and plan for necessary adaptations for the student if the student already has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) there could be modifications and adaptations already outlined
  • Visual supports these could be token charts that allow the student to interact and add tokens when they have accomplished something all the way to an interactive visual board that the student carries around, to a visual schedule that changes as the tasks change throughout the say letting the students know what to expect next
  • Reinforcement the reinforcement discussed here is a way of rewarding the child for following school rules, finishing assignments, interacting with other students, or whatever they are working on for the moment
  • Offer a safe space this is an area where the student can decompress and can either be a place where they go by themselves when they become overwhelmed

Free your mind

As a parent, it can be difficult changing around your thought patterns and expectations when it comes to different aspects of your child and what is being expected of them. It is an important thing to remember, though, that as your child is learning all kinds of things like new ways to interact in a more socially acceptable way to keep all your interactions as light and fun as possible.

As a parent you can look at things in a creative way. This can be fun and add a sense of adventure to how you and your child continue to learn and respond, especially when it comes to critical thinking, abstract skills, conceptual skills, and problem solving skills.

For instance, if you know your child doesn’t like doing their school work at the table, you can ask them where they would like to do their school work, be careful and avoid verbal overload by talking too long. It is best to keep to shorter sentences and questions and offer two to three potential answers.

If they say they would prefer to practice spelling on the couch, just make sure to minimize distractions and voila they have a new place to do work and where able to practice some abstract concepts to where homework can be done.

In her article, 3 Simple Habits to Improve Your Critical Thinking, Helen Lee Bouygues states three ways of improving critical thinking, and they are things parents can do at home to practice with their children!

What are the three things that parents can do at home to help these skills?

  • Ask questions this can seem super simple, but the act of asking and answering repetitive verbal questions can help build problem solving skills because the child has to use their thinking skills and reason with the question to come up with potential answers
  • Be logical if your child is very logical, this exercise could help them expand beyond their logic, although they would start with logic, and expand as you both come up with more questions and concepts to talk about
  • See things differently you and your child have had a discussion about homework and they have figured out that they can do spelling practice on the couch, maybe come up with what other subjects may be done on the couch? Or where else could be a good place to practice spelling words and find out that they love spelling while swinging on their sensory swing.

Key takeaways

There are many ways that teachers and parents can both support and help develop critical thinking and other skills that will help the student in their future. Some of these ideas include ways that the classroom can help or hinder development and education.

Also, challenging parents to think outside the box when helping develop thinking skills and those needed for problem and organizational solving on a daily basis. Although there are children that may be able to express these skills during some times and forget about them during daily tasks, practice can help further the skill set.

As with anything else in life, practice can make perfect. Or, it can at least help by making steps toward the ultimate goals of using these skills as a student and beyond.

Bouygues, H. (2019). 3 Simple Habits to Improve Your Critical Thinking. https://hbr.org/2019/05/3-simple-habits-to-improve-your-critical-thinking

Goldstein, G., Mazefsky, C., Minshew, N., Walker, J., Williams, D. (2018). Associations Between Conceptual Reasoning, Problem Solving, and Adaptive Ability in High-functioning Autism. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6067678/

The Center on Secondary Education for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders & Organization for Autism Research. Understanding Autism Professional Development Curriculum: Strategies for Classroom Success and Effective Use of Teacher Supports. https://csesa.fpg.unc.edu/sites/csesa.fpg.unc.edu/files/imce/other/Presentation%202%20(Strategies%20for%20Classroom%20Success%20and%20Effective%20Use%20of%20Teacher%20Supports)(2).pdf

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If Your Kid Doesn't Have These 5 Skills, You May Be Raising A Nightmare

How you can help raise your kid into a successful adult..

By Gina Hassan Last updated on Mar 17, 2024

Mother and daughter

You've heard it a million times — parents of older children dishing out the warning to parents of young kids, "Just wait until they're teens!!" New parents look ahead with foreboding at what’s to come. Being warned that you "don’t want to go there" when there is nowhere else to go but there is a hard pill to swallow. The trajectory of human development does not, after all, offer an 'opt-out' or 'hold here' option at any given stage. We can't say, "I’ll take infancy and adulthood, but skip the pesky toddler years and adolescence."  

So, what then is a parent to do? Our adorable kids will turn into teenagers at some point. Are teens-as-nightmares an inevitability? Or are horrific teens simply a by-product of the parenting they receive (meaning how we raise our young children now shapes the teens they'll become)? Teenagers, of course, have a reputation for being: unpredictable, impossible, irresponsible, moody, disrespectful, dramatic, entitled, and just plain difficult to be around. 

