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Questions that shape your child’s future

“How do I make my child future-ready?” This is an oft repeated question. Being future-ready is not an all-in-one package deal. Being future-ready in today’s climate is the ability to unlearn and learn. In this article I would like to talk about one of the important aspects of unlearning and learning – asking questions.

What is the best thing you could do with a question? Of course, it is to ask. Asking questions helps children to learn and have come to their own conclusions. However, many children refrain from asking questions. Have you ever wondered how you could help your child with it? To cultivate effective inquiry skills in your child, it is important to create a question-asking environment at home. Questions are the secret bullet that make your child future-ready. It is this environment that they are going to wear and carry around when they go out into the world.

A recent survey by World Economic Forum lists Critical Thinking as one of the top two skills required to thrive in the new world order. Experts are of the opinion that asking questions is what sparks curiosity and critical thinking in children. Questions drive thinking, enquiry and action. The strategies below will help you to create an inquiry-confident mindset for your child.

1. Ask your child about their questioning ventures of the day

According to Nobel laureate physicist Isidor I. Rabi, it is one question that shaped his life. He credits his curiosity to his mother’s question, “What did you ask in the class today?”

What do you ask your child when they come back from school? Do you ask them “How was your day?” or “What did you learn?” If you change your question a little bit to enquire about what did they ask, you will gradually observe a different effect in them. This will help them to understand we are all enquirers first and then learners. Isn’t that an effective step to be future-ready?

2. Help to manage the anxiety of looking stupid in front of others

Is your child scared that their questions would not make sense? Does your child feel that their peers or teachers would ridicule them for asking? It is time to inject some confidence into your child. While you are doing that, take time for some introspection as well. Are you being kind when you answer to your child’s questions? When your child asks a seemingly stupid question, take time to discuss that topic and help your child to frame a better question. The future is for people who can do out of the box thinking. Out of the box thinking comes from asking such questions. Tell your child that being future-ready means developing the courage to ask such questions.

3. Promote communication skills in your child

Many children (and adults) refrain from asking questions, not because they don’t have anything to ask or they are shy. It is because they are not sure how to frame their questions so that it will sound valid. Helping your child to practice good communication skills will help tremendously in this area.

When you ask questions to your child, be sure to ask ‘Why’ or ‘How’ questions instead of a question that gives you an ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer. Be flexible to listen and respond to contradicting ideas.

One thing that is certain is that the future of mankind is only going to be more confusing. Knowing how to question the right way is their passport to take on the challenges of the uncertain world ahead of them. Equip your child with the necessary question-asking skills to be future-ready.

You may find our workshops on thinking skills and creative confidence here.

Share this article with your friends and colleagues, so that they too are aware of this amidst their busy schedules.

Do you have any insights or tips that you use? Would you like to share that? Please use the comments section below and let us know!

Junior Public Speaking & Confidence Building Workshop designed by the World Champion of Public Speaking

You might also be interested in Testimonials Confidence Hub Public Speaking Camp Growth Mindset Camp Thinkers Unlimited Design Thinking Camp

The Kidz Parade Magazine

Are you looking for a special present for an adorable child? Why don’t you give a present that will leave a lifetime positive impact? When you give The Kidz Parade Edutainment Magazine as a present, you are opening the door to a world of Creativity and Communication.

About Sindu Sreebhavan

Sindu Sreebhavan is the founder of As Many Minds Minds Pte Ltd and the founding Chief Editor of The Kidz Parade Edutainment magazine, Asia's premium publication for cultivating creativity and creative writing in children. Sindu is also the founder and the Chairperson of International Youth Leadership and Innovation Forum (IYLIF). Sindu is the author of 'Infinite Possibilities' and the lead co-author of Amazon bestseller 'Breakthrough'. With a passion to infuse innovation in education and inject growth mindset and innovative mindset in people and organisations, Sindu writes, speaks and consults on innovation and creativity in business and education. She says innovation does not start with invention, it starts with a mindset. “The best gift you can give a child is the power of Confidence, Creativity and Communication” is her tagline. She is passionate about educating educators, parents and children about youth development, youth leadership, education innovation and 21st century education. She supports children, parents, schools and several organisations in these areas.

The One Thing That Provides A Brighter Future For Your Child

Posted by Sindu Sreebhavan on

September 3, 2016

What do employers look for when they select people into their teams? In the 1960’s NASA was in the midst of finding the best people for various teams. The director of NASA wanted to find a way to assign the best people in his teams. He was looking for a way to find people with the best creative ideas for teams that handle difficult problems. He approached George Land, the expert researcher in creative performance, for a solution. George Land formed a test to measure the creativity of NASA engineers and scientists.

The test worked impressively well at NASA. The test takers were supposed to derive new, diverse and innovative ideas to solve a given problem. George Land realised that it was a test that could be solved by anyone. So, he decided to give it to children. In 1968, he tried out the same test with 1,600 five year old children. He re-tested the same children when they reached the age of 10 years and later at 15 years. He tried out the same test with over one million adults as a follow up.

