Helping your child avoid any potential manipulation by being subject to a choice other than their own is essential. This is one of the skills that will allow him to become a fulfilled adult.
From a very young age, it seems interesting to encourage the child’s natural curiosity by inviting them to develop their interest in different areas. But what is the “secret” to allowing the child to assert himself in the face of external incentives that could be harmful to him? To prevent children from being manipulated by others, it is essential to help them develop the skills necessary for their future development. And it is by being listened to that the child will be able to demonstrate listening in turn, from his first words and attempts at speech, to develop his critical mind.
Critical thinking is the act of reasonedly examining evidence and its authenticity before making a judgment and deciding what to believe or do. This notion calls on the child’s ability to decenter himself, to reason for himself, to form his own opinion and to assume his opinion. It is indeed important to encourage your child’s critical thinking to teach him to think for himself, to have his own opinion.
But at what age should you start developing critical thinking in your child? “In the collective imagination, critical thinking only appears at the age of 7, the so-called age of “reason”. In reality, we observe the beginnings of this critical spirit well before, with the opposition phase which occurs in children from 18 months to 2 years old. This phase is actually a stage of differentiation during which the child becomes independent, begins to distance himself from the adult and expresses the need to do things on his own. This phase may tend to upset parents who are facing a new side of their child, but it is essential to the child’s overall development.“, tells us Noemi Benhamou, psychologist specializing in childhood and parenting.
Another way to stimulate his critical thinking: discuss with him, make room for his point of view, question him. “We can also set up role plays: “what would you say to your friend who would think that?”. It is also interesting to encourage the child to seek the answer for himself or to encourage him to question other figures who are authoritative for him.“, suggests the psychologist specializing in childhood and parenting.
In addition, open questions allow the child to think for themselves, to consider several points of view, to accompany them on their journey and to position themselves in complete autonomy. This teaches him not to give an intuitive and automatic response, but a more thoughtful response.