How to guide your kid to explore new possibilities

For young kids, there’s no better tool for learning than questions. It sharpens their mental faculties and helps them solve problems, analyze things, form judgements, and arrive at decisions etc.

However, most parents don’t know how to ask the right questions. Their queries get limited to either yes and no questions. What they need to do is ask questions that kindle the higher order thinking skills (HOTS) of their kids.

The Right Question versus the Wrong Question

Here are some examples that bring out the difference between both types of questions

Wrong question : How much did you score on your science test?

HOTS Question : What could you have done to score better marks?

Wrong question : Why do you hate broccoli?

HOTS Question : Can you tell me the different ways in which broccoli is a friend of your body?

Wrong question : Do you like going to the mall?

HOTS Question : What do you like doing in the mall?

Here are some more HOTS questions in other common scenarios you and your child would encounter around you

Family and Relationships

• What do you think life was like for your grandparents 60 years ago?

• Your cousin looks really happy. Can you guess why?

Around the House

• How can we make our garden look more beautiful?

• What else can we do to have fun other than watching television?

Nature

• What do you think that cloud feel like?

• What can we do for the thirsty birds during the summers?

To create meaningful HOTS questions, try using interrogative words such as who, what, where, when, and why. Also add words like can, could, should and might. That’s the key to firing up your child’s imagination and helping his brain explore a variety of different possibilities.