Critical thinking is one of the most important skills kids will learn. It affects many aspects of their lives, from small things like deciding what game to play to bigger ones like solving a conflict with a friend.
Teaching our kids how to think critically now has ripple effects far into the future. Kids who learn these skills do better in school, find more success at work, have less conflict in their relationships, and even less credit card debt.
Critical thinking is one of the 6Cs at the heart of the Begin Approach to helping kids thrive. Discover tips for helping your kid practice using it and activities that can make the process fun—for them and you!
Key Takeaways
- Teaching critical thinking skills to kids strengthens their working memory, flexible thinking, self-control, and logic and reasoning.
- Critical thinking skills improve outcomes in school, work, and life.
- To help your child develop critical thinking skills, model asking open-ended questions, point out multiple perspectives, practice active listening, provide different kinds of play opportunities, promote your child’s interests, and practice executive functioning skills.
Table of Contents
- What Is Critical Thinking?
- The Importance of Critical Thinking
- Tips for Teaching Your Kid Critical Thinking Skills
- 7 Fun Critical Thinking Activities for Kids
What Is Critical Thinking?
Our kids are growing up in a fast-paced, digital-first, ever-changing world where creative problem solving is key. And that’s why one of the best ways to prepare them for whatever the future holds is to nurture critical thinking skills.
Teaching critical thinking to kids means helping them strengthen their:
- Working memory (our ability to hold small amounts of information in mind for a short period of time while we work on it in some way, such as recalling a telephone number long enough to dial it)
- Flexible thinking (our ability to focus on one thing at a time, switch to new tasks, and avoid distractions)
- Self-control (our ability to control our behaviors, follow rules, and understand consequences)
- Logic and reasoning (our ability to use our experience/what we know to be true to inform our choices and decision-making)
The Importance of Critical Thinking
Critical thinking skills are like a muscle, they can be strengthened with practice and used to:
- Make sense of information
- Compare and contrast choices
- Come up with and analyze solutions
- Take creative risks to solve problems
Outcomes in school, life, and work are directly connected to critical thinking skills. As our kids gain experience thinking critically, they’re better able to try new things and approach projects in new ways. They become confident in their ability to tackle problems, and their self-esteem rises.
Tips for Teaching Your Kid Critical Thinking Skills
Model Asking Open-Ended Questions
Ask your child questions that require more than a “yes” or “no” answer (e.g., “Why do you like this book?” as opposed to “Do you like this book?”).
When they make a statement, get them thinking by asking them one of their favorite questions: Why?
Point Out Multiple Perspectives
Cultivate your child’s curiosity by asking them to dig deeper to find new information. Help them understand that there can be more than one right answer to a question or problem, which offers them the chance to think in more complex ways.
Practice Active Listening
Pause to give your child time to explain their thoughts and ask all the questions on their mind. Once they’re finished, repeat what they said to reinforce the way active listening works.
Provide Different Kinds of Play Opportunities
Different kinds of play present different kinds of problem-solving opportunities. As your child plays, help them think of ways to tackle issues that come up. Ask them questions like “What happens if you do this?” and “Is there another way you can do that?”
Encourage Exploration-Based Play
Giving your child a chance to (safely!) explore can help boost their critical thinking skills.
For example, let them experiment with different colors while painting. Ask them what might happen if they mix two colors together. Then review what they learn and see what fun combinations they can come up with next.
Practice Critical Thinking Skills
Practice makes progress! To help develop your child’s critical thinking, practice these skills by playing memory games, developing routines, and doing activities that require focus.
You can also try making a checklist for something you do, like cooking dinner, and show your child how you go through the steps. Demonstrating how to break down a task into smaller pieces helps your child learn how to do the same.
7 Fun Critical Thinking Activities for Kids
While it’s true that critical thinking is part of almost everything we do, setting aside some time to do specific activities is a fun, focused way to help your child grow these vital skills. Here are several for you to try!
1) Pretend Play about Real Problems
What You’ll Need (Optional)
- Props that fit each scenario
What to Do
- Make a list with your child of challenges they have faced (e.g., getting into an argument with a friend, breaking a toy, or misplacing a library book). Talk about how they approached them.
- For each problem, improvise a scene (using props, if you choose) with your child, encouraging them to take a different approach than they did originally.
- Be intentional about prompting critical thinking skills. (Hint: Ask a lot of questions!)
2) The Comparison Game
This is a good game for a group.
What You’ll Need
- A place where everyone can sit comfortably
What to Do
- Ask the kids to sit in a circle.
- Ask them a question that requires critical thinking, such as:
- “How is a horse like a dog?”
- “How is a house different from a car?”
- Give the kids time to answer in as many ways as possible before moving on to the next question.
- Encourage conversation and debate!
3) 10 Ways to Use It
What You’ll Need
- A household object (like a spoon or a pillowcase)
What to Do
- Ask your child to list 10 ways to use the object.
- Give them plenty of time because familiar ideas will come first, but more creative ones will surely follow!
4) Mystery Bag
What You’ll Need
- A clean grocery bag or other similarly sized bag
- Small household objects (e.g., a crumpled up piece of aluminum foil, a new bar of soap, a sock—nothing sharp or pointy)
What to Do
- Place the objects in the bag.
- Ask your child to put their hand in the bag and grab an object, but not pull it out.
- Ask your child to feel, describe, and identify it.
5) Book Talk
What You’ll Need
- Age-appropriate books
What to Do
- Read a book together, finding opportunities for your child to practice critical thinking.
- Pause at key moments (like conflicts, choice points, high emotions) and discuss what’s happening.
- Pause when the character faces a problem, asking your child for suggestions to solve it before you continue reading.
- Pause at cliffhanger moments (hint: these often occur right before a page turn!) and ask your child to predict what will happen next.
- Discuss how situations in the book relate to your child’s experiences.
6) codeSpark
What You’ll Need
Begin’s codeSpark app
What to Do
- Download the codeSpark app and create a profile for your child.
- Learn basic coding commands, how to design a simple game, and how to communicate through code.
- Practice coding skills through puzzles and games.
- Create and build games and play.
Build Skills with Begin
Begin’s award-winning apps and kits get kids thinking critically in so many fun-filled ways—from solving puzzles in codeSpark to playing memory games in HOMER to building hands-on projects with Little Passports. While they play, this important 6C skill builds!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the RED Model of Critical Thinking?
The RED Model of Critical Thinking is a framework for developing critical thinking skills comprised of three components: recognizing assumptions, evaluating arguments, and drawing conclusions.
At what age do critical thinking skills develop?
Aspects of critical thinking come into play when a child is as young as two years old. For example, they can remember a short request like “Can you please go get your teddy bear?” a few minutes after it’s given.
Critical thinking skills grow as your child grows. Your three-year-old may remember the rules of a simple game. Your four-year-old may know what comes next when you read a familiar story.
Of course, every kid learns at their own pace, but you can find age-specific guidelines here.
What are the 3 pillars of critical thinking?
Analysis, evaluation, and inference form the three pillars of critical thinking. Together they can be used as the foundation for processing information, facing complicated problems, and making thoughtful decisions.