Is this something that as parents we must grin and bear? Or, as experts like Julie Lythcott-Haims suggest: Is it possible that the contemporary culture of parenting (where irresponsible and disrespectful behavior, as well as coddling and helicopter parenting , are the norm) has something to do with our experience of "adolescence-as-nightmare?" Adolescence in America is different from adolescence in other parts of the world. Children in many other cultures take on large amounts of responsibility by the age of 14, or even much earlier. In America, on the other hand, a significant portion of teenagers, and even young adults, still rely heavily on their parents for their basic needs. American teens are generally less independent than their same-age peers who are growing up in cultures where high expectations are present from early childhood. 

According to Laurence Steinberg, author of Age of Opportunity , "American teens are miserable … They fare poorly in almost every measure compared to teens in other developed countries, even though the biological and neurological processes of development in adolescence are the same the world over." Research suggests that the human brain develops according to certain patterns — culture, environment, and how we parent all impact the onset of when certain phases of development occur.

For example, young adults growing up in cultures that emphasize interdependence and interconnectedness tend to develop a capacity to imagine things from another person's perspective at an earlier age than their same-age peers who grow up in cultures that emphasize independence and focus on the individual. If we want cooperative, thoughtful, and engaged teens, maybe we need to get busy implementing parenting practices during the early years that support them to develop these very characteristics. So, if you want to avoid a "terrible teen," here are five things you must teach your younger child NOW.

RELATED:  10 Common But Harmful Mistakes You're Making As A Parent

If your kid doesn't have these 5 skills, you may be raising a nightmare:

1. responsibility.

Teaching children to take on increasing amounts of age-appropriate responsibility pays off later in life. When children take on a role in contributing to the family, they tend to have higher self-esteem and are less likely to act out during adolescence. In Montessori preschools, for example, children are taught to engage in "exercises of practical life" which foster a sense of competence, autonomy, independence, and being part of a community. Children learn from an early age that their actions are important, and valued and that working together and contributing to the greater good is expected of everyone. 

So, if we want our children at age 16 to consistently help around the house, then we need to set the stage early. Most 3-year-olds can help set the table, clean up their toys, or put their clothes in the hamper. Many parents feel it's just easier to do the task themselves, rather than rely on their children who are slow and/or easily distracted. But if what we teach our children now impacts who they are in five to 10 years, clearly it's worth the extra time (and patience) needed to let them muddle through until they improve at completing the task. 

2. How to express difficult emotions respectfully

Today’s parenting culture encourages children to express their feelings. Teaching children how to behave and communicate respectfully is an important skill. And it is absolutely one child who is capable of learning early on. If we consistently teach this lesson and reinforce it frequently, it becomes part of the fabric of who our children are. It's also imperative that we, the adults, model the respectful communication of difficult emotions, including our own frustration and anger.

Offering children  alternative ways to express their frustration , (for example: "I feel really angry when I don’t get to go to the park when I want to," versus, "I hate you, you are the worst mommy ever!") is a concrete way we can help them develop effective AND respectful communication skills. Teaching children to "use their words" rather than expressing their frustration through behavior is important. It's our job to help them to understand that everyone has a right to have their needs considered and that frustration is an experience we all must learn to live with. Teaching this lesson early can help reduce the amount of hours spent arguing when children believe that only their needs matter, and/or their needs should take priority over everyone else’s.

RELATED:  The Type Of Parent That Damages Their Kids The Most, According To Research

3. Stress management and frustration tolerance

The limbic system , sometimes referred to as "the emotional brain," is the part of our brain that is responsible for emotion regulation. When we feel ourselves in danger, whether physical or emotional, the limbic system activates, preparing us to fight or flee.  The limbic system is responsible, in large part, for the survival of our species. That said — not being allowed to attend a birthday party is not the same "threat" level as being attacked by a tiger (even though, initially, the same fight or flight primal response gets triggered). As such, learning to regulate emotions, maintain perspective, and calm ourselves down are important skills that help children (and adults) feel more in control. 

Emotion regulation also helps us gain greater access to our thinking brain. The thinking brain generally shuts down when the emotional brain is highly activated. So teaching young children how to self-soothe and how to identify signs of stress are important. Even 4-year-olds can learn to pay attention to the physical signals of stress by teaching them to pay attention to their breath, to take some quiet time, and to engage in a "dialing-down activity" when they are feeling hyped up.

