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Three Simple Ways To Boost A Child’s Intelligence

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From trying to grab stuff in their little hands to solving mathematical problems in class, a child’s intelligence determines how good or bad they will do once they grow up. Many of us might disagree, but if we take a look at the multiple researches, there seems to be a correlation between the two.

If it is true, wouldn’t you want your child to be among those with a higher IQ level? But before we unravel the different techniques to boost a child’s IQ level, let’s talk about how a child’s brain develops over time.

How a child’s Brain Develops

Did you know that a child’s brain starts developing while still in the womb? By the start of the fourth week, three of the major regions of the brain are already developed, and by the end of the fourth week, it even starts functioning.

Once the infant is born and on till the age of four, the brain continues to develop explosively. Before your child even starts kindergarten, 90% of a child’s brain is already adult-size. This is the reason why medical experts term this period as the ideal opportunity window for learning. This isn’t the end of the brain growth – it keeps on growing until we are adults.

Can You Really Increase a Child’s Intelligence Quotient?

The many IQ tests in Australia to qualify for a Mensa membership test a child’s ability in seven different categories that include memory, math, language, spatial, information, fine-motor skills, and thinking. One key thing to note here is that none of these skills are inborn, which means that every child has an equal chance to do better in them. So how can a parent help their toddlers become the smartest of the lot? Here are our five best picks.

  • Talking: From an early age, be as talkative in front of the child as possible. Research shows that kids who grow up in high-language households have a 38 points higher IQ than those who don’t. This means that talking to your kid about anything and everything builds his/her language skills, making them more inquisitive about the things around them.

  • Reading: When a child starts kindergarten, it is expected of them to differentiate colours, know shapes, tell apart different animals, fruits etc. The best exposure for such knowledge is via books. Books with lots of colourful images and sounds are more likely to be remembered than the ones with just words. When a child already knows of all the things in the book, they are already a step ahead of those who don’t have access to them.

 

  • Give them the right toys to play with: Toys and intelligence go hand in hand. Toys like Legos, puzzles, blocks and colouring books etc. are not only entertaining but also improve a child’s spatial skills.  An improvement in spatial skills means the child will master the capacity to differentiate, find, reason, and recognize different things.

  • Challenging their memory: Once you are done reading the child bedtime story, ask him/her to tell the story back in his/her words.  See if he/she is able to recall the little details. Once can also encourage them to recreate puzzles after they see you making them. Such simple practices will help in the development of their visual and verbal memory.