Argumentative thinking is the art of reasoning and expressing ideas clearly. Speaking up is an essential part of sustaining a democracy. By helping your child develop argumentative thinking skills, you’re teaching them that they have a voice.
Contrary to what many believe, arguing is not about convincing others at all costs; it’s about presenting an opinion through reasoning. To do so, you need to be able to establish cause-effect relationships.
Children master reasoning between the ages of 7 and 12. This key period in their development is a stepping-stone to argumentative thinking. Knowing how to reason means being able to make judgements, convince others, and establish cause-effect relationships.
Often associated with philosophy, argumentative thinking is very useful in everyday life. It allows children to form an opinion, ask questions, deconstruct and reconstruct ready-made ideas, and more. Here are a few ways you can help your child hone their debate skills:
Curiosity—the desire to learn more about different subjects and to see things from other people’s perspectives—is an essential quality when it comes to forming an opinion. To encourage a healthy curiosity, you can help your child do the following:
- Read widely on various topics
- Explore different interests (e.g., music, sports, art)
- Ask you questions
- Become interested in history and geography
- Etc.
Argumentative thinking relies on critical thinking. By asking themselves questions and formulating their own hypotheses, your child will develop an ability to debate. To encourage critical thinking, you can ask them questions on different topics. For example:
- What is friendship?
- How would you define love?
- Would you say your glass is half full or half empty? Why?
- What’s the point of school?
You can also invite your child to read a text or newspaper article and answer the following questions:
- Who’s the author?
- What’s the text about?
- When was the text written?
- How do you feel about what the author is saying?
- How do you think other readers would react?
- Why did the author write this text?
- Etc.
You can help your child become a better reader by working on the four main aspects of reading (comprehension, interpretation, response, and reflection).
Arguing is explaining, deepening, developing, and substantiating a point of view. However, when your child is debating someone else’s ideas, it’s important that they be respectful. Here are some winning strategies to teach your child the road to tolerance:
- Lead by example
- Foster their self-esteem
- Address diversity issues
- Encourage them to read up on issues they don’t understand
- Etc.
During discussions with your child, you can invite them to use certain methods to demonstrate the strength of their arguments. For example, you can ask them to provide the following:
- A definition
- An example
- A counterexample
- A quote from an expert
- Etc.
There are plenty of fun ways to help your child practise argumentative thinking in everyday life. For example, certain board games encourage players to debate.
Rewriting: The Alloprof Parents’ team
Chanquoy, Lucile, and Negro, Isabelle. Psychologie du développement. 2004. 269 pp.