How to help your child with Critical Thinking

Everyone thinks. It is in our nature to do so. We may think at a very basic level, but the point is...we all think.  What then is critical thinking? I remember a student saying it is "emergency thinking". She explained herself by saying that when someone is in a "critical condition" it is an emergency, therefore it is emergency thinking. The truth is, she was practicing critical thinking when she gave that answer but she was not correct.






Critical thinking refers to "self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair minded way." Sounds like a mouth full so lets break it down.
- Self-guided thinking means an unbiased chain of thought
- Self- disciplined thinking refers to a uniformed or step by step though process where no box is left unchecked. This brings about reasoning at the highest level where all options are evaluated and all information is questioned. As parents, we can be a part of that process by asking our children thought provoking questions.





When a person thinks critically, they raise important questions, gather and assess information and test them against other background information. They use this to come to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions. They also think with an open mind with alternative systems of thought and communicates this to others.  Children who think critically are the problem solvers of the future.

So how then can I get my child to be a critical thinker?

Students are expected to think critically in school. What the teacher wants is for the student to reason things out on the basis of evidence and good reasons. We are all familiar with that age when our children ask "why". Why this, why that and why this other thing. Often, parents provide answers to stop them from asking anymore questions. Sometimes we even complain about why they are asking so many questions. This natural curiosity is essential in developing critical thinking skills. Every topic regardless of how common can be questioned and every answer generates more questions. It is the people who have limited knowledge that think that their answer is final and cannot be further questioned.


As adults, most of what we give as answers is what we heard from our parents or teachers who never thought through the answers themselves. Much of our answers are questionable, much of our books are questionable. We were never raised to change the world with our thought, we were raised to fit into the thought of the world. This push for critical thinking in schools is an opportunity to join the quest for knowledge with your children. When your child asks, 'why are people bad?' what will your answer be? Do you really know the answer to this question? I am sure your answer will be one where the child can ask you why again. Then what will your response be? It is absolutely okay to let your child know that you do not have all the answers. They will be a lot more enthused about finding out an answer so that they can share it with you. This sparks their curiosity.

This curiosity must be developed into critical thinking. "What good is curiosity if we don't know what to do next?" This is where the work comes in. According to Richard Paul, author of  How to Prepare Students for a Rapidly Changing World, we develop critical thinking by modelling the behaviour for our students or children. He stated that "they must see our minds at work. Our minds must stimulate theirs with questions and yet further question; questions that probe information and experience; questions that call for reasons and evidence; questions that lead students to examine interpretations and conclusions, pursuing their basis in fact and experience; questions that help students to discover their assumptions, questions that stimulate students to follow out the implications of their thought, to test their ideas, to take their ideas apart, to challenge their ideas, to take their ideas seriously." It is in this practice that critical thinking thrives. 

Ask your children questions that will help them along in the critical thinking process. In essence, by asking them these questions, you are teaching your children how to think. This will make them the problem solvers of the future.

All the Best!