Since infancy, human develop the thinking ability by questioning and abstractly imagine the entire world around. For little children, their environment was completely a strange place filled with many strange things in it. The exploration then begun along with the development of their sensory ability. Firstly, they would try to “taste” anything they could grab. They put it in mouth to check whether it is edible or not. Later on, they start to walk and utter some words. What is this and what is that will frequently slide from their little tongue in the early days they start talking. The questions of ‘what’ then turn to ‘how’ and expand to ‘why’. They start asking reason.
Nevertheless, it would stop someday when adults around them put a stiff wall of unresponsive acts upon the questions. For us, the adults, it will be demanding more patience and effort. That is why we have to be careful. A little careless response and less attention we provide them, and then they will gradually be unconfident and questioning less. Say we are tired when we are, or do not know when it is so. However, give them chance to explore together in time we are refreshed and ready. We could do anything to cope with it. Perhaps make a deal in limiting the question per day, or challenge them back to try finding out answer alone sometimes, so it would ignite some discussion later, etc.
Wait! Is it advantageous encouraging children to be philosophically critical? Will it cause any hardship during their early years to learn? While some parents sometimes worry a little—hoping that was not kind of sound of hidden laziness to response children’s curiosity—, Matthews (1980) presents evidence that young children often make comments, ask questions, and even engage in reasoning that professional philosophers can recognize as philosophical. Here are some of his examples (I copied the passage below from Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy):
Tim (about six years), while busily engaged in licking a pot, asked, “papa, how can we be sure that everything is not a dream?” Somewhat abashed, Tim's father said that he didn't know and asked how Tim thought that we could tell? After a few more licks of the pot, Tim answered, “Well, I don't think everything is a dream, ‘cause in a dream people wouldn't go around asking if it was a dream.”
Ursula (three years, four months), “I have a pain in my tummy.” Mother, “You lie down and go to sleep and your pain will go away.” Ursula, “Where will it go?”
Some questions of fact arose between James and his father, and James said, “I know it is!” His father replied, “But perhaps you might be wrong!” Denis [four years, seven months] then joined in, saying, “But if he knows, he can't be wrong! Thinking's sometimes wrong, but knowing's always right!”
Ian (six years) found to his chagrin that the three children of his parents' friends monopolized the television; they kept him from watching his favorite program. “Mother,” he asked in frustration, “why is it better for three people to be selfish than for one?”
A little girl of nine asked: “Daddy, is there really a God?” The father answered that it wasn't very certain, to which the child retorted: “There must be really, because he has a name!”
Michael (seven): “I don't like to [think] about the universe without an end. It gives me a funny feeling in my stomach. If the universe goes on forever, there is no place for God to live, who made it.”
These and other anecdotes provide substantial evidence that at least some children quite naturally engage in thinking that is genuinely philosophical. Parents should nurture the potential well. Imagine what to happen if we kill it mercilessly by saying something like, “Stop asking stupid things,” “Don’t disturb me, I am busy,” or, “What are you are talking about? There is nothing like that.”
Aside from philosophical discussion upon, say, some abstract objects, it is good to encourage them explore and questioning the nature. As much that was written in the Qur’an verses, people should observe the universe and watch the greatness of the Creator. For young children, first experience engaging in some science works could be very interesting. Exploration of the environment is dominant activity in this stage. Although it may also involving some other activities such as experimenting or measuring to extend the authenticated description of the physical world, the finding out will be the most of the work.
