How to Raise Smart Children

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A child's brain growth comes from experience and the exercise the brain receives. Sight, sound, touch, taste and smell stimulate the brain's cell connections (called synapses) and create trillions more. The more complex these interconnections, the smarter your child will be. When you provide your child with early stimulation and a wide range of experiences, you can accelerate his brain development.

Steps

1. Interact with your child.
Scientists have observed that babies who were not cuddled, played with and loved have stunted brain growth. They also observed that babies who were not held and did not receive attention failed to grow, became depressed, and eventually died. On the other hand, many studies have shown that hugging, interacting and playing with your child has a strong effect on developing his intelligence. The loving connection formed between you and your child and your one-on-one interaction with him provide the foundation for his higher thinking skills.

2. Talk to your child.
Also, listen to your child when he’s talking. This reinforces his effort to communicate and develops his facility for language. You may also read books to your child. Start reading to him even if he does not understand the words. This gives him a head start in developing language skills. Children who are read to when young are more likely to develop a lifelong interest in reading, do well in school, and succeed in adult life. Reading books is one of the most important activities that make children smart.

3. Let your child play
When your child plays, he is creating the foundation for his intellectual, social, physical and emotional skills. When he plays with other children, he learns to combine ideas, impressions and feelings with others.

4. Encourage your child to exercise
Physical exercise does not only make your child strong, but it also makes your child smart! Exercise increases the flow of blood to the brain and builds new brain cells. Exercise is good for adults' mental sharpness, but it has a more long-lasting effect on your child's developing brain.

5. Make music a part of your child’s life
Studies have shown that listening to music can boost memory, attention, motivation and learning. It can also lower stress that is destructive to your child's brain. Learning to play a musical instrument has an effect on the brain’s proportional thinking and spatial temporal reasoning that lay the foundation for abstract math. If possible, start with the piano. After learning to read music and play up to 10 notes at a time, it will be much easier for them to learn any of the other instruments. But starting them with music young--no matter what the instrument--is the important thing.

6. Let your child witness you doing smart things
Children learn by modeling adult’s behavior. If he sees you engaged in reading books, writing, making music, or doing creative things, he will imitate you, and in the process make himself smart.

7. Let your child play smart computer games
The best computer games teach your child about letters, math, music, phonics and many others. It also develops his hand-eye coordination and prepares him for tomorrow’s technology. More importantly, he learns these while he plays. Learning and having fun at the same time is the best way for your child to learn.

8. Feed your child properly
Giving the right food is important to raise a smart child. A protein-rich diet (egg, fish, meat, beans, peanuts, etc.) improves his attention, alertness, and thinking. Carbohydrates give his brain the fuel that is used in thinking. The best ones are those that come from whole grain and fruits. Processed carbohydrates and sugar have bad effects on attention span, focusing ability, and activity level. Vitamins and minerals are also important.

Warnings
If your child just does not understand something, do not make him/her feel stupid. Always try to motivate your child to learn, because as he/she gets into the higher grades, just being "smart" isn't as helpful.

Sources and Citations
More detailed articles on raising smart children can be found here: *Raise Smart Kid - A parent's guide on how to raise smart, bright and intelligent children and a resource for educational toys, gifts and other learning materials.

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