The percentage of people who scored at genius level differed among different age groups. 98% of those 5 year olds scored at genius level. However, as they grew older, their creativity and hence their score dropped rapidly at unimaginable levels.

What makes the thinking skills of children drop as they grow older?

The main reason for this rapid drop in imagination is the way we train our minds. There are two types of thinking: Convergent thinking and Divergent thinking.

Divergent thinking focuses on coming up with new ideas without limiting the scope of the thinking horizon, without being judged .
Convergent thinking limits the scope of thinking and often looks out for the well defined perfect answer for a problem.

At our schools, children are taught to produce the perfect answer for a problem. This limits their divergent thinking and problem solving skills.

But does it help? As per the IBM 2012 CEO study, which is based on inputs from 1700 CEOs from 64 countries, creativity is among the three traits that are critical for an employee’s success. As per a NACE survey among 160 employers, problem solving is among the top 4 skills employers are seek on a candidate.

These results bring up the key question: What is more important to you as a parent?– to bring up a child who scores well in their exams or to bring up a child who is capable enough to handle and solve problems in their professional and personal lives. Apparently it is the second type of children that future workforce would prefer to hold closer.

How you can help your child to maximise their thinking potential?

Allow opportunities for your child to grow their creative potential. If you want to be a parent of a child who retain their ability to be creative, encourage them to come up with ideas, allow them to express those ideas without judgment and provide them with opportunities to try out their ideas. This will not only ensure them a brighter future, they will also learn to be self-assured people.

You can find practical tips on how to encourage your child’s creative potential at

3 Tips to Boost Your Childs Creative Problem Solving Skills

The one thing must do to cultivate Critical Thinking in your child

Engage the Curious Minds

Please visit our workshops on thinking skills here.

Share this article with your friends and colleagues, so that they too are aware of this amidst their busy schedules.

Do you have any insights or tips that you use? Would you like to share that? Please use the comments section below and let us know!

Public Speaking Camp designed by the World Champion of Public Speaking

You might also be interested in Testimonials Confidence Hub Junior Champs Leadership Camp Growth Mindset Camp Thinkers Unlimited Design Thinking Camp

Junior Champs Leadership Camp designed by the World Champion of Public Speaking

You might also be interested in Testimonials Confidence Hub Public Speaking Camp Growth Mindset Camp Thinkers Unlimited Design Thinking Camp

Thinkers Unlimited Design Thinking Camp

You might also be interested in Testimonials Confidence Hub Public Speaking Camp Growth Mindset Camp Thinkers Unlimited Design Thinking Camp

Growth Mindset Camp

You might also be interested in Testimonials Confidence Hub Public Speaking Camp Growth Mindset Camp Thinkers Unlimited Design Thinking Camp

Junior Public Speaking & Confidence Building Workshop designed by the World Champion of Public Speaking

You might also be interested in Testimonials Confidence Hub Public Speaking Camp Growth Mindset Camp Thinkers Unlimited Design Thinking Camp

The Kidz Parade Magazine

About Sindu Sreebhavan

How Learning Programming Boosts Your Child’s Critical Thinking Skills

Posted by Highlight on

April 9, 2016

These days, programming forms an integral part of all aspects of our lives, from education to social media, banking and information. As Singapore works towards becoming a “smart nation”, the Ministry of Communications and Information has announced that an additional 30,000 ICT jobs need to be filled by 2020. While not every child wants a career as a programmer, learning programming is a valuable life skill for everyone. We have the experts Mr Deddy Setiadi and Mr Himmy Cheng, the co-founders of Tink Tank, talking to us about the benefits of learning programming. Tink tank is a local coding institution that aims to equip every child with programming knowledge and the power to create change. So, why should you get your kids started on their coding journeys now?

1. Programming build up problem solving and computational thinking skills

Coding is very sequential – you need to know what to write and why one code comes after another. Students will be able to make logical connections that can help them learn to analyse different situations and look at the big picture before drilling down to the smaller steps to reach the goal. Whenever they do hands on coding activities and face errors, students will learn to identify the problem and debug the programme. Mr Deddy says, “When children learn to code, they are also learning to think. These days, Facebook, handphones and programmable toys are embedded in children’s lives. They should also learn to understand the logic behind these technologies and move beyond being passive consumers to creators of technology.”

“I found the workshop very educational and interesting as it taught us about technology, computer programming and how to use our ideas in building up our own games!” – 10-year-old Saamiya Khan, who has benefitted from Tink Tank‘s workshop and regular classes.

2. Programming empowers children with confidence and creativity

Learning with the right tools is essential to creating a strong programming foundation. There are many excellent tools available in the market, such as Scratch, which is developed by MIT and can be used to create computer games and animated stories, to robotics tools like Dot & Dash and mBot. Mr. Himmy lights up when he recalls how his students felt so accomplished when they were able to see the games that they had brainstormed and planned on paper materialised as online games with the instructors’ guidance using Scratch. Mr. Himmy says, “That is why the students are constantly encouraged to express their creativity and challenge boundaries at Tink Tank,” For instance, a perennial kids favourite is the fruit piano segment where they code a virtual piano and play on the fruits by connecting it to Makey Makey, a tool that allows for indirect control of the keyboard. Now, who says a piano must be black and white?

