These 20 Things Will Make Your Kids Smarter

Raising smart kids is really hard work. It is all about developing their potential, making them all that they can be. Knowing that your kid’s genes are raw materials that you can mold and doing these 20 things will make your kids smarter.

Well, doing that work wholeheartedly is certainly demanding, the rewards are priceless too. You earn a closer relationship and a better understanding of your children. Better yet, you are able to nurture their intelligence, expand their horizons, and increase your kids’ odds of being the smartest in the city.

Teach them social skills.

Social skills do not only shape the kind of person your child will become. They are absolutely connected to your child’s smartness. Simple skills like teaching your kids how to resolve issues with friends, control their emotions, be empathetic, share their belongings, listen without interrupting, using manners and respecting personal space are a great place to start. Without these, really smart people can be scary. But don’t rush things. Start small they will get better.

Don’t overprotect.

It’s better to allow your kids to solve problems than rushing into fixing them. Like for example; If your son receives a traffic ticket, it might be best to let him pay the fine by himself. If your daughter fails a test, it may be a good idea not to intervene and demand that the teacher raise the grade. That should be a wake-up call to her so that next time she will do better. If your son experiences a romance breakup, don’t throw the blame on the other person. Yes, comfort him—but at the appropriate time help him reflect on how that experience revealed ways in which he needs to grow.

Newsflash: This isn’t easy at all. It’s natural for parents to want to protect their children but they need to walk a fine line between protecting children and letting them tackle problems in order to learn from them. Research proves that children who work through their problems, build resilience and self-confidence—assets they might lack if someone was constantly rescuing them.

Regulate your child’s television watching.

Television watching is not necessarily a bad thing for children. Yet, again it presents several problems for parents who want to take a proactive stance in raising smart kids. Worse still, it can shape kids’ brains to have a too-short attention span. So to raise your kids smart, you’ll need to use your proper imagination, and set boundaries for that. Yes, you can’t limit the watching completely, but at least treat it as a treat, not a right. When watching make sure that your kids watch shows appropriate for them -actually shows that stimulate their brains. If possible, limit the screen-time to two hours a day.

Don’t Overpraise

Some parents have been unduly influenced by the self-esteem movement that has become popular recently. It said: If a little praise is good for kids, a lot of praise is better. Many fathers and mothers thus made it a culture to praise their children, even when those children did nothing particularly praiseworthy. Every single accomplishment, no matter how small, was celebrated. In fact, Making children feel good about themselves became more important than teaching them to accomplish things that they could actually feel good about.

Well, praise is appropriate when it is deserved. However, praising children simply to make them feel good is not a good path to take. So, don’t spend too much time praising intelligence or looks. Never praise your child with statements like “Wow, you got an A without even studying? You are so smart!” -it can actually lead to underperformance. As an alternative, offer praise that focuses on the effort he expends to achieve something or overcome problems and challenges.

Another helpful point: Don’t fail to correct your children thinking they will feel bad about themselves. You won’t kill them by doing so. Make it your goal to give correction when it is needed and commendation when it is genuinely deserved.

Create a peaceful, loving setting

Children with parents that get along tend to be sharp-minded and smarter than children in families with conflicts. Creating a loving, supportive environment for your kids will make them healthy, productive, and smarter.

Be authoritative

Some parents are too hard -Authoritarian, Others are too soft -permissive. Who do you think is the best? Obviously none. Authoritative parents are just right. They are not too hard or too soft -So should you. And if you are wondering why…It’s because when kids model their authoritative parents, they learn emotion regulation skills and social understanding that are critical for smartness.

Read with your kids

If your little one is learning to read, don’t let them just stare at the pictures in a book while you do all the reading. Call attention to the words. Read with him, not to him -It helps build his reading skills thus planting that smart seed.

Create a smart Peer Group

Peer groups do have an enormous effect on kids’. Well, we talk about peer pressure when it’s negative but more often than not, it’s positive -It may push kids to do well in school, not to act childish, be hygienic, and even be athletic. Yes, living in a nice neighborhood, going to solid schools, and hanging out with good kids can make a huge difference.

