5 Ways to Help Your Child Develop Critical Thinking Skills

Instilling critical thinking skills in your teenage kids is a great way to ensure you are setting them up for all round successful in life.

What is Critical Thinking?

Critical thinking is a skillset that encourages one to question information or situations they encounter in their daily life by applying sound reasoning to gain comprehensive understanding, evaluate, analyse and apply problem solving tactics, in order to come up with helpful conclusions.

Why are critical thinking skills important for teenagers?

Teens in today’s word are constantly bombarded with information that tries to influence their decision-making process. From peer to social media influence, without the proper critical thinking skills, even the most intelligent teens may end up making choices that are detrimental to their wellbeing.

Critical thinking is a skillset that is taught in school to result in smart thinking children. With that said, it is not far fetched to conclude that a school setting is highly skewed to encourage critical thinking only where academic excellence is concerned. But as a parent raising teenagers, it’s important to raise smart thinking teens who can apply critical thinking skills not only in academic environments but all aspects of their life.

This will set them up for success in their teenage years and in adulthood as they will be able to take in information around them, rationally analyse it and come up with feasible creative solutions. This will give them an advantage when it comes to thriving academically, socially and later on professionally.

What are the benefits of critical thinking for teens?

There are a lot of benefits that come with raising intelligent teens who do not take everything they see or hear at face value. Instead, they take time to consider the information being presented to them, understand it and come up with their own opinions. Some benefits of critical thinking are:

1. It enhances problem solving skills

As parents, we all want our children to do well in school. However, teenage years are marked with a lot of changes which can bring about challenges such as struggling with self doubt, low self esteem, group thinking, peer pressure etc.

Critical thinking skills for teens comes in handy during this period that is marked by lots of changes. As they navigate external influence and internal struggles, being able to apply critical thinking will allow them to come up with unique and creative solutions to their problems, allowing them to trust in their ability to navigate both external and internal predicaments.

2.   Instils good decision making

The 13 to 17 years old age group is a time period marked by having curious thinking teens who are eager to try out new things and find adventure in their everyday life.

Being able to make sound decisions by analysing information and weighing out the advantages and disadvantages of certain choices will allow them to remain open minded and explore what life has to offer in healthy ways that do not compromise their safety and overall wellbeing.

3.    Sharpens the ability to identify false and harmful information

According to a report done by ofcoms, Instagram is the most popular source of news among teenagers in the UK at 29%, followed closely by TikTok and YouTube at 28%.

These are platforms that are not subject to the strict laws and regulations that govern traditional media to ensure accurate information is disseminated to the public. As a result, it’s very easy for misinformation to spread and cause harm especially to impressionable young minds. By equipping your teenage kids with critical thinking skills, you will help them to function as smart thinking teens who are independently able to detect and avoid misinformation.

4.    Encourages self-improvement

Smart teens are observed to have many advantageous character traits such as the ability to self-reflect and note areas of self-improvement. They are able to objectively analyse information and recognize what works and what can be improved on in their life. For example:

-       Instead of receiving their report card, noting they can improve their grades and simply concluding they’ll try harder next time, a teen with critical thinking skills may ask themselves questions such as:

What were my study habits this semester?

How can I improve them next semester?

Should I add more study time to my time table?

Should I join a study group so that I can ask for help when I’m stuck?

By being self-aware and reflecting on their actions, they are able to know where they need help, communicate their challenges should they feel they need extra help or come up with actionable solutions for themselves.

Ways to help your child develop critical thinking skills

1.    Encourage curiosity and open mindedness

Challenge your teenage kids to not easily take information at face value even if it is from trusted sources. Instead they should always analyse and ensure they have an in-depth understanding of why things are and if there are areas of improvement.

As a parent you can encourage such a smart thinking mindset by utilizing open ended questions which encourage independent thinking.

For example, instead of telling your teenage child not to ride their bicycle without protective gear, you can ask them why they think bicycles always come with protective gear. 

2.    Incorporate critical thinking in what your kid is naturally interested in

If it feels like work, it’s less likely to be implemented frequently. By teaching your kid to incorporate critical thinking even in their recreational activities, you will have a smart thinking teen who is able to make good decisions in both academic and social settings.  For example:

If they love to go to the cinema with their friends, as a parent you can also watch the movies or shows that interest them and strike up a conversation about what they love to watch.

Teens like emulate what they think is cool e.g., a character in a movie. This can be a great way to encourage them to apply critical thinking skills by questioning what it is they like, why do they like it and is it a good thing in the first place.

3.    Plan out fun family activities that incorporate critical thinking

Encourage fun family activities that encourage critical thinking. Games such as chess, solving puzzles, charades are simple yet fun activities that are a great way to incorporate critical thinking skills for teens.

In addition to that, they can also be bonding experiences where you initiate discussions about values, having a moral compass, principles to live by etc.

Not only will this equip your teenage kids with important information to help them make smart decisions, but it will also form positive associations that solidify you as a sounding board and a safe space to fall back on when unsure.

4.    Set an example that feels attainable

As humans we all make mistakes and it’s important for your kids to know mistakes are a good thing because they show you are trying and it is not the end of the world, you can always pick yourself up after making a mistake and do better.

For example:

As a society, we can all agree that yelling or loosing ones temper is not a great way to deal with things. In the same breath we can also acknowledge that despite knowing this information, it is human to loose your cool once in a blue moon. Should this ever happen to you as a parent and in the presence of your kids, it can be a great learning opportunity to acknowledge poor choices, take accountability and recognize it’s okay to make a mistake as long as one tries to do better in the future.

This will allow your teenage kids to be confident in adopting a curious thinking mindset with the assurance that if they mess up, they do not need to be ashamed, hide what happened or close themselves off from the world. Instead, they can learn from their mistakes and pick themselves up just like mommy or daddy did.

5.    Encourage environments that champion positive collaborative learning

Peer influence is a significant part of teenage life. Teenagers are very intelligent but even smart teens are not immune to wanting to fit in. Encouraging your child to join organized group activities e.g. the debate club, which encourage positive critical thinking as an individual and through collaborative effort is a great way to instil critical thinking skills in teens.

Lastly, as a parent, this is a journey that you are not alone in. Join other parents who have signed up for our tutoring program to learn more and connect with a community that understands the rewards and challenges that come with raising intelligent teenagers.