4. The value of hard work and patience         

In today’s instant gratification culture, hard work is not always recognized as something of value, yet it is essential for success in adulthood . The ability to apply steady effort toward completing a task (whether the task is "fun" or not) is a vital requirement for most modern workplaces. By disciplining ourselves to follow through, we learn that hard work can lead to mastery and that mastery is deeply satisfying. Our kids gain confidence as they push through resistance and face challenges. In the famous Marshmallow Experiment , young children were offered the choice of one marshmallow now, or two marshmallows later. Children able to delay their gratification and tolerate frustration were more successful later in life than their immediate-gratification-seeking counterparts. 

RELATED:  The 3 Hardest Decisions You'll Ever Have To Make As A Parent, According To Experts

5. That you'll always be there for them

True, this isn't a "skill," per se. But a strong relationship with your child sets the foundation for them to feel safe to lean into learning the skills outlined above ... and for them to remain connected to you as they explore alternative identities during adolescence later on. According to the research of Alan Booth , parents have a significant impact on the developing brain of their children. In evaluating the differences between adolescents who had a close relationship with their parents and those who did not, Booth found that adolescents who are prone to high-risk behavior are significantly less likely to engage in it if they have a strong relationship with their parents.

How challenging your child's teenage years are depends largely upon whether you support them in mastering core life skills earlier in life. Teaching them the importance of hard work, patience, respectful communication, emotion regulation, and contributing to the greater good, will likely result in teens who are more responsible, have higher self-esteem , and engage in less self-destructive behavior. If we don’t want our children to become self-centered, entitled, risk-seeking ne’er-do-wells ... then we better get busy parenting them well now. Ten years from now, when you run into one of those parents who dished out the warning "Just wait until they are teens," you can smile and say, "I have no idea what you were talking about."

RELATED:  7 Things Your Kids Need To See You Do (Daily!) So They Feel Loved

Dr. Gina Hassan is a marriage/couple's counselor who helps her clients through exploration, support, self-observation, and education.

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  1. How to help your child with Critical Thinking

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  2. Critical Thinking Skills for Kids

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  3. How to Solve Problems with Critical Thinking Activities for Toddlers

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  4. A Guide To Honing Your Child's Critical Thinking Skills

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  5. 7 ways to boost critical thinking abilities in children

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  6. Help Your Child Become A Critical Thinker and Problem Solver

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COMMENTS

  1. How to Teach Your Child to Be a Critical Thinker

    Benefits of Critical Thinking Skills . There are many ways critical thinking skills can benefit your child, Dr. Pickerill says. From being able to solve complex problems in school and determining how they feel about particular issues to building relationships and dealing with peer pressure, critical thinking skills equip your child to deal with ...

  2. Parents' Guide to Critical Thinking: Ages 5-9

    Critical Thinking Development: Ages 5 to 9. Critical thinking must be built from a solid foundation. Although children aged five to nine are not yet ready to take on complicated reasoning or formulate detailed arguments, parents can still help their children lay a foundation for critical thinking. In order to develop high-level critical ...

  3. Parents' Guide to Critical Thinking

    Trying to force knowledge on a child that has not yet taken the foundational steps can be counter-productive. The guide therefore tries to help parents help their children build critical thinking skills step by step. Critical thinking starts in more rudimentary everyday reasoning, self-esteem, emotional stability, and intellectual curiosity.

  4. 11 ways to help your child develop critical thinking skills

    It's about learning that not all questions have multiple-choice options — in fact, some questions have no definite answers at all. 11 ways to help your child develop critical thinking skills. Critical thinking skills develop over time — it's not something your child can sit down and study in a textbook. Instead, here's what you need ...

  5. How Parents Can Teach Kids Critical Thinking

    Even if their contributions are unsophisticated or mistaken, engage with children and help them improve. 2. Putting Emotions in Perspective. Just as children need to learn how to step back from ...

  6. 6 Ways to Teach Critical Thinking

    Here are 7 core critical thinking skills. Conceptualize: Form abstract ideas and mental models that accurately represent complex concepts. Analyze: Break down information into components and relationships to uncover patterns, principles, and deeper meanings. Evaluate: Assess the credibility, accuracy, quality, strength, methodologies, and ...

  7. How to Develop Critical Thinking Skills in Your Kids [in a fun way that

    Here are three examples: ‍. If your child did the multiplication 6 x 9 to get 54 that would NOT be critical thinking. ️But if they then explained to you all the other ways they could get the number 54, then it could be. If your child memorised the lyrics to their favourite song that would NOT be critical thinking.

  8. How to Teach Critical Thinking Skills to Kids

    Playing Scrabble, chess or sudoku is an easy way to help your child strengthen their critical thinking skills. Remember that modeling critical thinking is one of the most effective ways to teach those skills to your child. This could be in the form of asking questions, considering alternative solutions, showing your openness to different views ...

