5 Easiest Ways To Increase A Child’s Critical Thinking Skills And Ability

Dr. Himani Khanna Nov 18, 2020

Critical thinking skills are fundamental skills and are the foundation of education and life skills. The analytical thinking skills are the ability of a child to gather information based on their observations, readings, experiences, communications and be able to analyze, evaluate and apply it to form their opinions, beliefs and actions. In the present world where there is a vast source of information available, the children need to be upraised to critically analyze and be able to question the facts and statements based on the research. Critical analytical thinking skills ensures that children can think clearly, rationally about what to and what not to believe. This is very important in every walk of life but especially in formal education where it helps the child to be able to form a rational argument in support of their ideas. Some of the critical thinking skills are analysis, interpretation, drawing an inference, being able to give an explanation for the same and lastly problem-solving ability. Open-mindedness helps build good critical thinking skills as it helps the child to open to data-based information, new ideas and have the ability to reflect on assessments before accepting assumptions. There are various ways to enhance these critical thinking abilities.

1) ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND READING: Give access to the right information, teach your child to read in plenty and comprehend the read information. That is a great way to trigger critical thinking abilities. Teaching the child to access the right piece of information that they wish to research upon is the first step towards building analytical skills. Teach your child to connect the dots when reading. Summarizing the content and analyzing what can happen next in the story can trigger the thinking skills.

2) ASK QUESTIONS: Encourage your child to ask questions about the information they have read or have acquired from various sources. Asking questions indicates curiosity and every query shall lead to an opportunity to learn something new. Questioning and cross-questioning the child on the topic they have read will help them process the information to get answers which will help in building critical analytical skills. Allowing the child to solve their day to day problems can help enhance logical thinking ability of a child.

3) PLAYING: Play is a very integral part of growing up. The child learns various skills while playing. They develop and discovers certain critical thinking skill sets that might be impossible to understand theoretically. The child learns teamwork, sportsmanship, leadership, and creativity through the play. Hence we must encourage children to have a healthy playtime.

4) GIVE RESPONSIBILITY: Give your child small everyday responsibilities, age-appropriate responsibilities like setting up their school bags, taking care of the pets, watering the plants. Taking up small duties shall help the child to plan the time of the day to accomplish the responsibilities. These small acts can enhance organizational skills. Giving them responsibilities also builds a strong sense of self-esteem and confidence in the child when they can handle the situation well, which will eventually enhance their critical thinking skills.

5) MAKING DECISIONS: Help your child to analyze the situation and take decisions. In the process of making their day to day decisions, be it handling their school tasks, completing homework or managing their friends, children learn to analyze the situations, assess their pros and cons and then take decisions. Adults can help the child with decision making by giving them the correct information and helping them scrutinize the situation. This exercise helps children to build critical thinking skills and apply them in their daily lives. It assists the child to make the right and informed choice of which they can be sure and confident. Critical thinking ability is an essential skill which not only helps the child with their education but also helps them to make informed and correct decisions in life and be more successful in their lives.