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| Creative and Critical Thinking Skills |  Thinking skills critical thinking skills creative thinking logical thinking problem solving skills, etc are all words used today on this topic. And because of the topic itself, you'll be able to find any number of well written articles, thoughts, and debates. After all we're talking about higher level thinking here.
Although discussing this process in great detail isn't within the scope of this article, let's take a look at some everyday behavior parents can use to develop thinking skills in their child. All parents want their children to be able to analyze information, think rationally, be able to work through problem solving, and eventually make good sound decisions throughout their lives.
Today with there proliferation of information at anyone's fingertips, it becomes even more important that your child develop solid thinking skills and critical analysis. Just because there is an abundance of information that is easily obtainable, that doesn't mean it's all good, honest, or even truthful. Developing thinking skills in our children is one of the most valuable life skills we can pass along to our children.
At its roots, thinking is driven by questions. This is how discovery takes place. Always encourage your child to ask questions. Don't just give them an answer. Answer their questions with deeper open ended questions. Or, ask them what they think. Never criticize a question you receive from your child. This is a crucial point, because as a parent, children naturally look up to you and admire you.
The last thing they want to do is disappoint you. You want your child to maintain their natural curiosity and feel comfortable pondering and asking things. Being critical of their questions and curiosity has a very negative effect on this. Children love to be engaged with their parents and questions that can stimulate your child's thought process makes learning fun! Teaching and developing thinking skills early on will ensure your child of their independence.
As you think about your responses in the form of questions, start off by asking questions that you know your child can answer. Become more of a guide for them as they think about and seek answers, not the keeper of the answers themselves. Sure, it's always easiest to give' them their answer, but doing so is a great disservice to the child. Continuing a habit of giving' them the answer is going 180 degrees in the wrong direction. Using this approach is developing a child who is dependent upon an answer giver instead of developing a solid independent thinking process.
In summary, don't be answer giver. Allow them to think for themselves. Ask questions of your child about their questions. This stimulates conversation, engagement, and thinking. Absolutely, this approach takes longer, but the end result is discovery, a feeling of accomplishment, and another step in the thinking and problem solving process.
Maintain a positive atmosphere around asking questions and never criticize. Limit the television and video game time. These are very passive learning activities. We want active thought processes, which lead to developing creative and critical thinking skills.
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