  9. What Are Critical Thinking Skills? Here's How to Help Your Kids Develop

    Critical thinking skills are an important part of a child's development. They help them to think flexibly, analyze situations, and make informed decisions. Here are some reasons why Critical thinking is so important for children: It helps children to learn how to make sense of the world around them. It encourages problem-solving and creative ...

  10. How to Help Your Child Develop Critical Thinking Skills

    More Ways to Help Develop Kids Develop Critical Thinking Skills. Give Kids Responsibilities. Accept and Even Encourage Mistakes. Process Your Child's Decisions Together. Ensure Plenty of Time for Free Play. Offer Brain Teasers and Puzzle Games. More Critical Thinking for Kids Resources. One important way is to make sure your parenting ...

  11. How to help your child become a strong critical thinker

    The critical thinking mindset will come with time, practice, and the development of critical thinking skills. To help your children improve critical thinking skills, practice asking a series of questions aimed at getting to the "why" behind the idea or the why behind the decision your child has made. Your questions should:

  12. Critical Thinking Skills for Kids (& How to Teach Them)

    Debates. This is one of those classic critical thinking activities that really prepares kids for the real world. Assign a topic (or let them choose one). Then give kids time to do some research to find good sources that support their point of view. Finally, let the debate begin!

  13. The Emerging Crisis in Critical Thinking

    Indeed, a young adult whose brain has been "wired" to be innovative, think critically, and problem-solve is at a tremendous competitive advantage in today's increasingly complex and ...

  14. How to Improve Your Child's Critical Thinking Skills

    Oxford Languages defines critical thinking as "the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment." It is the ability to interpret a question or situation and come up with the best-fitting solution. Children need critical thinking skills to interact with the world around them, but many children have experienced delayed skill development because of the pandemic.

  15. What Causes a Lack of Critical Thinking Skills?

    Critical thinking skills are an important tool, especially when it comes to personal beliefs and academics. When applied, critical thinking is a powerful defense against ideas and opinions that are potentially harmful or blatantly wrong. ... it stifles critical thinking. Children and students are especially vulnerable to this, so critical ...

  16. 23 Activities to Develop Critical Thinking Skills in Children

    Play Sudoku: Sudoku is a logic-based game that requires critical thinking skills. It requires children to think logically and use deductive reasoning to solve a problem. Sudoku puzzles can be found in many newspapers and online. Conduct Research: Encourage children to conduct research on a topic that interests them.

  17. How To Foster a Child's Critical Thinking Skills

    Your child looks up to you as a parent. By demonstrating critical thinking positively to your child, you can set an example of how to engage with their world and influence how they view themselves and others. You can help your child develop critical thinking skills by providing positive role models who use critical thinking.

  18. Helping Your Child Develop Their Critical Thinking Skills

    When a child has a solid foundation of critical thinking skills they are more easily able to form their own opinions, build better relationships, have the skills needed to resist peer pressure, and are able to come up with creative solutions. Simply put, critical thinking skills equip your child to deal with life's challenges and obstacles.

  19. How to teach children to be critical thinkers

    We need to think critically especially when we make decisions, solve problems, predict, relate, compare, and contrast. In order to train children in the art of thinking clearly, conscious practice ...

  20. The Decline of Critical Thinking Skills

    Unsurprisingly, there has been a decline in people's ability to think deeply and reflectively in the past few years. One study, which focused on Millennial and Gen Z workers in the U.S., U.K ...

  21. Critical Thinking: How to Grow Your Child's Mind

    To think critically about an issue or a problem means to be open-minded and consider alternative ways of looking at solutions. As children grow into pre-adolescents and teenagers, their critical thinking skills will help them make judgments independently of parents. To be good at thinking, children must believe that thinking is fun and want to ...

  22. The importance of critical thinking for young children

    Basically, critical thinking helps us make good, sound decisions. Critical thinking. In her book, "Mind in the Making: The seven essential life skills every child needs," author Ellen Galinsky explains the importance of teaching children critical thinking skills. A child's natural curiosity helps lay the foundation for critical thinking.

  23. Teaching Autistic Children Critical Thinking Skills

    It may take some creativity and thinking outside the box when interacting and teaching these skills. It is important to remember and take note of the differences and potential difficulties that your child may have when taking these ideas into consideration. As always, these are merely the tip of the iceberg and may not work for everybody.

  24. If Your Kid Doesn't Have These 5 Skills, You May Be Raising ...

    RELATED: 10 Common But Harmful Mistakes You're Making As A Parent If your kid doesn't have these 5 skills, you may be raising a nightmare: 1. Responsibility. Teaching children to take on ...