There are times when our children can throw us for a loop with their tough, complicated questions. Many of us realized our children were leaving the baby stages behind when they started asking us “why” and “how” for everything. The children are not the only ones who can ask the hard questions, however, and it is actually stimulating and good for our children if we ask them some challenging questions once in a while too…
Instead of automatically explaining or teaching our children as we go along, asking them questions and encouraging them to come up with the answers is a good way to get them to think and develop their critical thinking skills. After all, our children will need those as they move on in the world as there will not always be someone there to tell them the reasons why and how for everything. Starting when your child is a baby, you can ask him or her tough questions—not just the playful, simple ones, in order to encourage the development of those critical thinking skills.
Ask your child “why” and “how” and “what” on a regular basis. When your child asks you a question, use it as an opportunity to have a discussion and see if he or she can figure out the answer (“What do you think might be going on here?”) instead of just automatically answering the question or giving the child your interpretation. I think it also important to ask our children their opinion and encourage them to learn how to back up an opinion with examples. Recently, my son was telling me that he hated one of his classes in school and I asked him to share with me specific examples of why he hated the class. He had to think and formulate his case instead of just stating an opinion. The more we can encourage our children to use their brains and learn how to organize their thinking, the better we prepare them for the world.
See Also: The EDUCATION Blog