awesomescopeCritical thinking skills are a set of skills that we use to make high level decisions. They involve analysis and evaluation which helps children to make better choices. To help you encourage your child to do so, we have shared some guidance from one of the UK’s IB boarding schools.
Allow Them Enough Time
High level thinking involves looking at different perspectives and comparing them. This requires more time and by waiting for your child to respond to your questions you can encourage them to. Pressurising or limiting their time to answer can restrict them and prevent them developing this skill.
Riddles
Riddles get children to look at problems from different perspectives which can help them to create better ideas and think critically. Similarly, you can play puzzles and encourage them to engage in other problem-solving activities.
Experiment
Experiments are exciting because you don’t really know what to expect. By creating hypotheses, children can learn to develop theories of their own and start forward thinking. This is an essential part of critical thinking as children must think about the implications of their choices.
Question Their Reasoning
When your child makes a decision, ask them for their reasoning. This will help them to think about their decisions and understand them.
Encourage Your Child to Form Their Own Ideas
You should also ask for their take on things. If you’re watching TV or see something happening around you, ask your child about what they think may be going on and how they think others feel. You can also challenge their views to help them think deeper and consider other ideas.
Promote Reading
Books help children to develop an open mind as they come across characters from different backgrounds and meet new ideas. This again can help them to consider other ways of thinking.
