Back to activities
Together timeTalking together

Debate a Current Event

Teen picks a real, age-appropriate current event and argues a structured position with a parent.

Cartoon illustration of a parent and child at home doing Debate a Current Event.
  • Age12 to 14 years
  • Time15 to 30 minutes
  • EnergyModerate
  • CostFree
  • WhereIndoors
  • PrepNone

A short, structured debate where your teen picks a real, everyday topic: something happening at school, in your neighborhood, or in a sport they follow: and argues a position with you. You take turns, disagree on purpose, and end by naming what you each respect about the other side.

How to do it

  1. Ask your teen to pick a real, current topic that has two reasonable sides and is genuinely low-stakes: a school policy, a change at a local park or community space, or a rule in a sport they follow. If they're stuck, offer a couple of neutral starting points, like "should the school day start later" or "should the sports league change how it scores a game."
  2. Decide together who argues which side. Encourage your teen to sometimes argue the side they don't personally hold: that's part of the exercise, not about winning.
  3. Give each person a few quiet minutes to think of two or three points before speaking. Paper and pen are fine if you want to jot notes, but talking it through from memory works too.
  4. Take turns in short rounds: each person gives an opening point, then a chance to respond directly to what the other person just said, then a brief closing statement.
  5. When the debate ends, drop the roles. Ask each other, "What's the strongest point you heard from the other side?" and say it out loud, even if you still don't agree with it.
  6. Close by naming out loud that you disagreed and you're still okay: something like "We see this one differently, and that's fine."

What you need

  • Paper and pen
  • Timer

Signs it is working

Your teen prepares more than one point instead of just repeating a single opinion. They respond directly to something you said rather than only restating their own view. They can name a fair point from the side they were arguing against. They stay in the conversation through the disagreement without shutting down or walking away, even if they're visibly annoyed at points

If it is not quite clicking

Your teen picks a topic that's really a stand-in for a real family disagreement or something painful: Steer back toward the low-stakes options (a school policy, a local issue, a sports rule) and save heavier topics for a different kind of conversation. The conversation gets genuinely heated instead of playfully competitive: Call a pause, reset with the timer, and say out loud that this is a practice round for disagreeing well, not a real argument. Your teen refuses to argue a side they don't personally hold: Let them argue their real position this time; the practice still works even if you're the one who takes the assigned side. The debate stalls because neither of you can find a second point: Ask "why would a reasonable person disagree with you?": that question usually turns up the missing argument

Make it yours

Less confident talker: Let them write full sentences ahead of time and read from the page during the debate; the goal is taking part, not speaking under pressure. Wants more of a challenge: Require one concrete reason or example behind every point, and add a short second round where you each argue the other side for a minute. Siblings close in age: Two siblings debate each other while the adult times and afterward asks both to name the other's strongest point, or alternate weeks between parent-vs-teen and sibling-vs-sibling

Try this with your child.

Tell PLAI™ about your child and this moment. It shapes the activity to fit.

Try it in the app