Teaching Kids to Think by Darlene Sweetland Page B

phone (or a driving directions app like Google Maps) would identify your location and route in seconds. No problem solving is needed—just savvy smartphone skills.
Research skills
To complete a research paper, you would need to plan a trip to the library; find what book, encyclopedia, or journal would contain the information you wanted; take notes on the information or photocopy the source; and check out books to bring home from the library (and remember to return them when finished). This allowed children to learn how to manage their time, figure out how to gather and organize the materials, and take responsibility to return the materials to the library on time.
Type any term or phrase into an Internet search engine on a computer in the convenience of your home, and all the information is at your fingertips in an instant. No planning is needed.
    This list can go on and on. We are thankful for the ways technology makes getting lost safer and offers unlimited information when we want to learn about something new. But if you look at the countless ways this generation is missing opportunities to develop cognitive skills (problem solving, planning, organization, and communication) that people in past generations had every day, you can see that children and teens are entering the adult world substantially unprepared. This chapter focuses on the cognitive development that is negatively impacted by the lack of practice of invaluable skills.
    As things become easier and easier for the Instant Gratification Generation, the primary neurological development that is essential in preparing children for self-reliance and decision making is deprived. This can be observed in their reactions to problems: they feel hopeless, rather than take the initiative to solve problems.
    Theories on Cognitive Development
    There is a reason educators and child psychologists learn and continue to use developmental theories that were derived in the 1920s and 1950s. 1 As discussed in chapter 4 , theorists have identified stages of development that are consistent across generations and cultures. This is also true for theories that address brain development and how children solve problems.
    As is typically the case, new research and theories continue to develop. However, the premise for each of these theories remains the same. They all agree that brain development is a relatively stable process—it occurs in a predictable order that is consistent across the majority of children. More specifically, they agree that development cannot be rushed and children are limited in how they think about things depending on their age, maturity, and developmental stage.
    Let’s use the example of sharing. This is an important lesson that parents teach to their young children. When older children and adults think about sharing, they consider it in relation to how it makes the other person feel. They may think about whether it makes the other person feel happy and accepted if something is shared or left out and angry if it is not. On the other hand, when preschool children begin to share, they do it because they learn that they are praised for sharing or because they are told to share. They don’t inherently want to share; they just know other people smile and say, “Good job!” when they do, and they like the positive attention. Parents can try to force them to understand the true meaning of sharing, but young children are not neurologically, socially, or morally ready to learn it yet. Rest assured, there comes a time when all these messages have meaning, but it will be in the appropriate developmental stage.
    Reinforce Your Child’s Skills with Praise
    Young children may not understand why their parents are asking them to behave in a certain way, but they learn very quickly that they are praised when they do. For example, a young child will not understand that sharing, saying “please” and “thank you,” and taking turns makes the