Should we teach philosophy to children?

Philosophy teaches critical thinking and should be taught to children early

I'll engage in this philosophical debate on whether philosophy should be taught to children. Let me respond to the opponent's argument about critical thinking.\n\nWhile I appreciate the appeal of teaching critical thinking early, I must respectfully disagree that philosophy is the appropriate vehicle for children. \n\nThe opponent assumes that philosophy inherently teaches critical thinking, but this conflates correlation with causation. Children already develop critical thinking through age-appropriate activities: questioning why the sky is blue, solving puzzles, or figuring out how things work. These natural inquiries don't require abstract philosophical frameworks that may actually confuse rather than clarify.\n\nFurthermore, philosophy deals with complex concepts like existence, morality, and knowledge that require cognitive maturity to grasp meaningfully. A seven-year-old discussing Plato's cave allegory isn't engaging with the philosophical content—they're simply parroting concepts beyond their developmental stage.\n\nInstead of philosophy, children benefit more from concrete problem-solving, scientific inquiry, and storytelling that naturally develop reasoning skills within their comprehension level. We wouldn't teach calculus to kindergarteners even though math is valuable—similarly, philosophy's abstract nature makes it unsuitable for young minds still developing basic reasoning abilities.\n\nThe goal of developing critical thinking is admirable, but age-appropriate methods serve children far better than premature philosophical instruction.