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Develop critical thinking: teaching kids how to think, not what to think

In today’s complex and rapidly evolving world, critical thinking has become an essential skill for success. As parents and educators, it’s crucial to focus on teaching children how to think, rather than what to think. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of developing critical thinking skills in children and how it can empower them to navigate challenges and make informed decisions.

Critical thinking is the ability to analyze information objectively, evaluate arguments, and solve problems effectively. It goes beyond rote memorization and encourages children to question, analyze evidence, and consider multiple perspectives. By developing these skills, children become independent thinkers who can make sound judgments and make sense of the world around them.

Teaching kids how to think, rather than what to think, fosters open-mindedness, creativity, and adaptability. It encourages them to explore different ideas, challenge assumptions, and seek evidence to support their conclusions. By instilling critical thinking skills, we empower children to become active participants in their own learning, encouraging intellectual curiosity and a lifelong love for learning.

There are several strategies to promote critical thinking in children. Encourage open-ended questions that spark curiosity and prompt deeper thinking. Engage children in discussions where they can express their opinions and provide evidence to support their viewpoints. Encourage them to consider alternative perspectives and teach them to evaluate information critically, distinguishing facts from opinions or biases.

Incorporating problem-solving activities and puzzles into daily routines can also enhance critical thinking skills. Encourage children to explore different solutions, analyze possible outcomes, and reflect on the effectiveness of their strategies. Allow them to make mistakes and learn from them, as it is through trial and error that they develop resilience and gain insights into problem-solving.

Nurturing critical thinking skills in children is a gift that will benefit them throughout their lives. By teaching them how to think, not what to think, we empower them to question, analyze, and solve problems independently. In fostering their ability to think critically, we equip children with the necessary tools to navigate uncertainties, make informed decisions, and become active, engaged contributors to society. Let’s prioritize the development of critical thinking skills in our children, enabling them to thrive in an ever-changing world.

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Building Confidence in Kids: The Link between Learning Skills and Self-Esteem

Confidence is a valuable attribute that empowers children to face challenges, embrace opportunities, and navigate through life with resilience. As parents and educators, we have a crucial role in fostering confidence in children. One effective way to build confidence is by instilling learning skills from an early age. In this blog post, we will explore the link between learning skills and self-esteem and provide insights into how we can nurture confidence in children.

Progress and Achievement

As children develop strong learning skills and experience academic progress, they gain a sense of achievement. Each milestone reached, whether it is solving a complex problem or mastering a new concept, boosts their confidence and belief in their capabilities. Recognizing and celebrating their achievements, no matter how small, contributes to building their self-esteem and encourages them to strive for further growth.

Mastering Learning Skills

When children acquire and master learning skills, such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and effective communication, they develop a sense of competence and mastery. These skills are essential not only for academic success but also for navigating various real-life situations. By providing opportunities for children to learn and apply these skills, we empower them to feel capable and self-assured in their abilities.

Overcoming Challenges:

Learning inherently involves facing challenges and overcoming obstacles. By supporting children in developing problem-solving skills and a growth mindset, we equip them with the tools to tackle challenges with resilience and determination. When they experience success in overcoming difficulties, their confidence in their abilities grows, and they become more willing to take on new and unfamiliar tasks.

Positive Feedback and Encouragement:

Providing consistent positive feedback and encouragement is vital in cultivating confidence in children. Acknowledging their efforts, praising their progress, and highlighting their strengths fosters a positive self-image and confidence in their abilities. This helps children develop a belief in themselves and their potential, which further bolsters their self-esteem.

Building confidence in children is a multifaceted process, and instilling learning skills plays a significant role. By nurturing their learning abilities, supporting their progress, encouraging perseverance, and providing positive feedback, we empower children to develop a strong sense of self-esteem. Confident children are more likely to embrace challenges, excel academically, and navigate through life with resilience and determination. Let us prioritize building confidence in our children by nurturing their learning skills, helping them unlock their full potential, and setting them on a path to success.

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Simple tips to get your kids to eat better

Want to keep your kids fit and healthy? If so, make sure they are eating well!

Over the past decades, childhood obesity rates have increased. Obese kids have an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and metabolic disorders later in life. They are also more likely to develop weight-related health problems in adulthood. Fortunately, these problems can be prevented through good nutrition and exercise.

