With an ability to influence people around them. These skills are best when acquired early in childhood. Who would not want their child to win with words and ace public speaking? Well, learning the art of debate is a sure-shot way that can help your child achieve it all.
Teaching your child debating skills has many benefits that you must have been unaware of. It helps develop their listening skills, comprehension skills, and speaking skills. It further enhances their ability to express opinions in a convincing manner.
Debate is more than winning just an argument. It awakens curiosity and interest in a given topic with facts and knowledge. It teaches kids to learn and plan their arguments well. It builds an ability to see one statement or idea from various perspectives. It also plays a major role in polishing their critical thinking, listening, and speaking skills.
As parents, it is important to equip children with the must-ve 21st-century skills, and the art of debating is one of them. Imparting and improving their debating skills will take them a long way in making them distinguished speakers. You should read further to know the multifold benefits of debate, and why it should be taught to children:
Makes them a better reader and researcher- Learning to debate can help your children to develop their reading and research skills. It’s an important part of the debate, especially when they get a topic about which they don’t know much. However, some debates, particularly those on subjects that are close to children’s own experiences, involve no preparation at all, and encourage them to think on their feet. The topic which is not known to them requires intensive research and helps them to back their arguments with opinion and facts.

Be a better critical thinker and public speaker- Kids who take part in debates can overcome their fears of public speaking and improve their communication skills. Through debating, kids broaden their horizons and begin to explore big ethical questions around them. They rigorously question ideas and assumptions rather than accepting them. They are able to see things from a range of perspectives, which is a real-life skill.

Helps in articulating thoughts - Did you ever struggle to weave words together even when you have had the strongest of points? Debates help children to express their thoughts and ideas easily in a structured format.

Keeps emotions in check - As it’s rightly said, don't raise your voice, improve your argument. Debating skills help kids to choose the appropriate body language and tone. Where they learn to pick the right balance, where too formal a tone can alienate them from listeners while being too relaxed might undermine their own arguments.

Building Opinion - Having an individual opinion is important. Debating helps your child define their individuality to stand out of the crowd, being able to freely express new ideas. It is an integral and important part of self-development and self-confidence. Having an opinion will help them show the passion and skill to keep their thoughts on the table.
Through debates, they not only get a chance to express their opinion but also share it with others. It’s highly validating for children to be asked for their opinion and show them that their thoughts matter. It not only makes them passionate about their opinions but at the same time, makes them sensitive enough to respect the opinions of others, too.

Oral expression and linguistic skills are key essentials in all fields of careers. The skills which a child picks up while debating will be of great help to him not just in his career, but also in their daily interactions. So let’s encourage their inquisitiveness and let them debate often and watch them grow up to become confident and coherent communicators.

Teaching kids debating skills at home is difficult, realizing that we, at PlanetSpark conduct regular debate tournaments where kids across the globe participate. Topics like “Physical and Mental Effects of Gaming” “Books or movies: which is better for education? “Are cats or dogs better?” etc.

Parent at PlanetSpark Reviews says - “PlanetSpark has helped my shy kid learn debating skills, starting from the fundamentals. He learned how to do counterarguments, rebuttals, which I thought would be very difficult for my child to pick. It is a wonderful feeling to see my child enjoy and speak so well in the DEBATE PREMIER LEAGUE held at PlanetSpark. As it not only has given my child a platform to share his opinion but has shaped his personality overall.” Hence, I thought of writing a Review at Planet Spark Reviews to share my experience with other parents.