❓Why are some children smarter?
Is it something you're born with?
Have you ever wondered- Why is that person smarter than I am? How does this person have so many natural talents? Why do I have to work harder than others? How is that person so good in what they do? How does that child know how to do that? Why are some children “prodigies”?
Are some children just born intelligent?
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “children are like blank slates”. But are they? Unlike a child’s heart or stomach, the brain is not fully developed at birth. About 80 percent of a child’s brain develops in the first three years and 90 percent of a child’s brain develops before Kindergarten. However, genes aren’t the only factor that influence brain architecture.
“The basic architecture of the brain is constructed through a process that begins early in life and continues into adulthood. Simpler circuits come first and more complex brain circuits build on them later. Genes provide the basic blueprint, but experiences influence how or whether genes are expressed. Together, they shape the quality of brain architecture and establish either a sturdy or a fragile foundation for all of the learning, health, and behavior that follow. Plasticity, or the ability for the brain to reorganize and adapt, is greatest in the first years of life and decreases with age.” - Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University
Genes + Experiences (reading, talking, singing, playing) + Environment (safe, caring) + Relationships (loving, dependable, responsive) = Brain Architecture
Why are some children more intelligent?
“The most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to the age of six. For that is the time when mans intelligence itself, his greatest implemented is being formed.” - Dr. Maria Montessori
The answer lies in the first five years!
A study suggests that the frontal and parietal lobe (responsible for cognitive functions, control of voluntary movement or activity, temperature, taste, touch and movement) of the brain are more strongly connected and activated in people with a high IQ. This makes it easier for “smarter” individuals to differentiate between important and irrelevant information.
Studies show that the brain volume a child achieves by the age of 1 year can help determine later intelligence. A newborn's brain is about a quarter of the size of the average adult brain. Incredibly, it doubles in size in the first year, keeps growing to about 80 percent of adult size by age three, and 90 percent by age five. What impacts brain volume? Maternal nutrition starting in pregnancy, exposure to infections and toxins, prenatal stress, and quality early childhood experiences such as good nutrition, and the amount of quality time a parent and/or caregiver spends with the child (singing, reading, speaking, playing, nurturing, caring).
A study showed that first-born children scored higher on measures of intelligence and also reported their intelligence to be higher. Why are first-born children smarter? The reason is probably what some parenting websites refer to as the “precious firstborn syndrome” i.e. parents spending more quality time reading to, playing and interacting with their first-born child. As per The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University neural connections in the brain are shaped by genes and the quality of life experiences. This study found that a first-born child receives 20-30 more minutes of quality time each day with his or her parent than a second-born child of the same age from a similar family.
Reading with your child can raise your child’s IQ by more than six points. The earlier the interactive reading takes place, the larger the benefits. Another study also shows that by the age of 2, children who are read to regularly display greater language comprehension, larger vocabularies, and higher cognitive skills than their peers.
A study also found that the amount parents speak directly to their child (particularly between 18-24 months of age) can be used to predict school-age language and cognitive outcomes, and accounted for a 14 to 27 percent variance in IQ.
One study showed lower brain activity for infants of mothers who felt stressed and had fixed mindsets (the belief that abilities are going to stay the same over time, no matter how hard I work or how much investment as a mom I put into my child’s learning). In contrast, infants of moms with a growth mindset (the belief that you can grow your abilities through work and effort, and that I can help my children learn new things and grow and expand their abilities) did not display negative impact. Consider this, “You’re so smart” versus “Wow! You tried so hard this time and managed to open the bottle. You must be so proud of yourself.” Studies also show that when students were taught that intelligence is not a fixed quality (which is true) but is changeable and can be increased, students performed better academically.
“Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve.”
― Roger Lewin
A study also found that the following characteristics predicted children’s cognitive/language and social development: parents’ education, family income, and two-parent family compared to single-parent family; mothers’ psychological adjustment and sensitivity; and the social and cognitive quality of home environment. What is common in these characteristics? Access to quality care and early childhood education i.e. a safe, nurturing, responsive, language-rich, and stimulating environment (at home, with a caregiver, or at a daycare/preschool) where a child mentally and physically thrives.
Studies also show that the quality of maternal caregiving (yes we need more more research on paternal caregiving) including maternal sensitivity, warmth, and responsiveness plays a fundamental role in predicting a broad range of outcomes including emotional and behavioral problems as well as cognitive and social development.
Research also suggests that good emotional regulation in children is a strong predictor of academic achievement and success.
Brain development is most sensitive to a baby's nutrition between mid-gestation and two years of age. Children who are malnourished as fetuses and infants suffer behavioral and cognitive deficits, including slower language and fine motor development, lower IQ, and poorer school performance. Iron deficiency has also been clearly linked to cognitive deficits in young children. Did you know that 60 percent of the brain is fat? Including a lot of “good fats” and essential fatty acids, particularly the omega-3 fatty acids, are important for brain development during both the fetal and postnatal period.
In early childhood play is learning. Playing (structured and unstructured) enhances a child’s cognitive, linguistics, and social development. For example, your child could play with blocks independently (what happens when I do this? why does this keep falling? this looks like Peppa’s doll house) or you could play with your child (why do you think this keeps falling? what do you think will happen if we do this? how can we make the door to Peppa’s doll house? how many blocks do we need to make the staircase….1,2,3,4,5).
A study shows that regularly offering toys to infants to play with leads to higher IQ by age three. Does that mean that you need to buy a plethora of the “best educational toys” for your infant? Nope. The best educational toys encourage human interaction, require the child to be active, are engaging, inspire social collaboration, and have a clear learning objective. The best part? The best “toys” for your child are free (boxes, utensils, pans, spoons, plastic cups, bottles, laundry baskets, YOU). Want to buy your child toys? Buy toys that are 90 percent child and 10 percent toy.