Do Children Have Their Own Ideas? Exploring the Definition of Independent Thought

It depends on how we define 'our own ideas.' If we consider being able to express our opinions as having our own ideas, then even young children who can say what they want or don't want have their own ideas. However, if having our own ideas means coming up with innovative insights through independent thinking, then children may not have this ability yet because having our own ideas requires a foundation of understanding many other people's ideas. It may not be until they enter university and start engaging in scientific research that they slowly develop their own perspective on something.