These days, it is totally unsurprising to see a child, barely four feet tall, holding on tightly to his little gadget and his eyes absolutely fixed on the small screen, oblivious to his surroundings. This little device keeps the child occupied for hours, allowing parents to do all their work or errands with minimum or no interruptions from the child. However, what most parents fail to realise is that this device can only provide information, connect people and perhaps offer exciting electronic games but it cannot teach them about logic.
So what is logic and why is it important for us parents to teach our children logic? The Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary of Current English defines this word as a way of thinking or explaining or a sensible reason for doing something. Hence, it is obvious that there is no hard and fast rule of teaching a child about logic nor is there a planned time frame for completing the task.
So how do I do it? A young child can be first introduced to logical thinking through exciting non-electronic games. A fine example would be Castle Logix where the player has to assemble the given wooden blocks and towers to build castles. As this “play” requires the child to use his/her brain to construct castles using 3D wooden blocks, it helps improve a child’s logical thinking skills.
Older children should be encouraged to solve simple brain-teasing and logic building puzzles. There are many mind challenging games for all ages where parents and their children can play to help stretch logical thinking skills. So, I would play such games with my children.
I would also encourage my children to ask more questions and also be prepared to furnish them with logical explanations, even for those questions that may be deemed “silly” or “embarrassing” by most adults. I believe that responding positively to a child’s query will help develop his/her logical thinking in the future.
I would also spend quality time with my children and if they were teenagers perhaps get them involved in some of the family discussions like planning for a family holiday. Making them “crack their heads” about where to go, when to go and how to manage it all with limited money would be a good “exercise” for them to build their logical thinking.
To conclude, I strongly believe that teaching about logic is strictly the responsibility of the parents. It takes time, perseverance and has no expiry date.
Anita Govindan
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