To make your child smart and intelligent, you need to make sure you nurture their brains at an early stage in life. Brain development is a crucial time for children, and the foundation you lay down in their minds at a young age, will affect them for the rest of their lives.
You might argue: “my Child is not Smart”, there is hope for you. If a child’s foundation at a young age is strong, they will perform better in school and are more likely to be creative and innovative thinkers who can empathize with others.
Teaching your kids to be brainy means helping them have a healthy active body and mind at the same time.
Your kid’s brain is still in the most plastic period of his or her life.
A child’s brain is more like a sponge than an adult’s. It is easily influenced and formed by what you do. The earlier you teach kids good habits, the more they will reflect those habits in their adulthood.
“The brain is very different at different stages of childhood,” says John Hutton, MD, PhD, a pediatrician and researcher at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. “There are certain windows of opportunity we may miss if we don’t take advantage of them in the early stages.”
For example, infants and toddlers can learn to speak more than one language with ease. “It doesn’t mean they won’t be able to do it later,” he says. “But it’s easier for them now.”
The more your child learns, the better his or her brain becomes at learning.
And that’s just the beginning. Pediatricians say there are plenty of ways you can help your child develop both intelligence and social skills from birth through age 5 — a time when kids change and grow so fast, that it can seem overwhelming.
Your kid’s brain is still in its most plastic period of his or her life. This means it is growing, and most importantly, changing. The brain is not just a single organ that does the same thing all the time; it is actually a collection of different parts that work together to handle different tasks.
Learning requires effort, and kids need to be motivated to learn.
These tasks are called functions, and they are carried out by specialized areas of the brain. The way these areas communicate with each other determines how we think and behave. The more you know about these different areas and functions, the more you’ll understand your kid’s brain
Focus on building a strong foundation.
The brain develops fastest in the first few years of life, and learning during this period lays the foundation for future learning. In fact, most of a child’s brain is formed by age 5.
“This is why the early years are critical to laying down foundations for learning and development,” says Dr. Thomas Anders, a clinical psychologist and founder of Family First Psychological Services in Reston, Virginia. “It’s like laying down concrete — once it dries, it’s hard to change.”
Early Child education is like laying concrete, once it dries, it is hard to change
Anders says that parents can help their children build a strong foundation by being warm and nurturing and engaging with their kids by reading to them and talking about things they see together outside.
There are a number of ways to build a strong foundation for your child.
Stick to routines. Establishing a routine for your children early on helps build their internal clock, which will have a positive effect on their learning and brain development. Routines can be especially important for children with ADHD, who may have trouble with time management and organization.
Avoid turning education into a chore.
Healthy meals. Here’s another reason to introduce healthy eating habits at an early age: A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fish can help improve brain function and memory. Also, make sure your child gets plenty of sleep!
Breastfeeding: Studies have shown that breastfed children have better cognitive development than those who were not breastfed. Breast milk is important in the development of the brain and nervous system. It contains all the nutrients a baby needs to grow, and it also has antibodies that boost their immune system.
Include physical activity in your child’s daily routine
The ability to learn is the most important factor in your child’s learning journey because it allows them to continue their education on their own. Your child will develop problem-solving skills and gain confidence as they learn how to learn new things. Once they have mastered this, they will be more likely to take risks, try new things and take charge of their own learning process.
Encourage their curiosity by showing them how things work.
To help your kids develop Brainy powers, the first step is to nurture their curiosity. Every child is born with innate curiosity, but very young children are especially prone to asking “why” questions (a behaviour that most parents know can drive them crazy). Encourage this by continuing their education throughout the day.
Games require strategy and planning, which helps develop critical thinking skills.
When they ask why the sun comes up and goes down, don’t just tell them what happens — explain it. If you’re not sure of the answer, find out together. Sometimes life provides a teachable moment: when we were shopping for a new car recently, one of my children asked me why there were so many different models and sizes available. This gave me an opportunity to talk about different types of engines and how they work, as well as steering mechanisms and other features that affect how a car handles.
Children are naturally curious. They’re always asking questions, and they want to learn how everything works. But as they get older, it can be harder to keep their interest in learning — especially when they’re at school all day and then come home to hours of homework.
Games encourage math skills by helping players calculate points and strategies.
Learning how things work is a great way for kids to get a better grasp of the world around them. Explain why the sky is blue and not brown! This will help them understand the world better.
The most important thing to remember is that the brain is a muscle—it has the capacity to grow and develop, but only if it is given the right tools. As parents, we are given an almost unprecedented opportunity to help shape our children’s futures. So what kind of brains will you be building?