“If your child has even a slight interest in computer, gaming, technology – Tink Tank’s program will open up a fun new world of coding through a series of games and using kid-friendly coding platform, like Scratch. The small class size is a plus, and compared to workshops my 8-year-old had done in the past, the instructors are stellar. My son is already looking forward to the next Tink Tank class!” – Parent of 8-year-old Cai Penn

3. Programming is fun and it develops important life skills

Though coding may seem very technical and possibly daunting, it is a myth that the skills gained are confined to the realms of the computer lab. Participants of Tink Tank’s programs are also developing important life skills, such as presentation skills, as they are encouraged to actively ask and answer questions in class, and will get the opportunity to present their final creations to their parents. Also, students are put through collaborative exercises that gives them the opportunity to work together, solve problems and learn from each other. To Mr Deddy and Mr Himmy, the growth of the students is more important than school size itself. They promise a 1:4 teacher-student ratio to ensure an intimate, hands-on learning experience, compared to the 1:8 ratio in the market currently. “We get really excited when we see our students grow, and we regularly communicate the student’s individual progress to parents. We want to go the extra mile for our students, “they concluded.

“The Tink Tank workshop has been an extremely engaging program for my daughter. The staff have made the “lesson” super interesting and more importantly, making learning fun! Kudos to the team!” – Parent of 12 year old Ivory.

Just as how Maths and Science shape our world now, our children’s world will be shaped by computers and connected devices. Computer programming has been increasingly incorporated into the Singapore education system, with a new O-level subject called computing introduced this year. As kids have an easier time picking up skills than adults, it’s important to get them started on their coding journey early. If your children have not learnt how to program, now’s the time to start.

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5 Questions to Boost Problem Solving Skills in Your Child

Posted by Sindu Sreebhavan on

March 25, 2016

Your child is doing the school homework and tells you, “I don’t understand this.” How do you respond to this? Your response has far reaching effects on the problem solving skills and learning attitude of your child.

What do you do when your child says “I don’t understand this”? Do you immediately help your child? Do you feel it is your responsibility to teach your child with all the details? It may help your child’s curiosity short-term or save your time short-term. However, you are wasting a golden opportunity to enrich your child with critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Next time when your child says “I don’t understand this”, resist your urge to give the details and guide your child to solve the problem. Asking the right questions will help your child to build their curiosity and critical thinking skills. When they solve the problem by themselves following your careful guidance, they feel more confident. They will be more open to trying out more challenging problems in the future. These are some questions you can ask your child for a guided problem solving process:

Question #1: “What problem are you trying to solve?”

Image courtesy of potowizard at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

May be your child has not understood the question well. It is the questions that lead to more questions, answers and knowledge. Help your child to understand the question. Albert Einstein once said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I would spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”

Question #2: “What have you done so far to solve this?”

This is a great question to help your child evaluate what they have done so far about it. Taking stock of the situation helps in charting the next step. May be your child was not approaching the question the right way. Your question will help them to take the next small step in solving the problem.

Question #3: “Where exactly are you facing the problem?”

May be your child does not need the answer for the entire question. In reality, they might be stuck at a tiny portion of the big problem. This question will help your child to divide the problem into sub-problems and think through these sub-problems one at a time.

Question #4: “Have you taken any class notes on it?”

Recollection is a great technique that helps us to remember something we have learned before. This question will help your child to go through their notes and recollect the discussion in the class.

Question #5: “Did you talk to your friends about it?”

Your child’s classmates would be able to remind them of how the topic was tackled in the class. This is a great way for your child to understand the significance of collaboration and brainstorming in learning.

Is your child still struggling to solve the problem? Tell them not to panic. Give them the assurance that you are with them in their effort to solve the problem. Ask them more questions with hidden clues to lead them to think in the right direction.

Do not forget to congratulate your child for the efforts they made. Let them know the specific problem solving skills they used well so that they will feel empowered to use those skills to solve other issues as well. “Your perseverance helped you reach this far”, “It is your ability to divide the problems into sub-problems that helped to solve the problem”, “It is your ability to collaborate with others that helped you here”, “You are developing your problem solving skills well”, are some of the congratulatory phrases you can use to encourage and empower your child. After all, learning is all about acquiring new skills to solve problems.

Please visit Growth Mindset Camp, Thinkers Unlimited Design Thinking Camp, Thinkers Unlimited Workshop and Creative Problem Solving Workshop for our workshops on thinking skills and design thinking.

Share this article with your friends and colleagues, so that they too are aware of this amidst their busy schedules.

Do you have any insights or tips that you use? Would you like to share that? Please use the comments section below and let us know!