Every Moment is a Teachable Moment: Teach Your Kid to be a Critical Thinker

Every Moment is a Teachable Moment: Teach Your Kid to be a Critical Thinker

Sometimes raising kids to become healthy, happy people can feel like a struggle. Most parents want their kids to grow up to be smart, independently thinking adults, but independent thinking is hard to instill. 

Nevertheless, bringing them up successfully is not unthinkable—it just takes a bit of hard work. There are several things you can do to guide your kids’ everyday experiences into productive and meaningful learning opportunities. Here are a few ideas to turn everything into a teachable moment for your young kid so they can become a critical thinker. These primarily work for elementary-aged kids but may work for your older kids.

Involve Them in Your Errands

When it's time to run an errand, instead of leaving your child or children at home, bring one or more kids along. Get them involved in the planning process, working as a team to plan out the day. Let them see how it looks to make decisions. When you are out and about, there are many ways to turn a day of errands into a day of life education.

Try setting out tasks for your children that they are personally responsible at seeing to completion. Maybe send them to a section in the store to pick up an item. You may also offer them a small amount of money, depending on their age. You could have each kid plan one meal for the week, and then ask them to find the right ingredients needed for the meal. 

Include Them in Adult-like Conversations

Include your kids in the conversation when you're discussing politics, finance, or some other adult subject. Don't presume they're too young to worry, care, or understand. Allow kids the benefit of growing into adulthood with a solid understanding of their duties as citizens. They will need to know how to provide for themselves and how to organize a household.

Unfortunately, few high schools are prepping kids with the tools and skills they need to navigate adult life, and as parents, this is our responsibility. We cannot assume that kids will just figure things out later! For young kids, let them listen in on the conversation to understand the basic terminology. For older kids, they may be ready to participate by sharing their own opinions.

Don't Hide Your Emotions

One way to raise a healthy adult is to let them know when you are feeling sad, frustrated, or angry. This normalizes feeling difficult or painful emotions. You don't need to give your children too many details where they'll get worried or stressed, but share your feelings enough, so they learn that reality that life isn't always easy. Your children will then grow up emotionally grounded and empathetic. Children need to be able to understand that humans aren't always happy; this includes adult humans.

Ask for Their Help when Solving a Problem

When you have a specific problem, maybe allow your child to take the lead and give their input. These don't need to be significant problems you bring to them, nothing too daunting and challenging for their age. Kids, like most people, love to be included. They also appreciate being trusted with a task. Solving a problem can make your kids feel empowered. Use the opportunity to talk through the problem, pointing out any issues with their solutions, while respecting their ideas and pointing out what you like. This is a great way to pass on critical thinking.

Potential problems a young mind could grasp could be the order of running errands, how to load the dishwasher effectively, or how to organize the garden. When small problems arise, ask your kid—and brainstorm potential solutions together.

Conclusion

Throughout your regular life, experiences look for ways to teach your children the skills necessary to be thriving adults like critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and personal responsibility. Doing this takes a bit of work and creativity, but it can have a high impact on your kid. It can also help your relationship with your children. Eventually, you can be proud that your kid grows up to be fully functional independent adults that have a positive influence on society.