Helping Your Child Develop Critical Thinking Skills
Critical thinking plays an important role in teaching children how to make valuable decisions
for themselves. It involves being inquisitive and allows for high-level thinking skills such as
the ability to conceptualise, analyse and contrast information. A prep school in Surrey shares how you can help your child to develop their critical thinking skills.
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Play Games to Promote Critical Thinking
Developing critical thinking skills can be fun and engaging for children. You can introduce
toys such as Lego blocks and board games such as snakes and ladders. Both games get
children to exercise their problem-solving skills and think about the consequences of their
decisions.
Allow Your Child to Create Their Own Theories
To exercise critical thinking during playtime, you could ask your child about what they think
will happen if they do something. This will prompt your child to create their theories about the
world around them and build the fundamental skills needed to be a critical thinker.
The Process Requires Patience
Give your child the opportunity to think and make judgements in their own time. This will
encourage your child to take time and reflect on their ideas before making decisions on
impulse. Feeling less pressure can also allow your child to make better decisions and enjoy
the process of learning.
Leave Questions Open
Open-ended questions give children freedom of thought and allow them to re-define what is
being asked. Regardless of whether your child is right or not, always be respectful of their
answers. You can gently direct your child to the right answer by asking questions like ‘why
do you think that is?’ and get them to think more about their answer.
Encourage Innovative Thinking
The key to problem-solving and critical thinking lies in exploring all possible outcomes. To
encourage this type of thought process, ask your child questions like ‘what else could we
do?’ to explore alternatives.
I would love to hear if you have any experiences of helping a child develop critical thinking skills.
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