Most people say that you need to be smart to be successful, that is why many parents raise their kids to be smart. They send them to the best schools, buy them the latest educational toys, send them to tutorial sessions, attend music lessons and more. But do these activities really make our kids smart?
There are many books like Brain Rules for Babies and Nurture Shock that give new insights on how to raise smart kids based on science. The authors look into new findings based on research and the results can be shocking. Some of the things that parents think will make their kids smart actually doesn’t make them smart. In fact, it can even be the other way around.
Here are 8 proven tips to raise smart kids based on science.
1. Let kids learn a musical instrument. A research with a group of 6 year old children has shown that music lessons can increase a child’s IQ. Learning to play an instrument involves a lot of mental skills. Kids need to read lyrics, decode musical notes, memorize and find patterns while coordinating their fingers or body movements.
2. Read together. A research from Canadian Psychology encourages parents to read to their children frequently to improve the child’s literacy development. Experts further advice parents to be explicit in showing the printed letters and words. This helps the child recognize how a combination of letters make a sound, and how a combination of sounds form a word.
3. Develop the Growth Mindset. Avoid the notion that intelligence or a skill is fixed. Either you have it, or you don’t. That’s the “Fixed Mindset”. Instead, impart to the child a “Growth Mindset”, which encourages a focus on “process” rather than on intelligence or talent. Children with a Growth Mindset are more resilient and view setbacks as challenges and opportunities to grow.
4. Stop saying “Good Job” to your kids. Instead, praise your child based on effort, not on intelligence. Here’s why. Read also how to praise your kids effectively.
5. No TV for kids 2 years and below. This includes watching education shows. In the book Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five, author John Medina explains “The products didn’t work at all. They had no positive effect on the vocabularies of the target audience, infants 17-24 months. Some did actual harm. For every hour per day the children spent watching certain baby DVD’s and videos, the infants understood an average of six to eight fewer words than infants who did not watch them.”
6. Delay Gratification. Remember the marshmallow test? The kids who were willing to delay gratification and waited to receive the second marshmallow ended up having greater academic competence and higher SAT scores, healthier weight, effective coping with stress and frustration, social responsibility and positive relations with peers.
7. Make time for free play – Kids need to play too. The United Nations even recognizes play as a basic right of a child. According to an article in the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Play is important to healthy brain development.4–6 It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact in the world around them. Play allows children to create and explore a world they can master, conquering their fears while practicing adult roles.” Construction play in particular has shown to build problem-solving and mathematical skills. Read more about the Benefits of Playing Toy Blocks.
8. Involve them in chores – A research by Dr. Martin Rossman showed that kids who began helping in household chores as early as three or four were more likely to complete their education, met career goals, and maintained better relationships with their family and friends.
A word of caution. Being smart is not just about being intelligence or having a high IQ. There are other aspects in raising a successful child aside from getting good grades and memorizing the Periodic Table of Elements.
