Baby Einstein: How To Enhance Your Child’s IQ

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By Mia Bolaris-Forget

From eating the healthiest foods, to maintaining a healthy workout regimen, designer sheets, outfits, and the most mod-crib to welcome your new family member into your “crib” you’re doing everything possible to give junior/juniorette the competitive edge. Part of that competitive edge is saving for their future, education and the ability to sustain a healthy earning potential, which means giving them a healthy learning potential.

While genetics “do” play a certain role you can’t necessarily control, much of your child’s intellect can actually be influenced…and Congratulations, it’s all up to you. According to professionals, the way you care for and nurture your child can determine his/her intelligence and their capacity to learn. They note that love, attention and affectionately nurturing your child are essential for peak performance and intelligence. Experts also emphasize the imperative importance of engrossing your child in thought-provoking and intellectually stimulating activities that are also fun and rewarding.

1. Be A Chatty Cathy: Okay ladies, for you’ve finally got a captive audience for all you have to say and all the words of wisdom you have to impart. While it’s imperative that you choose your words carefully, it’s equally as important that you continually “communicate” with your child. Studies show that there is a correlation between the amount of words a child is exposed to and his or her verbal affinity. The more you speak, the more you are heard, literally, and the greater grasp of the language your child will receive. Experts advise keeping subjects simple; because children tend to think in concrete terms, so engage him or her in a “conversation” about toys, possessions, etc. They also stress using various terminologies to increase his or her understanding and vocabulary and elaborating on his or her thoughts when he or she tries to communicate with you…and doing so in full, comprehensible sentences.

2. Tell Them A Story: To me more accurate, read them a story. Designate some time together to read books, poems, or short stories. This not only helps get your child’s curiosity and creative juices and imagination flowing, it also familiarizes them with the looks of words and sounds of letters (especially if you make it a point to point them out), and it fosters a bond between both of you. Experts also note, that it’s important that stories contain lots of colorful pictures to keep your child intrigued and interested and to help him/her visualize things.

3. Offer A Helping Hand: Teach you child some basic sign language to help him or her communicate non-verbally. Not only will you be teaching your child a valuable skill, but according to research, children with an affinity for sign language, also showed increased intellectual ability.

4. Keep Them Abreast Of Things: You may want to consider breast-feeding. Besides being healthy for both mother and child, studies show that children who were breastfed had a tendency to outperform their peers. Additionally, the longer children were breastfed (up to a year) the better their intellectual development.

Iron fortified formulas are recommended for mothers who aren’t breastfeeding, with tests revealing that an iron deficiency in children contributed to lower performance than their peers on cognitive and motor tests in their teens.

5. Don’t Always Be So Amusing: Contrary to popular belief, infants and children don’t need constant attention and adults doting over them 24/7/365. Professionals point out that by YOU being or providing your child’s main source of amusement or entertainment you are actually stifling their ability to think on their own, amuse themselves, concentrate and/or focus. They suggest, keeping an eye on but walking away from your child, even removing some of their toys and requiring them to use their mind and imagination for entertainment. By increasing their ability to concentrate, you are also helping them cultivate essential skills necessary for exemplary scholastic performance.

6. Embrace Your Child’s Development: Literally. Experts note that literally embracing your child, snuggling up with him or her and showing love and compassion and conveying to your child that you are there to encourage and meet his or her needs has very positive effects including, giving your child the curiosity and desire to explore and take chances and “risks” of his or her own. Experts emphasize that children who have security at home are not as “threatened” by risks. They also not that children who are nurtured and spoken to and cuddled with are eager to learn to speak and cuddle and return the “favor”, hence jumpstarting their intellectual and interactive development.

These easy to follow procedures can often be classified as simply good sense teaching tactics, showing parents, that helping your child be a bit brainy can be more of a “no brainer” than you might have thought.