The Most Important Tips in Raising a Smart Kid

1. Interact with your kid, play with him (her), and make him feel loved – Scientists observed that babies who were not cuddled, played with and loved have stunted brain growth. They also observed that babies who were not held and did not receive attention failed to grow, became depressed, and eventually died. On the other hand, many studies have shown that hugging, interacting and playing with your child has a strong effect on developing his intelligence. The loving connection formed between you and your kid and your one-on-one interaction with him provide the foundation for his higher thinking skills.
2. Talk to your kid – This develops your child’s strong language skills. Also, listen to your child when he’s talking. This reinforces his effort to communicate and develops his facility for language.
3. Read books to your kid – Start reading to him even if he does not understand the words. This gives him a head start in developing language skills. Kids who are read to when young are more likely to develop a lifelong interest in reading, do well in school, and succeed in adult life. Reading books is one of the most important activities that make kids smart.
4. Let your kid play – When your kid plays, he is creating the foundation for his intellectual, social, physical and emotional skills. When he plays with other kids, he learns to combine ideas, impressions and feelings with other kids’ experiences and opinions.
5. Encourage your kid to exercise - Physical exercise does not only make your kid strong, but it also makes your kid smart! Exercise increases the flow of blood to the brain and builds new brain cells. Exercise is good for adults' mental sharpness, but it has a more long-lasting effect on your kid’s still developing brain.
6. Make music a part of your kid’s life – Studies have shown that listening to music can boost memory, attention, motivation and learning. It can also lower stress that is destructive to your kid’s brain. Learning to play a musical instrument has an effect on the brain’s proportional thinking and spatial temporal reasoning that lay the foundation for abstract math.
7. Let your kid see you doing smart things - Kids learn by modeling adult’s behavior. If he sees you engaged in reading books, writing, making music, or doing creative things, he will imitate you, and in the process make himself smart.
8. Limit your kid’s TV viewing – Your child should not be watching TV before age 2. Letting your kid watch too much TV takes him away from doing activities that are more important to his developing brain, like playing, socializing and reading books.
9. Give your kid smart computer games - The best kid-friendly computer games teach your kid about letters, math, music, phonics and many others. It also develops his hand-eye coordination and prepares him for tomorrow’s technology. More importantly, he learns these while he plays. Learning and having fun at the same time is the best way for your kid to learn.
10. Feed your kid right - Giving the right food to your kid is important to making him smart. Giving your baby the proper nutrition should begin while you are pregnant. For an older kid, a protein-rich diet (egg, fish, meat) improves his attention, alertness, and thinking. Carbohydrates give his brain the fuel that is used in thinking. The best ones are those that come from whole grain and fruits. Processed carbohydrates and sugar have bad effects on attention span, focusing ability, and activity level. Vitamins and minerals are also important. (Source: www.raisesmartkid.com)