3 Keys To Boosting Children’s Intelligence – Being Parents
During the first years of a child’s life, their cognitive development takes place very quickly. Through the interaction with his environment, he acquires the faculties to understand it and to live there. This process occurs naturally and gradually; however, there are many things adults can do to boost children’s intelligence.
If children do not grow up in rich and stimulating environments, they will fail to develop to their full potential. For example, there have been cases of children who were deprived of socialization during their first years of life and this profoundly affected many of their capacities.
However, to stimulate children’s intelligence, we must tell ourselves that it encompasses several different areas. In general, we tend to associate intelligence with linguistic or mathematical ability. Or even the grades the little ones get at school.
However, this is a much broader concept. As the theory of multiple intelligences points out, aspects like music, body movement or social relationships need to be strengthened just as much. So here are some keys that will help you get there.
How to stimulate the intelligence of children?
Healthy living habits
As a first step, we must be interested in the physical sphere of the child because, even if we try to stimulate him at the cognitive level, these two aspects are closely linked. It is therefore important to watch his habits and make sure that he follows a healthy lifestyle. We should mainly focus on three points:
- Sufficient, quality rest is essential for children to memorize what they have learned and recover the energy consumed during the day. If they do not get enough sleep or if their sleep is interrupted frequently, these important brain functions cannot take place. In addition, the next day, the child will be unable to function properly, whether at school or during other activities.
- Food is also of great importance in the development of intelligence. Indeed, it is she who provides the nutrients necessary for the brain of children. For this, it is essential that they maintain a varied and balanced diet, rich in fruits and vegetables, and that they avoid sugars and processed foods. At least as much as possible.
- In addition, it is necessary that the little ones get used to performing regular physical exercise in their daily life. Sport helps to oxygenate the body and strengthens bodily, social (especially if it is a team sport) and musical intelligence (in the case of activities such as dancing).
New experiences
When it comes to stimulating intelligence, there is no worse enemy than routine. Therefore, try to provide varied experiences for your children. They can be of different natures: visiting museums, walking in nature, reading different books or participating in activities with other children. Any experience that is out of the ordinary will nourish and enrich their minds in a significant way.
The child will gain new knowledge from these experiences and he will also see how his curiosity is awakened and his social skills expand. A variety of people, environments and activities are the best ingredients to keep your mind energized. There is no need for extraordinary events. Introducing small variations into the daily routine may be enough.
Challenges
Finally, to boost children’s intelligence, we need to help them stay mentally active. To do this, we can offer them different challenges that motivate them to test things and develop their skills.
Homework already partly fulfills this mission, but at home we can also help by offering children the opportunity to participate in the development of simple recipes, manual activities or board games.
Boost intelligence on a daily basis
As you can see, intelligence can be boosted on a daily basis through everyday tasks. There is no need to resort to complex activities or long workouts. In fact, it is the daily experiences that feed the intelligence of children the most.
It is important not to limit ourselves to strengthening the logical and cognitive skills of children because other intelligence is just as valuable. They will also be very useful to them. Luckily, with the majority of activities, we manage to tackle many of these facets of intelligence.