The Long Game of Critical Thinking With Kids

There are a lot of reasons why parents get nervous about teaching critical thinking, and other thinking skills, to their kids. We’ll admit that it’s not an easy thing, and that pinning down a definition of critical thinking can be a challenging task all by itself. We also understand that it seems like something that should be done at school, with a trained teacher at hand. We agree that it should be taught in an academic setting, but it’s also important to bring it home too.

Outside of these reasons for hesitation, we also see adults feel reluctant because, however beneficial critical thinking may be, its results aren’t always immediately evident. It’s not teaching a child to spell, or do times tables, or learn to ride a bicycle. It doesn’t happen in a set period of time, and it’s difficult to put a check mark beside it and count it as done. Critical thinking is also difficult to measure. It’s subtle and subjective, and can look very different from kid to kid. If we’re being honest, a shocking number of adults were never taught it either.

So critical thinking is hard. It takes time, and you can’t always point at it and say “There it is!”

But it’s still important. It may be the most important thing you teach your child. You could say it’s a survival skill for the 21st century, and one that currently seems to be in short supply these days. Critical thinking requires patience, dedication, and a large degree of trust in the process. Teaching it to our kids means “planting trees in whose shade we may never sit.”

Here’s the thing: this practice that takes time also lasts a lifetime. There are most definitely short term advantages to being a critical thinker, but it’s important to note that kids who fit into this will have clarity and agency for years to come, in their academic studies, their professional pursuits, and in their personal lives.

Our kids, all of our kids, deserve more than quick fixes and band aid solutions. They’ve been through a lot in the past few years, most of which was out of their control and not their fault. If we hope to get them back on their feet and, with a little luck, mentally and emotionally thriving, we need to equip them with skills beyond what’s useful to them in the short-term. They deserve our dedication and our persistence as parents and educators.

One of the biggest benefits of playing the long game of critical thinking with your child is that bonds families, even communities. Children who know the adults in their lives are invested in them as thinking, feeling, creative beings with questions to ask and ideas to contribute, will keep coming back for more conversation and connection. Thinking together is another ongoing practice whose benefits last and last.

Pour yourself a cup of coffee, sit down, take a few deep breaths, and imagine your child twenty years from now. Think about them being able to make informed decisions about all aspects of their lives. Picture them having the ability to pause and think about the information that comes their way, participate in society in meaningful, positive ways, and having an understanding of their emotions and relationship with the world around them. You can (and you should) start building this with them today.