Written By: Dr Anitha Anchan | Updated : April 26, 2016 5:07 PM IST
Who doesn t want to have a smart kid? And by smart , I don t mean just having a high IQ (Intelligence Quotient). Smartness is a mindset. Being smart is having the ability to produce the most positive results with independent and rational action. Smartness can be in any area mental, logical, linguistics, existential, social, spatial, musical or existential. And in the modern world one needs to be financially smart too.
Every kid is special. Each child has a potential. Trying just to raise the IQ of your children can do more harm than good. When you want to raise your kids to be smart, educate them to be accepting, compassionate, creative and curious. You should aim to help them develop and utilise their hidden talents and skills to their maximum capacity. Raising smart kids is not just about imparting more knowledge. It is also about guiding them how to use what they have. A smart child uses the knowledge gained at the right time, and in the right way.
Here are 15 ways to raise a smart kid. Make sure the process is fun and not a drag.
1. Talk, and also listen, to your children. Communicating helps develop strong language skills in children.
2. Praise your child. The catch here is, praising the right trait. Don t compliment their inborn abilities. Instead, appreciate their effort. For instance, when your child gets good grades you could say you ve worked really hard instead of saying you are brainy. Praise their understanding of the notes instead of their voice. Instead of saying you are an excellent artist ; say you have used the colors brilliantly. If you praise children for their inborn abilities, they tend to doubt themselves and fail when confronted with challenges. They would rather stick to easy tasks just to maintain their self-image than chase challenging tasks. Praising their effort gives children a sense of being in control. After all, one can put in more effort and achieve higher.
3. Read to your kids to instill the habit of reading in them. The practice of reading early in life helps children develop an appetite for knowledge. It also helps them develop language skills. Build your own library at home and keep the books within arm s reach. Make reading a part of your life. Reading bedtime stories is a good way to start.
4. Make children feel loved. Hug, love, talk and play with them. It can help them develop their brain. Children brought up in warm, nurturing families have greater resistance to stress and have reduced vulnerability to stress-induced illness [1]. Lack of responsive, nurturing, consistent care in the early months of their lives can cause insecure attachment which predisposes them to depression and other psychiatric disorders [2]. Unstable parent-child relationships can lead to behavioral disorders and increased susceptibility to a wide variety of common diseases later in life [3]. Children who are raised in families that are cold, unsupportive, and neglectful have troubles in emotion processing and social competence [4].
5. Answer their whys and hows . Children are very inquisitive. They question even the seemingly silly detail. Don t ignore their questions because no question is insignificant. They are learning new things. Answer their questions as best as you can in simple terms that they can understand. And if you don t know the answer, tell them that you will research it later.
6. Give children adequate free play. Don t over-schedule. Lining up back-to-back activities shifts their focus often and prevents them from exploring at their pace. Engage them in unrestricted, unstructured, on the go activities. It can help them build physical, emotional, intellectual, executive and social skills.
7. Expose kids to new places and experiences. Travel to various places. Take them to parks, museums, plays, beaches, etc. It will help them gain practical knowledge.
8. Give children a chance. They can do wonders. Believe in their capabilities. They can do more than what you think they are capable of. Let them try. Let them correct themselves if they err. Giving kids this freedom can help them discover their own interests and become better at them. It helps them be creative and original.
9. Allow children to have activity-free days. It s perfectly okay for them to get bored. The occasional free time lets them introspect. It prepares them to participate in their activities with better drive and clarity.
10. The eating habits of children greatly affect their brain development and intelligence. Unhealthy foods not only risk their physical health but also risk their brain development. Good nutritionfuels the brain and helps it function optimally throughout the day. It promotes optimal growth of brain cells, nerves and tissues and thus, enhances concentration, memory and intelligence. Wrong eating habits result in slow memory, lack of focus, lethargy and sleepiness. Here are 10 diet changes to help your kids top exams.
