Raising Smarter Kids – How can Mommies Help?

We see book-smart kids and street-smart kids; we see children who are quiet but understand everything, and kids whose hands shot out whenever the teacher asks a question. We see kids who are interested in science and math, and children interested in music and colors. You can’t really call some of them “smart” and not the others because every child is different. The truth is: all these children are “smart” in their own ways. 

However, it is also possible to raise children who are “smarter” than others, i.e. so that they acquire a special kind of intelligence that not all children possess. 

How Can We Make Our Children Smarter? 

According to science, intelligence is 80% heredity and 20% nurture. Still, it is possible to help a child develop what potential they have so that they can reach the peak of their intelligence. 

Human brains only grow in size with age, but it develops with experience and knowledge. A brain that is not exercised properly – even at infancy – doesn’t just stand still, it degenerates; on the other hand, when your child’s brain is stimulated, it expands and accelerates. 

It is, therefore, possible to help children become smarter, especially by their parents. 

Here’s how you can help. 

• Begin Early. You might think your baby is too young to understand any kind of stimulations, but actually, it is never too early to start! In fact, researchers advise parents to “start in the crib”. Even when kids aren’t old enough to sit up by themselves, it is important to keep their brains stimulated and active. Talking to a baby, singing to them, gesturing to get their attention, dangling bright colors in front of them – all these can help a baby learn from their early infancy. 

• Read to Them. Long before children actually understand the words or the meaning, parents are advised to read to them. Parents can read from a children’s book, their own book, newspapers or from any other source – the source isn’t important when the child is young. However, the whole act of reading to your children makes them interested in reading, too, and will later help them do well in school. 

• Talk to Your Children. Just like reading, talking to kids also help. They may not know what you are saying, but hearing you talk develops their language skill. In fact, children who are more talked to or experience more human interactions around them grow up with better brain activity than babies who were left to play on their own. It’s much more helpful for children’s growth when their family members talk to them, ask them questions and engages them in conversations. 

• Introduce them to Sound. Sound attracts children earlier than any other kind of stimulation, and can be introduced even before they are born. A lot of pregnancy books advise expecting mothers to start playing classical music because the baby enjoys them while still in the womb. Even fussy and colicky infants can be soothed when soft music is played around them. Besides, the right kind of music stimulates babies’ brains both when they are awake and when they are sleeping. 

• Talk About Everything. There are some differences between talking to your kids when they are young, and talking about everything with them when they are older. The latter includes discussing everything from the cartoon they are watching on television to how the washing machine works, from why you can’t put too much spice in your food to how the neighbor’s dog is behaving. Discussing everything with children is how they learn to express their feelings, but also to think thoroughly about everything around them. 

• Schedule Exercise. Exercising is just as important for your children’s brain as reading or thinking. In fact, it has been proved that exercising can increase your kids’ ability to learn faster, better and earlier. It is simply a myth that children are either “brainy” or “athletic” because it is extremely important to balance both. Exercising for children, fortunately, doesn’t require more than simply running around with their friends or siblings, playing with pets, or even playing a game of tag – things that mothers can easily arrange every day. 

• Control Sleep Deprivation. This is something that can make your kids more inactive and slow than anything else possible. It is crucial for mothers to make sure children get enough sleep every day, which includes a full night’s sleep and an afternoon nap. Children usually stop needing naps after they are 5 years old, but before that, naps are very important for them to be active and playful.

• Try for Music Lessons. Not a lot of parents think of music as an important part of their lives or a mainstream subject but actually, children involved with music show a higher IQ level than others. Although the difference isn’t a lot, association with music has been known to do better in their academic life and in their adult life. Even if your children aren’t interested in playing an instrument or singing, music should be a part of your lives, even if it means mothers have to continuously play music in their house. 

• Buy them Interactive Toys. All toys might look pretty and attractive, but not all of them are beneficial. Ideally, children should play with interactive and role-playing toys, i.e. toys that increase their cognitive, social, language and motor skills. Puzzles, building blocks, musical toys, moving toys, cooking sets, doctor and mechanical sets, dolls – these are all toys that can teach your kids important life lessons. 

• Discipline Them. Even if your kid is a “gifted child”, a “prodigy” or even a “genius”, they need to be disciplined. A child who isn’t disciplined or who doesn’t have routine in their lives will not be able to properly use their intelligence. Mothers, therefore, needs to assign strict bedtime, healthy diet, screen time and physical exercise for their kids. 

Discipline also means that your children know the correct rules to function in society, make friends and be respectful of others. Without the correct lifestyle or social skills, even extremely intelligent children will have trouble fitting in everywhere. 

It is the parents, especially the mother, of any child who can make sure their children get the best start in life and that they can reach the pinnacle of their intelligence, by simply making a few small changes to their lifestyle.