Ask Babs: Raising a Thinking Child

by Babs Bell Hadjusiewicz May 11, 2016

Q: I want my child to have good thinking skills. We read aloud every day. Does that help?

A: Absolutely yes! Did you know you’re building critical thinking skills and much more every time you talk about that story or poem you’ve read aloud? For example, suppose you've read Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight Moon with your infant or toddler.

At any time of day and wherever you are, talk about the story’s characters and events. Ask (and answer if your child is pre-verbal): “Who’d we say goodnight to in that book we read last night?” You or you child will answer that question with any one of the book’s details. As time allows, ask and answer that question till one or both of you have retold that whole story!

Retelling details of a story or event not only builds critical thinking skills; it builds numerous other skills your child needs to become a super listener, speaker, reader, writer, and lifelong learner.

Babs Bell Hadjusiewicz

Author

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