Are you ready to raise a smart child?

As parents and educators we all want the children in our care to rise to above average and achieve the upper limit on the intelligence bell curve. We need to understand and be able to differentiate the two major perceptions about the BRAIN.

Firstly, the brain is a muscle. And like any other muscle in the body, it need exercise, good diet, lots of rest, basically, to be fit. Secondly, the brain has the executive functions that allow us to communicate, focus, take perspective, memorise / recall, think critically and learn.

Before you proceed to understand any of this, you need to understand if you are ready to raise smart kids. Use these questions below to gauge your knowledge on the meaning of intelligence and your readiness for raising it.

1. I understand that effort is as important as genes in determining IQ.                Yes                 No 

2. I realise that the way I praise the child has an impact on their IQ.                   Yes                 No 

3. I know that talking to my child and including them in adult 
   conversation is important.                                                                                  Yes                 No 

4. I realise how important it is to steer my child to stimulating
    after school activities                                                                                         Yes                 No 

5. I know how important physical exercise is for intelligence                              Yes                 No 

6. I realise that it is more important for my child to wrestle with 
    challenging classes than to just get good grades.                                              Yes                 No 

7. I know how important memory and attention are.                                            Yes                 No 

8. I know SELF discipline is even more important that IQ when it
    comes to success.                                                                                               Yes                 No 

9. I understand teachers and schools do make a difference.                                  Yes                 No 

10. I try to avoid telling my children how smart they are.                                     Yes                 No 

The more YES answers to the questions above, the more likely you are to foster intelligence in the child.

The above questions are an excerpt from the wonderful book 'Smart Parenting, Smarter Kids' by David Walsh. I would definitely recommend a read!