Criticism facts for kids

Escaping criticism by Caso

Criticism is when someone shares their thoughts about something, often to help make it better or to point out what they think is wrong. It's like giving feedback. Sometimes, criticism is meant to be helpful and improve things. Other times, it can be a strong disagreement or even an attack on an idea or person.

What are the main types of criticism?

There are two main ways people use criticism:

Constructive criticism: Helping to improve

This type of criticism is all about helping someone or something get better. It's like a coach telling a player how to improve their game.

• Purpose: To evaluate, suggest improvements, and help someone learn.
• How it's used: Parents and teachers often use this to guide young people. In school, when your teacher gives you feedback on an essay, that's constructive criticism. In the adult world, writers, artists, and scientists use it to make their work stronger. For example, a scientist might get constructive criticism on their research from other scientists to make sure it's accurate.

Negative or destructive criticism: Pointing out flaws

This kind of criticism focuses on the bad parts of something or someone. It can feel like an attack.

• Purpose: To highlight faults, express strong disapproval, or challenge an idea.
• How it's used: Sometimes, people use negative criticism to attack a person directly, rather than their ideas. This is called an ad hominem attack. You might see this in political debates, where opponents try to point out each other's weaknesses. While it can be part of a debate, it's not usually meant to be helpful.

Where did the word 'criticism' come from?

The word "criticism" has a long history! It comes from ancient Greek.

• In ancient Greek, the word kritos meant "judge."
• Kritikos meant "the critic" – someone who judges or evaluates.
• Other related Greek words, like krinein, meant "to separate out" or "to decide." It's like sifting through ideas to find the important ones.

The word traveled from Greek to Latin (where it became Criticus, meaning "a judge"). Then it moved to French (critique) and finally into English. The words "critic" and "critical" appeared in English around the mid-1500s, and "criticism" itself showed up in the early 1600s.

See also

In Spanish: Crítica para niños