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The Secret To Raising A Smart Child
“If you want your children to turn out well, spend twice as much time with them,and half as much money”
–Abigail Van Buren
Any parent wants their kid to be smart. So how develop or nourish the child into a intelligent person. New parents or old parents may know how or not, it depends on the parenting skills or methods to nourish the child,
According to Smart Parenting, we give you the methods or strategy to raising a smart child.
Listen Up
So how do you find out your child’s learning style? The only way to discover this is by keeping attuned to your child. Just talking to him can already go a long way in establishing his personal goals.
Children must be encouraged to express their dreams and desires, and who they admire most and why. And by all means, ask them that all-important question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
Spend quality time with your child. Aside from enriching that parent-child bond, it also allows you to do some detective work. Also, take seriously the questions that your child asks.
As soon as you have an idea of your kid’s interests, here are steps you can take to nurture his intelligence.
Encourage Exploration.
“Discover where your child is good at and start from there. If your child is good in sports, support him in this interest. Don’t discourage him from developing his interest just because you want your child to excel in a different field like mathematics, for example,” says Carlos.
When we support our child in his interests, we build his self-confidence. “By doing this, we eventually develop in our child the realization that he may also be good in other things,” adds Carlos.
Don’t Expect Too Much.
It is good to expect your child to do well in school -— like doing his assignments on time or learning to respect his teachers -— but do not expect him to come home with a 95 percent grade in every subject.
As a child, Mensa Philippines member Ramon Lorenzo remembers that his parents did not push him to be number one in his class. “Just being in the cream section was good enough for them. And I am very happy for that,” Ramon says.
No wonder Ramon went on to become one of the “winningest” quiz champions in the country, dominating Student Canteen’s IQ contests in the ’80s, and several other prestigious competitions onward.
“I can’t recall being pressured at all,” says Ramon, who is now a teacher, a sportswriter and a researcher. “Even in the TV quiz contests which I joined a hundred times, I felt very little pressure. I had so much confidence in me, and the fact that I really didn’t mind losing lessened the pressure, I guess.” So just keep goals reachable to avoid frustration and poor self-image on the part of your child.
Stay Well-Stocked.
It is very frustrating for a child to discover that he is out of paper or the markers are all dried up, just as he is beginning a project. Make materials available to help your child with his assignments.
“My parents supplied me with a lot of reading materials. At about six years old, I was looking at encyclopedia volumes, not actually reading them but just looking at the pictures. There I started to like reading and keeping facts and trivia in my mind,” recalls Ramon, who now as a parent is doing the same thing with his kids Monty and Kitkat: buying them books.
Develop Good Study Habits.
“Even at an early age, help your kid to come up with a daily schedule that includes study time, play time, hobby time, family time, etc. Doing this will help your child to manage time and develop self-discipline,” recommends Carlos.
Carlos also stresses that when you allow your child to make his own schedule, you are telling him that this is what he wants and therefore must be followed religiously.
Expose Your Child To Diverse Surroundings.
Help your child to understand that there’s an entire world outside home and school. Take him to a museum, to a concert, to a zoo or to a basketball game. Music, art, human culture and nature are stimuli that trigger further discovery and curiosity in children.
If you don’t have the time to take your kid to these places, “travel” with him by reading books or watching videos with him about such places and activities. But don’t forget that, just like in real-life adventures, your kid needs you to be his tourist guide while reading or watching.
Eat Right.
“A sound mind is a sound body,” believes Ramon. “We eat balanced meals all the time. I consider myself healthy and this gives me an advantage in learning. I try to do the same for my kids. I buy fruits from the supermarket weekly for us to partake during supper.”
Poor nutrition and skipped meals lead to exhaustion and weakness, which is not conducive to learning. “I firmly believe that feeding the stomach the right way will help feed the brain the right way too,” adds Ramon.
Know Who Teaches Them.
If it takes a village to raise a child, part of that village is the school. It is important to make sure that your child is getting the support he needs in school. Find out if the teachers and administrators are doing their roles appropriately.
When the teacher knows you, the teacher will have a better sense of your child’s needs.
Remember To Have Fun.
Research suggests that when children enjoy learning, retaining information is easier. Childhood is about discovery. As your child makes new discoveries about himself and his world, put those discoveries in context.
“Provide your kids with rich learning experiences by exposing them to different challenges and first-hand learning,” says Labayen.
“Allow your children to be happy learners,” says Carlos. Your kid’s learning is your responsibility as a parent. Time and loving attention have always been, and will always be, what gives our kids the edge.