Here are some tips to get your kids to eat better so they stay healthy and maintain their focus during the day:

Ditch the junk food

Get rid of any foods containing sugar and trans fats, such as cake, cookies, deli meats, fries, crackers, and soda. Set an example for your kids and eat healthy yourself. Keep potato chips, chocolate, and other treats out of sight. Let your child know why these foods are off limits.

Load up on fresh produce

Fill your pantry and fridge with fresh fruit, vegetables, pastured eggs, legumes, raw nuts, and seeds. Choose local and seasonal produce instead of frozen and canned foods. Encourage, support, and promote healthy eating in your household.

Plan your child’s meal

Meal planning plays a key role in good nutrition. As a parent, it’s your responsibility to plan nutritious meals for your child. Create weekly menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Make sure your kids eat in the morning. Cook different foods every day and try new recipes.

Stick to the basics
Healthy eating doesn’t have to be complicated or boring. A good breakfast for kids can include simple foods, such as oatmeal and berries, cottage cheese and nuts, Greek yogurt with bananas, or whole grain crackers with turkey slices. Lunch can consist of brown rice or whole pasta and chicken breast, tuna salad, soups, stews, or grilled fish and veggies. For dinner, make steamed fish or chicken with leafy greens.

Choose healthy snacks
Prepare healthy snacks for your child instead of buying him chips and ready-made meals. Keep your cupboards stocked with almonds, yoghurt, veggie sticks, kale chips, walnuts, air-popped popcorn, and dried fruits. You can even create your cookies at home using healthy ingredients like fruit, stevia, cinnamon, oat flour, and raw cocoa.

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Benefits of music to children

Music is a universal phenomenon; it forms part of our everyday life, just as it is part of our inherited culture. As common and widespread as music is, we often miss the huge benefits music offers not to us, but to our children.

Our children are like our crown jewels, what they do and reflect either make us proud or want to do more by improving on them. Music is a good way to help our children make us proud and it also offers us the opportunity to do more for them.

Music stimulates children’s learning
Research upon research has shown that music benefits the brain, and playing a musical instrument benefits the brain even more.

Science has proved that the more a child plays a musical instrument the more their brains begin to hear and process sounds that they could not hear before. This enhances “neurological distinctions” between some sounds that can aid in literacy. This ultimately translates into improved academic results for children.

Some relevant studies have shown that music stimulates children brains in no small way and this in return improves their cognitive abilities.

Here are some studies to buttress this point:

According to a Neurological Research, 1997 Studies shows that Piano students more willingly comprehend mathematical and scientific concepts. Children performed 34 percent higher on test measuring proportional reasoning, like ratios, proportions, fractions and thinking in space and time, because they had received piano training.

The National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 First Follow-Up, U.S. Department of Education reveals that music students have received more academic awards that non-music students. It also indicates that music student have more of grade A and B compared to non-music students.

Studies have revealed that music lessons for children, helps sharpen their minds more during senility. One of those studies is that of researcher Brenda Hanna-Pladdy, a neurologist at the Emory University School of Medicine, reports that; “Musical activity throughout life may serve as a challenging cognitive exercise, making your brain fitter and more capable of accommodating the challenges of ageing. Since studying an instrument requires years of practice and learning, it may create alternate connections in the brain that could compensate for cognitive declines as we get older.”

The Comparative Academic Abilities of Students in Education and in Other Areas of a Multi-focus University Peter H. Wood, ERIC Document No. ED327480; The Case for Music in Schools, Phi Delta Kappan, 1994) observed that more music students are admitted into medical school after application, than other majors like math, English, biology, and chemistry.

Aside from these studies and observation there are numerous benefits that music offers to children:

Music promotes team work in children

Music assist children develop their teamwork skills and discipline. A child in an orchestra choir learns that for the choir to succeed all of them must work together irrespective of their differences. Discipline is enhanced when children commit to practice, rehearsal and learning music all, for the singular goal of the performance.

Music gives your child a sense of security

Sense of security, can also indicate confidence, something to hold on to that belongs to them alone. Music builds confidence in children; by learning to play a musical instrument a child feels in touch with his/her core. This also increases their self-esteem and they are challenged every day to reach a higher stage of development.

