CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS: A GUIDE FOR PARENTS

In our ever developing, constantly emergent and fast moving world, life is so pleasantly easy and simplified, yet the way of living is becoming complicated by the minute!

Technology has taken over our lives (more for the good than bad) and information is available at the tip of the finger. Parenting is not an exception to this world of information explosion. Just like all the other life sciences, the world of parenting too, is constantly evolving with researches and experiments to understand children better and to provide better child care.

But at the same time the traditional parenting hacks never go out of style. In fact they always come handy when nothing else works!!

WHAT ARE CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

In simple terms Critical thinking is the ability to solve problems, to be able to understand another person’s perspective and to be able to recognize the consequences of your actions.

9 IMPORTANT CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS FOR CHILDREN

Observation
Analysis
Interpretation
Reflection
Evaluation
Inference
Explanation
Problem solving
Decision making

The following stories will help you understand how children with varied critical thinking skills act and behave.

Penn is a sweet child but he is too naive. His parents are either too over protective or controlling, therefore Penn has not developed any critical thinking skills.

Mean meow is intelligent and smart and therefore he knows how to use his parents and friends to his advantage. His critical thinking skills are sharp but his parents need to work on some positive attributes as well.

Fair-Fairy-Furballs thinks a lot because it helps her learn. Furballs has been with empathetic parents, therefore she has learnt to think about other people’s feelings as well. She is motivated and is always ready to learn new things.

Above illustrations show us how parents play an important role in building positive and negative attributes, most often unintentionally. Primitively one must recognize their own parenting style and then on the basis of your child’s personality and attributes you will know how much you need to work.

The good news is that critical thinking can be developed at any age.

activities to develop critical thinking

ASK OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS THROUGHOUT THE DAY

MAKE GROCERY SHOPPING LIST WITH YOUR CHILD. ALLOW THEM TO HAVE AN OPINION.

DISCUSS DAILY MENU WITH YOUR CHILD.

Including your child in daily household decisions will provide them with a sense of validation. It will also help them think and regulate their emotions through added responsibility. Young children take pride in responsibility. They want to act like the adults around them all the time and through these activities we are providing them with that sense of pride and achievement.

RIDDLES RIDDLES RIDDLES

Riddles are a fun way to stimulate minds. Without much effort you can engage them into a fun brainstorming session!