Kids should be encouraged to talk back – 5 tips for teaching them critical thinking skills

By Heidi Matisonn, Senior Lecturer in Bioethics, The EthicsLab, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town

Whenever school holidays loom, many parents find themselves caught in an emotional tug-of-war: on the one hand, relief at bidding farewell to homework battles, bedtime struggles, and the lamenting of lost lunchboxes; on the other, terror at the daunting prospect of a barrage of “whys” and “buts” from their relentless interrogators. To avoid logic-defying arguments and endless debates, it is often not long before they find themselves playing the ultimate parental trump card: “because I said so”.

As a parent, I can relate. But I’m also a moral philosopher with almost two decades of teaching…

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