Questions you ask your children directly or indirectly affects their sense of thinking and judgement. According to psychologists and child development experts, common phrases that parents use all the time actually do harm more than good. To cultivate curiosity and critical thinking in your children, you need to rephrase your questions you ask your child to encourage them even more and help them gain a wider perspective. What follows next is a list of 4 questions parents typically ask their children. DYP explains why they need to rephrase it and what they should ask instead.

• "What do you want to be when you grow up?" vs "What problems do you want to solve when you grow up?"

  Why is this staple of child conversation harmful? The reason being, it nudges children to be too focused on studies when instead they should be taught to look to other aspects of their lives, like family and community, for identity and meaning as well. The replacement question "What problems do you want to solve?" sets up children to have a far more open-ended mind and ultimately brings more excitement- discussion about what their values are, and the many ways in which they might someday try to bring positive change to the world, whether through a traditional job, volunteer work, profession, art, and beyond.

  
  

• "Here's how you do that." vs "How would you solve this problem?"

  When a child comes to us with a problem, our initial instinct is to step in to deliver a quick fix. Resist that instinct. Let them find a solution on their own. The process involved in finding the answer is far more important than the answer itself.

• "That's just the way it is." vs. "Great question. Why don't you figure out the answer?"

  Children are masters at asking questions. They're driven, not by a desire to impress, but by genuine curiosity. Instead of stifling your child's curiosity, nurture it. Encourage them to ask questions and remain curious about the world.

• "You can't do that." vs. "What would it take to do that?"

  Do not tell your children that their ideas are crazy or feasible. Consider opening up possibilities instead of closing them off. Encourage seemingly crazy ideas with your children and reinforce in them a wider perspective to look at things.

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