AskBeehaw

Five is a little early for critical thinking to develop. I’m not sure what part of critical thinking you mean but I think it would definitely be in either stage 3 (ages 7-11) or 4 (ages 12+) of Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development: https://www.verywellmind.com/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-2795457#toc-the-formal-operational-stage

There’s a lot that has been written on parenting and I’m no expert, but I would say for younger kids just keep them safe and healthy and playing and that’ll go a long way.

I think that is a process, and takes time and life experience, to learn critical thinking. It comes from being in the world and being exposed to different things and people. I definitely don’t think it is your sole responsibility to teach your sister critical thinking - you’re not the parent here. But it’s always part of growing up to realize there are things that you had the wrong idea about- this happens to everybody and it will happen for your sister, too. You cannot prevent her from being affected by harmful viewpoints - but you can be an example of somebody who has grown and changed their mind, corrected a mistake, and found your own way to live. That will do more for her than anything else.

Natural consequences. When my 3 year old doesn't want to put on her shoes then I say, "guess you're going outside barefoot!" Then the gears inside her brain start turning and she wants to put her shoes on!

One thing you can do to help in this situation is teach her that it's safe to talk to you about things that don't seem to be 'right". Make it a habit to wonder out loud together if things are being presented truthfully. Look things up on the internet together. Keep it age appropriate, but be someone who explains things to her well. I taught my children early to question if the things they heard at school were true and they'd ask me. Your parents will probably always be in the position to do that, but you can make an effort to be there, too. Then when she's older if she starts to question things your parents told her, she'll know you're a safe person to talk to.

Just ask her lots of questions for fun (you can find lots of lists of these around, used by teachers etc) "if animals could talk what would they say?" "What would you do if you could fly?" "If you could invent something to help your family, what would it be?"

You can also do this while watching TV/movies/playing games together, try and think of questions about the characters or world you're watching, what and why they're doing what they're doing. Even if they're very goofy questions, it's still good for getting her to engage with whatever she's watching.

Also read lots with her, libraries might even have sections set aside for kids books that deal with critical thinking or asking questions.