It’s smart to enroll your child in the best school possible and for classes that will challenge him as well. This will help your child stimulate his thirst for knowledge, thus growing smarter. If he is a college student, make him pick a smart roommate and advise him to hang out with friends who are good influences – Remember that as your children grow, they are prone to listening more and more to their peers than to you.

Do Smart Stuff

Kids pick up habits by learning from adults. Especially as a parent, your kids pick up on all sorts of things, from your own actions. As in…if they see you engaged in reading, playing the piano, or doing anything creative, they will imitate you. Do smart things and give them a chance to become smarter by imitating you.

Talking about actions, we can’t ignore the power of words too. When speaking to your kids or around them, emphasize praise for hard work rather than on the end result -The opposite will send a message that will create a fixed mindset depriving your child of smartness.Be thoughtful when buying toys
Yes, you ought to put thought into the toys you purchase for your kids making sure they are mentally stimulus. You can choose toys and games that promote problem-solving, those that allow your child to express creativity or have educational and intellectual values.Children are different-you know this better. And different children use different toys -your best judgment.

Reinforce your kids’ interest.

An important element of raising smart kids is nurturing their interests. Your kids will show different interests. So, you should nurture these and promote the uniqueness of each. If your kid demonstrates an interest in history, take them to a historic site and if he demonstrates an interest in environmental science, buy the books that he is interested in…so forth.

Expose them to new things.

Though you should nurture your child’s interest you should not limit him to that. He does not have to fit into any sort of mold and can adopt different ideas in order to fashion their own unique identity. So, you would do better to challenge his or her interests. Go out of your way to introduce your child to different ideas, new things and cultures you think he might like.

Talk to your kids.

Talk to your child regularly. This way, you’ll learn about him and you’ll be able to determine how he is progressing intellectually over time. When your kid asks you something, turn it into a conversation rather than just quickly answering him. Ask questions just to see how he responds. Make sure you listen carefully when he is replying. Remember, though, there is no right answer. Your goal should be just to engage. For more tips for how to talk to your kids (Insert ‘’How to talk to your children’’ link)

Introduce them to the real world.

Use every opportunity that comes your way to explain how things work in the real world. This is a critical part of how children learn to understand the world hence growing smarter. When your child is still young, explain basic and simple things. Gradually introduce more complex topics as he gets older.

Communicate with teachers.

Communicating with your kids’ teachers will help ensure that your child is getting the attention he needs and is being challenged to a level that will stimulate smartness. They can give you knowledge about readings and extracurricular activities your child can do outside of school to develop into a better-rounded person

Encourage critical thinking

Teach them not to blindly obey without reasoning and questioning. You can do this by explaining the limits and rules you set for them and allowing them to politely question for clarification.

Teach your child to try harder

Engage with them in hard things like making a harder climb. This builds your child’s spirit and strengthens his confidence. In the future, he will know how to have the courage to read a more difficult book, perform in front of people, and work on more complex projects in the future. Do a great job teaching this as early as possible.

Teach them a second language.

Learning a second language is found to boost kids’ brain function. Looking for a child-appropriate foreign language program or taking him to a good bilingual school. Having a bilingual caregiver would be more of a help in this regard.

Do get your kids involved in academics early

Your kid’s brain growth is dynamic. It does not standstill. It is either improving or degenerating. When a child’s abilities are being used, brain growth progresses. But when they are not, the brain growth regresses. In this regard, It is best to start teaching basic things to your kid at an early age and go on improving as he grows. Otherwise, your Smart-meant -to-be-child has more to lose.

Do assign chores

Chores are beneficial for childhood development. Performing those small tasks like cleaning the house, cooking and laundry can prepare him to grow into a smart and productive team player. Don’t’ unsign chore because of homework -Let them Juggle schoolwork, house chores, and their social lives so that they can learn to set priorities and time management as well -the must-posses-skills for everyone on the quest for smartness.

Smartness does not come automatically with age. It comes from experience and continuous practices. Do your best to stimulate your kid’s brain. The more the stimulation, the smarter your kid will be. Focus on behaviors that foster a developing mind instead of praising a child’s talent. Your kids need proper nourishment to grow up strong and healthy-their minds too. So, do this at an early age and continue as they grow-you will be surprised by how smarter they can be.