11. Involve children in kitchen work. Let their imagination run wild as they discover new flavors. Reading out the recipe can help enrich their language skills. Getting children helping in the kitchen will help raise healthy eaters. It makes them feel self-satisfied and is also one of the best ways to encourage independence. Helping in the kitchen can also introduce them to early mathematic concepts like shapes, measurement, etc. The patience and effort put in preparing a meal, and the compliments that follow will create lasting memories that help develop their emotional skills.
12. Getting a good night's sleep is critical for children. Sleep helps our body renew its energy. It has positive effects on our emotions and memory. Sleep disruption has been linked to a wide range of behavioral, cognitive, and mood impairments, including hyperactivity, negative mood and depression[5]. Insufficient sleep has been associated with the impairment of school performance, especially academic achievement [6].
13. Keep your children physically active. Regular physical activity can not only make them physically fit but also boost their confidence and self-image. It aids in sound sleep and also reduces the risk of depression. Exercise helps sharpen their thinking, learning, memory, imaginative and judgment skills [7].
14. Introduce them to music and various musical instruments. Let them learn to play at least one musical instrument. Music encourages multi-sensory learning and can boost language, creative, emotional and thinking skills [8]. It is a great stress buster too. It can encourage memorizing as kids learn and imitate sounds. Remember how you first learned your alphabets? Find out can food make your child smarter and more intelligent.
15. Be their model. Children follow in their parents footsteps by modeling their behavior. Eat healthily and be physically active. Incorporate reading into your routine. Unleash the creative side in you. Listen to or make your own music. See new places and meet new people. It s time dads started helping out at home. While mothers influence the attitude of children towards gender role, fathers could play a role in occupational preferences of their daughters. According to a study, daughters who grew up in a home with a balanced division of household labor between parents expressed a greater interest in working outside the home and having a less stereotypical occupation [9]. Find out how bedtime stories can make your child smarter!
References:
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2. Beatson J, Taryan S. Predisposition to depression: the role of attachment. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2003 Apr;37(2):219-25. Review. Erratum in: Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2003 Aug;37(4):503. PubMed PMID: 12656963.
3. McEwen BS. Early life influences on life-long patterns of behavior and health. Ment Retard Dev Disabil Res Rev. 2003;9(3):149-54. Review. PubMed PMID: 12953293.
4. Repetti RL, Taylor SE, Seeman TE. Risky families: family social environments and the mental and physical health of offspring. Psychol Bull. 2002 Mar;128(2):330-66. Review. PubMed PMID: 11931522.
5. O'Brien LM. The neurocognitive effects of sleep disruption in children and adolescents. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2009 Oct;18(4):813-23. doi: 10.1016/j.chc.2009.04.008. Review. PubMed PMID: 19836689.
6. Li S, Arguelles L, Jiang F, Chen W, Jin X, Yan C, Tian Y, Hong X, Qian C, Zhang J, Wang X, Shen X. Sleep, school performance, and a school-based intervention among school-aged children: a sleep series study in China. PLoS One. 2013 Jul 10;8(7):e67928. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0067928. Print 2013. PubMed PMID: 23874468; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3707878.
7. Etnier J, Labban JD, Piepmeier A, Davis ME, Henning DA. Effects of an acute bout of exercise on memory in 6th grade children. Pediatr Exerc Sci. 2014 Aug;26(3):250-8. doi: 10.1123/pes.2013-0141. Epub 2014 Jul 15. PubMed PMID: 25050827.
8. Benz S, Sellaro R, Hommel B, Colzato LS. Music Makes the World Go Round: The Impact of Musical Training on Non-musical Cognitive Functions-A Review. Front Psychol. 2016 Jan 7;6:2023. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.02023. eCollection 2015. Review. PubMed PMID: 26779111; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4703819.
9. Croft A, Schmader T, Block K, Baron AS. The second shift reflected in the second generation: do parents' gender roles at home predict children's aspirations? Psychol Sci. 2014 Jul;25(7):1418-28. doi: 10.1177/0956797614533968. Epub 2014 Jun 2. PubMed PMID: 24890499.
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