Every child is unique. Some children are born with a high level of intelligence quotient (IQ), whereas some tend to develop it later in their lives. However, research has proved that parental influence can have a great impact on how intelligent they are.
Intelligence reflects the combination of abilities to process information that promotes learning, understanding, reasoning, and problem-solving skills.
A better indicator than IQ score is whether the child is curious, happy, and enjoys role-playing and learning.
Here are 12 ways to help improve the intelligence of your child.
12 ways to make a child intelligent
- Talk to them often
- Talking to your kids is key to getting those mental wheels turning.
- Keep asking kids open-ended questions that may help them develop opinions and a sense of self.
- Reading stories to the baby is a great way to promote their thinking.
- Teach kids to think through problems and solve them
- Do not dig into the problem and solve your children's issues. Instead, encourage them to focus on a single goal or problem and figure out how to achieve or solve it through their creative thinking.
- This will stimulate their brain and make them aware of their capabilities of working through obstacles on their own.
- Set expectations early
- Setting overarching goals for your children, such as graduating college or participating in extracurricular or volunteer activities, at a young age can make them likely to see those goals as important and achievable.
- Praise all efforts and their results
- Encourage them to accept life's inevitable failures and disappointments without getting discouraged or demotivated.
- Praise their efforts and hard work rather than their natural abilities or accomplishments.
- This can make kids more motivated and capable of moving forward when they encounter a skill that does not come easily to them.
- Encourage curiosity and let them explore
- Preschoolers are naturally curious, but that inclination can decrease as kids get older unless it is practiced and encouraged regularly.
- Initiate by engaging them in topics that are of personal interest to them, such as games or playing an instrument.
- Planning experiences, such as trips to museums, sporting events, or movies, will help you find mutual likes and inspire new discussions.
- Let books be their best friends
- Reading is a huge predictor of school success that stimulates the brain, builds a knowledge base about the world, and acts as the foundation of all future learning, including math and science.
- Make sure books are easily accessible in your home, be a role model for good reading habits by making sure your child sees you reading often, and talk to your kids about what to read to build conversational and reading-comprehension skills.
- Prefer books to ebooks because the light from ebooks can be damaging to the eye.
- Encourage exercise and physical activity
- Physical exercise makes your kid stronger and healthier physically and mentally, building brain cells and increasing blood flow to the brain.
- Be proactive
- Do not wait for new learning opportunities to present themselves to your children. Instead, seek out activities outside of the school that will help develop different mental muscles.
- Encourage active learning and the exchange of ideas.
- Create a loving and supportive home environment for a healthy and productive child.
- Stimulate with age-appropriate toys
- Before introducing the toy, analyze whether it is suitable for the child’s capabilities. The right ones will intrigue and stimulate them and be excellent educational tools.
- Make them eat brain-friendly foods
- Eating smarter for better brain health begins in the womb and continues thereafter. Make sure you follow the daily recommended allowance for vitamins and minerals in the child’s diet.
- Eggs, green leafy vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds are rich sources of vitamins and minerals necessary for your baby’s overall healthy development.
- Children need five to six servings of fruits and vegetables, five servings of whole grains, two to three servings of meat, fish, or poultry, and two to three servings of milk daily.
- Spend time with them
- Spending more quality time with your child can yield big, both in terms of parent-child bonding and enhanced mental growth.
- Do not force children to adopt your interests. Rather, allow activities, such as sports, music, or others that demand focused attention and discipline and stimulate mental development.
- Do not let them have too much screen time, which can lead to childhood obesity, irregular sleep patterns, and behavioral issues.
- Avoid being too strict or lenient
- Intelligence training is a lifelong pursuit; being an authoritative (equally disciplined and loving) parent is extremely essential for their success.
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Medically Reviewed on 5/26/2022
References
Image Source: iStock Image
Barclay L. What Makes Kids Intelligent. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/baby/features/what-makes-kids-intelligent
Stuart A. Can You Boost Your Child’s Intelligence? WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/features/can-you-boost-your-childs-intelligence
Aha! Parenting. How To Raise a Socially Intelligent Child. https://www.ahaparenting.com/guide/socially-intelligent
Barclay L. What Makes Kids Intelligent. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/baby/features/what-makes-kids-intelligent
Stuart A. Can You Boost Your Child’s Intelligence? WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/features/can-you-boost-your-childs-intelligence
Aha! Parenting. How To Raise a Socially Intelligent Child. https://www.ahaparenting.com/guide/socially-intelligent
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