Think Outside the Box: Brain Teasers, Mind Games, and Puzzles for Kids

How people think about the things that they see and hear directly affects their actions and their lives. Everyone, including kids, must be able to think in ways to help them solve problems and deduce truth from fiction. To do that, they must be able to think outside of the box and have critical thinking skills.

Kids need to learn these skills as young children to gain practice from using them. The more they apply these thinking skills, the more natural it becomes. It benefits them as they learn to read by building their vocabulary and helping them to understand better what they are reading. Kids can learn out-of-the-box thinking at school, but parents should also teach and challenge them at home. Even children too young to read can begin learning these thinking skills through activities such as walks in the park or when their parents read to them and ask questions.

The world is a complex place, filled with a constant flow of information. Unfortunately, this information can often be flawed, false, or harmful. For this reason, kids must be able to process what they are being told accurately. This is where critical thinking comes into play. Critical thinking is a way of processing information using logic, reasoning, and creativity. It is a skill that, according to a 2020 survey by the Reboot Foundation, 94 percent of people believe is extremely important.

When kids have critical thinking skills, they can digest what they are being told critically and without bias. This helps to improve comprehension, encourages curiosity, and allows them to analyze better and solve problems. By teaching kids critical thinking, both parents and teachers are teaching them to hone their judgment skills and make the best decisions. This skill will help them throughout their education, both in secondary school and in college. Adults with critical thinking skills are often more open-minded and less susceptible to misinformation. In addition, certain career choices will also require critical thinking.

Thinking outside of the box is another skill kids will gain long-term benefits from. When people think outside of the box, they think outside of the status quo. It is often a way of solving a problem or situation by approaching it differently than what is obvious or standard. Unlike critical thinking, which relies primarily on reasoning and analysis, out-of-the-box thinking is often more imaginative and challenges kids to look for other, unique ways to solve a problem or come up with an idea.

Because it is a creative way of thinking, it can also be fun for kids to learn. When teaching very young children, simple activities like playing with cardboard boxes can stimulate their creativity and encourage them to think outside of the box (literally!) in terms of what they can and cannot do. In the classroom, there are several fun ways to teach kids to think outside of the box. This includes asking open-ended questions, assigning writing exercises in which they have to solve a problem creatively, and holding classroom discussions. Riddles are another form of mental exercise that helps build critical thinking skills.

At home, parents can limit kids' time on video games or watching television and encourage them to get creative in finding new ways to pass the time. Other activities include brain teasers, logic puzzles, and using building blocks. Parents should try to engage their kids in solving problems and encourage them to be open-minded and ask questions.


Help kids develop important thinking skills with the following resources: