15 Helpful Parenting Tips For Raising A Smart Kid

It is every parent’s dream to know the ways to raise a smart kid. They wish their child to perform well in academics, learn good communications skills, and earn a fine job. But how to achieve all these? Does it require you to devote most of your time to make a child smarter? Speaking of which, is there a standard method to raise a smart child?

We have listed 15 ways to raise a smart child in this post. These tips are research-backed, unconventional, and help a child grow to their full potential.

While on the topic, please remember each child is unique in their way and learns things at their own pace. Give the above tips a try while understanding your child’s comfort level, temperament, and qualities without any judgment or comparison playing a role.

15 Ways To Raise A Smart Kid

1. Focus on the process rather than the result

A report published in Scientific American suggests that emphasizing the process of gaining knowledge and not on intelligence or ability is key to raising smart children (1).

The study found that children who are often told by their parents and teachers that they are smart and intelligent stagnated in their growth compared to children who developed through constant hard work, determination, and focus.

Do not praise the child for the result. Instead, appreciate their effort. It is imperative you make your child understand that success also includes overcoming defeats and difficulties.

2. Read aloud to your children

Often, parents buy expensive toys and gadgets to make sure their children learn quickly while all they need is a very simple activity that can do wonders; reading aloud. Research indicates that it helps children develop language and literacy skills (2). It is a practice that requires just 15-20 minutes of your time, and you could start it even before your child starts attending school.

Also, when you read aloud, your child gets to hear new words, thus improving their vocabulary.

3. Make them feel bored

It is impossible to keep ourselves engaged and entertained all the time. This is even more true for children. A flickering attention span could add to the parents’ woes. Boredom, a broad term that explains the feeling of immediate disinterest in activities, is often considered a negative thing. However, boredom can do wonders and spark your children’s creativity (3) (4).

You needn’t be weighed down by the idea of having to keep your children engaged at all times. Allow them to get bored, and only then will they find a way to spend their time productively.

4. Provide a stress-free, healthy environment

It is crucial that a child feels secure in their environment. Stress of any kind can lead to impairments in learning and memory. Often, when parents put a lot of stress on the child to perform better or when the relationship between people at home is not very promising, it can adversely affect the child. The happier and safer children feel, the better they behave and learn (5) (6).

5. Be attached to your child

Studies have established a link between the IQ scores of children and how deeply attached they are to their parents (7).

Research also indicates that close attachment with parents is critical to children’s emotional and social development (8). Therefore, it is crucial that you listen to your child, make eye contact, and modulate the tone of your voice, etc., to build a secure attachment with your child.

6. Attune your child’s ears to music

Music touches the soul and refreshes the mind. It also makes the brain sharper and smarter. An increasing number of studies have proven that music has a direct connection with how smart your child grows up to be. Music can have a very positive effect on the developing brains of young children.

Studies show that listening to music boosts attention and lowers stress levels. It also acts as a great motivator, facilitating better learning and memory. Also, learning a musical instrument is known to help increase IQ levels significantly (9) (10).

7. Give them a nutritious breakfast

A recent study carried out by the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing has established a direct correlation between a regular, nutritious breakfast and higher IQ test scores in children (11). The study noted the nutritional and social aspects of breakfast play a vital role in their verbal as well as academic performance.

The most important meal of the day, breakfast supplies vital minerals and vitamins to the brain. Additionally, social interaction with family members at the breakfast table allows children to expand their vocabulary and general knowledge and comprehend stories. Children who have breakfast daily also have better memory and longer attention spans.

8. Encourage unstructured play

Everybody understands the importance of exercise and playtime in a child’s development. It is all the more important that you ensure your kids exercise their muscles and brain and indulge in some unstructured playtime. Free play helps in the development of social skills and also sparks creativity. It promotes imagination and lateral thinking.

This playtime mustn’t be exclusive to the sports training that children receive in schools. Encourage voluntary play as it promotes better learning and improves language and problem-solving skills (12) (13).

9. Put children to bed early

Studies suggest that young children need at least 10 hours of sleep each day (14). Children with regular bedtimes have been observed to have better memory, language skills, and problem-solving ability. Studies also suggest that we are more likely to retain what we’ve learned if we sleep shortly after our studies (15).

10. Help them learn a new language

Languages play a crucial role in how your children turn out to be. Children have the innate ability to pick up languages. Studies have also proven that a child who learns a second language or a foreign language before the age of ten is culturally more informed and smart.

Children learn a language faster, retain it better, and most often, speak it with a nearly accurate pronunciation than adults. Recent research also indicates that young children can learn and process up to five languages (16).

11. Ensure a positive peer group for your child

The kind of company your child keeps in the neighborhood and at school will have a major impact on them. Although we usually associate peer pressure with negative effects, it can benefit children and make them smart. A good neighborhood, a balanced school, and well-behaved and inquisitive children around your child will have a significant impact on your child’s learning. Exposed to peers of diverse cultures, they are likely to absorb more information (17).

A study by economist Bruce Sacerdote elucidates how powerful this influence can be. He states that students with low grade-point averages showed an increase in their scores when they interacted and befriended higher-scoring students (18).

12. Manage their screen time

Concerns continue to be raised about the negative impacts of prolonged screen time in children. Apart from childhood obesity and behavioral issues, excessive screen time has also been linked to irregular sleep and lack of creativity (19). Additionally, children may also be exposed to violent or sexual content. However, many parents continue to depend on these digital devices to entertain their children during their busy schedules.

Difficult as it may be to avoid digital connection altogether, a little management can help parents. Allow age-appropriate programs, and be aware of the advertisements and how they influence children’s minds. Also be aware of actual screen time they get every day. You could also encourage your child to learn other activities that do not involve screens (20).

13. Become their smart parent

Children learn by emulating their parents and elders. Therefore, as parents, you are their first teachers. Be smart to make them smart. What you do is likely to influence them directly. If your children see you reading or writing, they are likely to pick up a book and read, and if they see you dancing or singing, they will most surely try to match your steps (21). Similarly, prolonged screen use in parents will also lead to increase in children’s screen time.

Your behavior and actions majorly impact how your child develops habits and makes sense of the world. So, engage in creative talk and activities that encourage their development.

14. Involve them in chores

They may not do it perfectly the first time, but involving children in household chores is beneficial for their development and enhances their cognitive, logical reasoning, and management skills. It depends on how well you incorporate it in their routine (22) (23) (24).

These chores can be as simple as sorting vegetables, clearing the table, and folding clothes. While at it, you can also teach them measurements, calculations, and time management and add some fun to it.

15. Introduce math to them early on

Many parents introduce math as a complex subject to their children, unconsciously instilling a fear of the subject in them. According to research done by Dr. Greg Duncan, et al., learning math skills early on in life leads to later achievement and improved attention skills (25).

The best way to do this is to introduce math in everything and have fun with numbers, whether it is counting the gadgets in your house, sorting the good and bad tomatoes, or skip counting the stairs.

Infographic: Role Of Positive Parenting In Raising Smart Kids

A person is the product of their environment. It stands true for children as well. Children raised in a positive parenting environment may have better thought processes and responses, helping them be smarter. The tips in this infographic will help you inculcate this style in your parenting.

References

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Reviewer

Dr. Neha Bhave SalankarMD

 

Dr. Neha Bhave Salankar is a consultant psychiatrist at Bhave Institute of Mental Health based in Nagpur and has around 11 years of experience in the field. Having been a meritorious student throughout, she bagged the prestigious gold medal for medicine in MBBS and MD psychiatry.

Read full bio of Dr. Neha Bhave Salankar