How To Raise A Smart Kid - A Short

Guide
In a nutshell, here are 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 loving, 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 childs strong language skills. Also, listen to
your child when hes talking. This reinforces his effort to communicate and develops his
facility for language.
. Read books to your kid !tart reading to him even if he does not understand the
words. This gives him a head start in developing language skills. "ids 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. #eading $ooks is one of the most important activities that
make kids smart.
%. Let your kid play &hen your kid plays, he is creating the foundation for his
intellectual, social, physical and emotional skills. &hen he plays with other kids, he learns
to com$ine ideas, impressions and feelings with other kids e'periences and opinions.
(. Encourage your kid to eercise ) *hysical e'ercise does not only make your kid
strong, $ut it also makes your kid smart+ ,'ercise increases the flow of $lood to the
$rain and $uilds new $rain cells. ,'ercise is good for adults- mental sharpness, $ut it has
a more long)lasting effect on your kids still developing $rain.
.. !ake music a part of your kid"s life !tudies have shown that listening to music
can $oost memory, attention, motivation and learning. It can also lower stress that is
destructive to your kids $rain. /earning to play a musical instrument has an effect on
the $rains proportional thinking and spatial temporal reasoning that lay the foundation
for a$stract math.
0. Let your kid see you doing smart things ) "ids learn $y modeling adults
$ehavior. If he sees you engaged in reading $ooks, writing, making music, or doing
creative things, he will imitate you, and in the process make himself smart.
1. Limit your kid"s T# viewing 2our child should not $e watching T3 $efore age 2.
/etting your kid watch too much T3 takes him away from doing activities that are more
important to his developing $rain, like playing, sociali4ing and reading $ooks.
5. $ive your kid smart computer games ) The $est kid)friendly computer games
teach your kid a$out letters, math, music, phonics and many others. It also develops his
hand)eye coordination and prepares him for tomorrows technology. 6ore importantly, he
learns these while he plays. /earning and having fun at the same time is the $est way
for your kid to learn.
78. %eed your kid right ) 9iving the right food to your kid is important to making him
smart. 9iving your $a$y the proper nutrition should $egin while you are pregnant. :or
an older kid, a protein)rich diet ;egg, fish, meat< improves his attention, alertness, and
thinking. =ar$ohydrates give his $rain the fuel that is used in thinking. The $est ones
are those that come from whole grain and fruits. *rocessed car$ohydrates and sugar
have $ad effects on attention span, focusing a$ility, and activity level. 3itamins and
minerals are also important.


Authoritarian, Strict Parenting Vs.
Permissive: Which is etter!
&hen Amy =hua pu$lished a $ook that descri$es her parenting style that seems
inhumane to many people, $ut gets her the good results she wants from her children, it
reopened a de$ate on which type of parenting type is $est. There are two e'treme
parenting styles. >n the one hand, there is the authoritarian parenting which is
stereotypically practiced in =hina and the ,ast. Then there is the permissive parenting
;also known as ?indulgent@ or ?nondirective@< which is the style commonly practiced in
the &est ;This is different from uninvolved parenting which is hardly parenting at all<.
*arenting style has a profound effect on the kids $rain. Anderstanda$ly, it is one of the
maBor influences on a childs future well)$eing. The $rain is molded $y how parents treat
their kids, and the parents style of ?managing@ their kids affects their academic
achievement, self)confidence, aggression, psychological strength, and capacity to cope
with real)life challenges.
Celow are characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of these two types of parenting:
1. Authoritarian, Strict & Demanding Parenting (Eastern)
Characteristics:
Authoritarian parents are the ultimate authority. They have complete
control over their children. =hildren are not allowed to Duestion the
parents. Eefying parents lead to terri$le conseDuences like the kids $eing
lectured, insulted, shamed or punished. Amy =hua narrated in her $ook
that her father angrily called her Fgar$ageF in her native Gokkien dialect.
Authoritarian parents think they know what is $est for their kidsH therefore
it is up to the parents to dictate what the kids really need. Authoritative
parents limit or $an most of the things that their kids enBoy $ecause these
will distract the kids from their $est academic performance.
Authoritarian parents strongly $elieve that their kids can $e the $est in
school. Iot $eing a$le to make their kids the $est means the parents are
not doing their Bo$s.
Authoritarian parents are not concerned a$out their children $eing
emotionally hurt. They $elieve that treating their kids in a tough way will
make the kids strong, not weak.
Authoritarian parents assume that their children are strong, and not fragile.
Authoritative parents have strong fortitude against their childrens re$ellion
or resistance to work.
If the child fails to do what is e'pected of her, authoritarian parents will do
everything in their power to push the child to make up for the failure.
Authoritarian parents would su$Bect the child to relentless drills and tests to
take the childs performance or grade up to where it should $e.
Authoritarian parents demand perfect grades $ecause they $elieve that the
child can get them. If the child fails, authoritative parents $elieve that it is
not $ecause the child is not inherently intelligent, $ut $ecause the child did
not work hard enough.
&hen the child of authoritarian parents perform well or meet their high
e'pectations, the parents give ego)inflating parental praise.
Authoritarian parents $elieve that nothing is fun unless you are good at it.
The reward of $eing good is admiration, praise and personal satisfaction.
This makes what was once Bust hard work is now fun.
Authoritarian parents $elieve that nothing is more important than preparing
their kids for the future. The kids are trained to work hard, demand more
of themselves, have great study ha$its and skills, and have inner
confidence that no one can take away.

