Philosophy for kids at home: big questions in five minutes

Philosophy for kids at home means asking your child a big question with no right answer, and thinking it through together. Is it ever OK to break a promise? Can you make everyone happy at the same time? You don't need to know any philosophy. Read one short idea from a real thinker in kid words, ask the question, give everyone a turn, and let them disagree with you. Five minutes is enough.

What is philosophy for kids?

It is thinking out loud about the questions kids already ask. Why is that fair? How do you know? What makes a good friend? The idea that children can do real philosophy has a long history. In the 1970s the philosopher Matthew Lipman, with Ann Margaret Sharp, started a program called Philosophy for Children, built around a group of kids reasoning through a question together (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).

Most of that work happens in classrooms. It works just as well on a bed at night, or in the car.

Can young kids really do philosophy?

Yes, when the words are simple. A five-year-old can't explain a philosopher, but they can answer a philosopher's question. Here is one from Epictetus, a Stoic teacher who spent part of his life enslaved and was popular in his own day (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy):

Kids have strong opinions about what is theirs to choose. That is a conversation.

How do I start philosophy with my kids at home?

1. Pick one short idea. A sentence from a real thinker, a fable, a small dilemma. Short enough to read in a minute.
2. Say it in kid words. If the original is hard, tell it in two or three simple sentences.
3. Ask one question with no right answer. Not a quiz. Something they can have an opinion on.
4. Ask “why do you think that?” This is where the thinking happens. Ask it gently, and more than once.
5. Give everyone a turn. Siblings, you, whoever is there. Disagreeing is allowed.
6. Share your own answer last. If you go first, they may just copy you.

Does philosophy make kids smarter?

The research is mixed, and it is worth being honest about it. An earlier trial of Philosophy for Children in English primary schools, completed in 2014, found that pupils in Years 4 and 5 made about two months of extra progress in reading and maths (Education Endowment Foundation). A larger follow-up trial found no clear effect on attainment (NFER).

At home, grades are not the reason to do it anyway. The reason is the conversation: your kid thinking out loud, being taken seriously, and seeing you think too.

What are good philosophy questions for kids, and which thinkers work best?

The ones who wrote short and clear. Aesop's fables are made for it. Confucius, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius left short sayings that turn easily into questions. Thoreau and Montaigne wrote about everyday life in ways kids can picture.

What does philosophy at home look like in a real family?

Every Friday after the meal, my father gave us a subject. Then we all talked about it.

Everyone got a turn to talk. We felt heard. We felt together. And each of us grew our own opinions and thoughts along the way.

Nobody called it philosophy. It was just my father asking a question and taking every answer seriously. That is the whole method.

It is also the simplest way I know to be a better parent, one small moment a day.

What are good books and tools for philosophy with kids?

• Philosophy for Kids: 40 Fun Questions That Help You Wonder About Everything! by David A. White is a book of 40 questions to work through together, written for school-age kids.
• Big Ideas for Curious Minds by The School of Life introduces big thinkers to kids through short chapters you can read together.
• The Prindle Institute's Teaching Children Philosophy has nearly 300 discussion guides you can read online, built around children's books.
• Tovana helps parents and kids feel close, one short moment a day: a big idea from a real thinker and a question you answer together.

If you want more question ideas, here are questions to ask your kids that get more than “fine”.