How to Make Your Kids Smarter

June 16, 2009

Many parents will rejoice to learn of research conducted by University of Michigan psychology professor Richard E. Nisbett, detailed in his new book “Intelligence and How to Get it: Why Schools and Culture Count.” It basically makes a case for the importance of “nurture” in the “nature vs. nurture” intelligence argument. In other words, you can help your children become smarter – regardless of your SAT scores.

He argues against heredity theorists who basically say you are born with an infinite measure of intelligence, and thems the cards you’re dealt with.

Nisbett says that in spite of studies that show certain ethnic and socioeconomic groups go on to become more successful on the whole than other groups (i.e. Ashkenazi Jews and Asian Americans) it’s not necessarily because they have higher I.Q.s, but because of a tendency to work hard and build on their innate abilities.

On the other hand that’s a lot of pressure on a parent: the responsibility to nurture your child in a way that will make the most of, or improve, his or her intellectual abilities. Luckily, the tricks to improving your child’s intelligence are not too difficult, and you are probably already doing some of them. Starting at pregnancy, your actions can give your child a boost:

1) Exercise: According to Nisbett, exercising during pregnancy (within reason) is a good way to start because mothers who work out tend to have bigger babies who grow up smarter, possibly because of greater brain size.

2) Breastfeed: Although the benefits of breast-feeding with regards to improved intellect have been batted about by scientists for a while, the latest study does show that breastfed babies “seem more likely to do well at high school and to go on to attend college than infants raised on a bottle.”

3) Create an Early Bond: According to WebMD, attachment is not only critical to emotional and social development, but also helps build a smart child. “Connecting with you helps a child's brain develop," says Ross A. Thompson, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of California at Davis, because neurons get connected through social connection and language…By contrast, when children don't feel safe and secure, it impacts their ability to learn.”

4) Talk, Talk: Studies show talking to your babies (real words) continuously throughout the day lead them to earn higher scores on IQ tests and perform better in school than children whose parents and caregivers talked to them infrequently or not at all.

5) Turn off the TV: In connection with the suggestion of talking continuously to your child (note: enjoy the early years when s/he doesn’t talk back), you should also turn off your TV. Research has shown that when it’s on, adults talk less to their children. A new study found that when children are exposed to a lot of TV before the age of 2, they are deprived of interaction with adults, which can lead to delays in brain and language development. University of Washington researchers found that for every hour the TV set was on, even if it was just in the background, adults spoke from 500 to 1,000 fewer words to children.

6) Learn Music: According to MSN’s article on “10 Ways to Make Your Kids Smarter” learning a musical instrument (while hard on your ears), is good for your kids’ brains. “According to a study by University of Toronto researchers, organized music lessons appear to benefit children's IQ and academic performance—and the more years the student takes lessons, the greater the effect. The study found that taking music lessons in childhood was a clear predictor of better grades in high school and a higher IQ in adulthood.”

7) Read: Another tip from MSN, that is probably well known but can’t be said enough is: read to your child. “This tried-and-true method sometimes gets overlooked in the rush to adopt the latest IQ-boosting technology, but reading is a sure-fire, low-tech way to improve learning and cognitive developing in children of all ages.“

8) Yes, I can!: Kathy Seal, author of “Motivated Minds: Raising Children to Love Learning,” says there's a mountain of research showing that kids who believe intelligence is flexible – i.e. you can get smart if you work hard -- do far better in school that kids who believe intelligence is innate. “That's what Chinese and Japanese cultures believe,” says Seal. “They both emphasize the notion of effort over innate ability, the opposite of the American tendency.”

What do you think of the “nature vs. nurture” debate? Do you have tips or tricks for improving your children’s school performance?