Advantages:
Test results seem to indicate that children with =hinese or Asian $ackground outperform
their peers from &estern $ackground. This is attri$uted to their parents authoritarian
parenting style:
A recent *I!A international standardi4ed test, kids in =hina ranked on top in
all three fields ;reading, math and science< and $y a wide margin:
http:JJen.wikipedia.orgJwikiJ*rogrammeKforKInternationalK!tudentKAssess
mentH &ithin the participating American students, Asians performed the
$est: http:JJnces.ed.govJpu$s2877J287788%K7.pdf
=hinese and Asians seem to produce many math whi44es and music
prodigies.
9reat artists like 6o4art and Ceethoven were known to $e su$Bected $y
their authoritative parents to countless hours of drills, making them great
artists and performers. This may not have $een possi$le is they were
allowed to Bust do what they want as kids.
#esearch shows that kids who are protected from difficult pro$lems and tasks do not
develop what psychologists call Fmastery e'periencesF. "ids who have these e'periences
tend to $e optimistic and decisive and think of themselves as $eing capa$le of
overcoming great challenges.

Disadvantanges:
!ome kids who are pressured $y parents to perform perfectly in school
eventually end up hating school.
6any kids who are raised $y authoritarian parents show sign of
psychological pro$lems like depression and an'iety, and some even resort
to suicide.
"ids who are raised to $e su$missive tend not to form their own ideas and
opinions, and have a su$servient attitude.
"ids who are trained to have high grades in school as their primary
o$Bective only $ecomes good in rote learning, and lacks creativity and
imagination.

Permissive Parenting (Western)
Characteristics
*ermissive parents are lenient, avoid confrontation, allow considera$le self)
regulation from their kids.
*ermissive parents $elieve that stressing academic success is not good for
children and that they should let children feel that learning is fun.
*ermissive parents are very concerned a$out their kids self)esteem. They
need to constantly reassure their kids of their self)worth, and if the kids fail
at something, it is okay, and they are still good. They will never call their
kids ego)deflating names such as ?stupid@ or ?worthless@
*ermissive parents acknowledge and give value to their kids individuality.
They give them freedom to pursue their own passions and choices in life.
*ermissive parents support their kids endevors and provide positive
reinforcement and nurturing environment.
Advantages
"ids who are raised in the culture of permissive parenting grows up with the
a$ility to think creatively and $e innovative. Ceing free to pursue what they
want, they are a$le to think outside the $o'. It is this culture that
produced Cill 9ates, 6ark Lucker$erg and !teve Mo$s.
*ermissive parenting kids tend to $e more assertive and aggressive
$ecause they grow up not as $lind followers $ut persons who are masters of
their fate.
"ids who are raised $y permissive parents are happier and tend to have
less psychological issues.
Disadvantages
"ids who are not pushed $y their parents to work hard tend to grow up to
$e underachievers or slackers.
"ids who are coddled and overprotected $ecome weaklings and una$le to
handle challenges and hard work needed to survive in a tough world.
Balanced Parenting Style
Coth parenting style have good $enefits to offer, $ut they can also give rise to pro$lems.
As parents, you do not have to choose $etween $oth e'tremes. 2ou can enBoy the
$enefit of $oth, and avoid the pro$lems associated with either $y finding the right
$alance $etween the two e'tremes.
Cut where do you find the $alanceN A lot seems to depend on the personality of your
child, and the values you place upon the childs happiness vs. her future ?success@.
The following guidelines from child e'perts could help you decide which parenting style to
adapt:
Take stock of your childs personality as accurately as you can. Eoes your
child e'hi$it passivity or apathyN Eoes he show talent $ut is not a self)
starterN Then may$e you need to $e more controlling for him to $uild
strong ha$its and develop his talent. If your child seems to know what he
wants to do in life and does things for himself, then it is $est to set him
free.
Is your child showing the potential that you e'pect from herN &ait for your
child to show some signs of talent or interest on any activity $efore you
force her to work hard on that activity. &ithout genuine interest, you will
make your child misera$le $y forcing him to do something he does not like.
This may result in psychological pro$lems as he grows up or when he
$ecomes an adult.
Eo not raise your child $y making her main goal is to please you. This
happens when you show affection when she performs to your e'pectation,
$ut withdraw your love when she is underperforming. Again, this might
give rise to psychological pro$lems in her adulthood.
Eo not impress on your child that mediocrity and average success is all that
is e'pected from him.
Iurture your child-s emotional, social, intellectual and physical worth.
=hildren supported with well)$alanced parenting are the ones who acDuire a
genuine sense of self)value.
According to various studies, parents who are nurturing, and those who set
and discuss with their kids age)appropriate limits, help their kids $ecome
independent, self)controlled, and self)confident as they go through middle
childhood and adolescence.