Learning is a lifelong journey, but every journey starts somewhere.
Picking up learning at a young age can have a huge impact: 90% of a child’s brain development happens before age 5. Logical reasoning is one of those cornerstone abilities that strengthen future critical thinking.
Logical reasoning is the ability to arrive at a conclusion using a given set of rules. It is a type of problem-solving that we use in daily life.
Here’s why it’s important to develop logical reasoning skills for kids and a few ideas on how to get started.
Why is Logical Reasoning for Kids Important?
Logical thinking and deductive reasoning clearly matter for adults. Why are they so important for younger learners?
Essential to problem-solving.
Without logical reasoning, you won’t be able to draw rational conclusions from the evidence. Forming robust problem-solving skills early in life will help your kid overcome future challenges, no matter whether they are interpersonal, academic, or anything else.
Build a foundation for future learning.
Without understanding the logic behind specific topics, your child won’t be able to grasp why things work the way they do. For example, you can’t learn math just by memorizing numbers; understanding the logic behind equations, functions, and patterns is the real basis of mathematical skills.
With that being said, what are some examples of logical reasoning problems for kids?
Examples of logical reasoning for kids
No matter how old your kids are, they’ll run into situations where they might need deductive reasoning skills to solve problems. Here are some examples:
- Should I buy Legos or an action figure? Your kid wants to buy both a Lego set and an action figure, but they only have enough money to buy one of the two options. With deductive reasoning, they are able to draw the conclusion that a Lego set is the better choice because they enjoy building more than playing pretend and because they’ll be able to make more things from Legos.
- How do I get the snack? There’s a snack on a shelf too high for your child to reach. From experience, they know that they are too short to do this on their own, but that adults are tall enough to reach the top of the shelf. They ask a parent for help to grab the snack.
Although these examples may seem simple, they showcase critical thinking. Logical thinking and deductive reasoning for kids are important skills to grasp early for better problem-solving down the road. The ability to solve simpler issues is what will empower them to handle real-world problems.
How to Develop Logical Reasoning in Kids
So what’s the best way to develop logical reasoning? Here are a few ideas and best practices for kids of all ages:
- Try logical reasoning puzzles for kids. The most popular way to hone your reasoning is through logic puzzles. This can be logical reasoning books for kids, games, questions, or anything else that’s designed to exercise your children’s brains. Scroll down for a list of free logical reasoning problems for kids that they can try out today!
- Hone in on your kid’s interests. Don’t force a kid who hates numbers to solve sudoku puzzles. If your child loves stories, try storytelling exercises. If they love video games, online logical reasoning games for kids are a great place to get them playing and practicing at the same time.
- Encourage problem-solving. Whenever possible, give your child the opportunity to connect the dots on their own. Provide them with the information they need to solve a problem while allowing them to draw conclusions on their own. Modeling problem-solving is great, but ultimately they should be learning the basics from you in order to find their own answers.
- Treat failure as a teachable moment. Everyone fails. Teach your kids not to be afraid of failure. Learning from their failures is what will help them succeed. If they’re bummed about failing at something, point out what they did right to nudge them in the right direction next time. Some kids might take failure harsher than others, so be ready to lend them a listening ear if they need to vent.
- Provide resources when needed. While it’s usually best to let kids figure things out on their own, sometimes they’ll run up against a dead end due to a lack of experience or knowledge (or patience). Providing them with resources like the internet, books, or just a key piece of knowledge that might solve their problem can open up the door to further learning and teach them how to ask for help when they need it.
These general tips apply to kids of any age. Next, let’s take a look at the best way to develop logical reasoning for kids in specific age groups.
Birth – 4 Years
- Encourage hands-on play. Young kids are very tactile, so introducing toys they can build or mold with their hands can show them the impact they have on their environment and encourage them to be active in play.
- Provide logic toys. Simple puzzles, shape sorters, and building sets – toys that promote pattern identification are a great first logical reasoning test for very young children. Open-ended toys such as building sets that allow for creativity are even better, as they can foster a kid’s imagination as well as a willingness to experiment.
5-10 Years Old
- Guide step-by-step deduction. In this age group, your kid may be able to articulate a question but not understand how to resolve it. Guiding them through the steps of deduction will help them model how they can break larger problems into more manageable parts for the future.
- Logical reasoning questions for kids are a great way to walk them through these steps. Make sure you help them understand the reasoning behind the correct answer.
- Let them form their own opinions. In this age group, kids are formulating their opinions on a lot of things. Letting them work out their own ideas about how the world around them works is a process that will force them to challenge old assumptions and become open to new possibilities, which will only help them become better critical thinkers.
11-13 Years Old
- Allow kids independence (and support) to pursue their interests. Extracurricular interests help enrich your kid’s perspective and expose them to new ideas, people, and information. Additionally, new experiences are crucial for developing more advanced reasoning skills.
- Model strong logical reasoning skills. Preteens are at the stage of life where they finally start to think of themselves as closer to adults. Walking them through the way that you make decisions or reason through problems can be educational for kids who are still growing.
14-18 Years Old
- Expand their “curriculum”. Don’t let your kid fall into the trap of consuming only one type of content. Whether it’s books, news, or media, challenge them to keep expanding their horizons and engaging with ideas outside of their comfort zone. Seeing how different people interpret and present ideas is an educational experience within itself.
- Challenge them to make their own decisions (and accept consequences). Older teenagers are often seeking independence and allowing them to make more decisions and shoulder responsibility is a great way to improve their reasoning skills for the future.
Logical Reasoning Questions for Kids
Did you know that coding is one of the best skills that also teaches logical reasoning? It encourages problem-solving, critical thinking, and provides a forum for kids to learn, grow, and break things without worrying too much about the consequences.
With this in mind, here are some examples of logical and analytical reasoning questions for kids that are used in coding!
- Q1: How do you determine if a given word is a palindrome?
- Q2: How do you determine whether or not a number is a prime number?
- Q3: How can you find the 101st number in the Fibonacci sequence?
- Q4: How can you find the largest prime factor of any integral number?
- Q5: Calculate the square root of any given number.
- Q6: Can you check if a given year is a leap year?
- Q7: Write out the game logic for tic tac toe.
These are a few relatively simple questions that are used in introductory coding lessons. Each of these is a great example of a logical reasoning question for kids that is solvable through programming. Of course, as your kid improves their coding skills they will be able to solve increasingly difficult questions.
Want a few more resources on logical reasoning questions for kids? Check out the links below to help your children practice their reasoning skills.
Coding Teaches Logical Reasoning
Kids can learn to code to gain the logical reasoning skills that are necessary for analyzing, understanding, and solving problems. Logical reasoning feeds into all parts of computational thinking. Programming helps hone logic through trial and error and learning how to code is a step toward strengthening reasoning.
Our live, online coding classes for kids teach kids with engaging visuals, hands-on projects, and homework help. It’s a fantastic way to improve logical reasoning skills in a safe, supportive environment. Enroll risk-free with our 4-session 100% money-back guarantee!