Music develops patience in children

Patience is a virtue that is needed, in a generation where most want instant gratification. Learning to play and perfecting skills on any instrument takes time, in an orchestral group every player waits for his/her turn to play. A virtue like this developed gradually becomes invaluable in the future.

Music means continuous learning and creativity

There is no limit to music, just like music is a form of art and art develops creativity in children, so does music it help children to be creative and open to new ideas and possibilities.

Music shields children from bad influences

There are a lot of influences today that are detrimental to the positive development of children. This can come from peer group, family, school expectations all these can lead to mental exhaustion. By learning a musical instrument a child learns to channel mental exhaustion positively and avoid risky alternatives such as the use of drugs.

Music enhances memory

Learning music early enough helps develop the learning and memory function of children, by stimulating brain patterns music help children maintain a retentive memory. This is according to Maestro Eduardo Marturet, a conductor, composer and musical director for the Miami Symphony Orchestra.

Music gives better brain power

As stated earlier music helps to develop the brain, by allowing your child learn a musical instrument or participate in music lessons you invariable give him/her an edge over those that do not. Children’s music specialist Meredith LeVande of MonkeyMonkeyMusic.com puts it this way: “Music simply stimulates parts of the brain that are related to reading, math, and emotional development.”

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Long term effects of children using devices

With the progress of current innovation these days, electronic devices has become an essential part of our day to day living, whether for work or leisure. Without knowing, our kids has been presented to these devices, namely the smartphone and tablets, a very early stage of their life. (read pdf) Specialists have cautioned that parents who permit young children to use tablets for a long period each day could have impact on their development.

As great as science and technology has improved our lives, we have also become enslaved to it, with our constant need to be online and to have our devices at hand to check for messages, updates and other social media notifications. We can all identify with turning around halfway through a trip to get our mobile phone because we have left it at home.

When allowed, a child can sit and play on their device all day. In the long run this can lead to health issues such as obesity, depression and anxiety. In comparison to children of earlier generations, children these days are less likely to spend their time outdoors running and playing and chatting with friends. Technology has enabled them to talk and play from the comfort of their home without the need to even step outside of their room.

With children investing such an enormous amount of time and energy on different gadgets, parents will undoubtedly wonder about the impact of staring at small screen throughout the day. You realise that doing a lot of work on your PC or looking at your smartphone for long periods would leave your eyes dry and hazy. What are the consequences to a kids developing eyes? Will a lot of time on smartphones, iPads, tablets, or PC destroy your kid’s eyes? ABC Article

Impact Of Prolonged Use

  • Kids can become dependent on their devices. Become irritable or moody when they don’t have them.
  • Pain in their fingers and wrists from excessive use
  • Kids become bored, apathetic and uninterested in normal daily activities
  • Attention deficit, aggressive behaviour
  • Delayed cognitive development and impaired learning
  • Slow social development
  • Sleep deprivation

Balance Is The Key


It is not all doom and gloom as it may seem. Technology has changed our lives, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worst. Children’s love for digital technology is obvious, and mirrors the devotion many adults have for their devices. Try to restrict an adult’s access to their mobile or tablet and see how they react!

At times these devices can be heaven sent as they can be used to provide parents with a much need break or just simply time to hop into a shower. However as most good things, too much can have an adverse affect too. The key ingredients is balance and guidance from you, the parent. Parents have to weigh the risk of their child growing addicted to their devices against living a technology free lifestyle and have them falling behind at school or with their peers.

Parents also need to model controlled uses of technology themselves. A parent who consistently tells a child to get off their device when they themselves are always on one will not go unnoticed by the child. Balance is important, and in our tech-base society, it is important for children and adults alike to maintain a healthy balance of activities in their life.

Some measures that can be taken include the following:

  1. Limit the screen time on any device to a maximum of 30 minutes. Ensure that the total amount of screen time per day doesn’t exceed the age-group recommendations
  2. Have a schedule for when the device can be used along with plans for some physical activities as well
  3. Best not to have a TV or computer in their bedroom and refrain them from using their devices in their room
  4. Have ‘device-free’ time such as during meals, homework, family time and bedtime
  5. Teach your child early about the important of moderation. Be sure to offer praise when your child demonstrates restraint in the use of tech devices and follows the rules you’ve set
  6. Monitor access by using the device together with your child. Take opportunity to communicate, interact and share family values.