Every parent wants their child to be smart, as it comes with many benefits. For example, they would get better grades in school, and they would have a higher chance of getting accepted into a good university. Moreover, they would have an easier time advancing in their career, and they would make better decisions in life in general. So, if you’d like your child to be a little genius, here are a few tips you should follow.
Read to them
Reading to your child provides them with knowledge of the world beyond what they can see. It can make them smarter, more open-minded, tolerant, creative, and more verbally skilled. Also, don’t just read to them – read with them. Show them the words, and encourage them to think about the books. Needless to say, you should read as well, so you can be a good role model and an example of all the benefits of reading. If you do all that, your child is more likely to start reading on their own sooner and continue reading as they grow older.
Encourage them to be creative
When kids are young, they want to know everything about everything. However, once they start going to school, that kind of curiosity often declines and eventually disappears. So, try to keep them interested in the world around them; take them to museums, galleries, and libraries so they can keep learning new things. Moreover, provide them with tools to express their creativity while they are still young, whether they choose to do that through drawing, painting, writing, or crafting.
Make use of every teaching opportunity
There are many opportunities to teach your child about life, and you should make use of them. For example, if you’re preparing a meal, include them in the preparation by asking them to measure the ingredients. Or, if you’re going grocery shopping, take them with you and teach them about different colors, temperatures, types of produce, etc. Let them touch different produce to teach them about textures. All of these little exposures and experiences can help your child develop a love for learning that would last for a long time.
Get the best teacher
If there happens to be a subject in school that your child is struggling to master, don’t start stressing about it too soon. Not even a genius can know everything, so instead of pressuring them to study more, help them study more effectively. One way to do that is to find a good tutor. Professional teachers can make your child not just understand the subject but eventually even fall in love with it, which is why it’s essential that the tutor you choose is well educated and experienced. Of course, you should also talk to the child about tutoring, so they know that there is nothing wrong with them and everybody could use a bit of help from time to time.
Teach them resourcefulness
Very often, being smart is not about knowing all the answers but about knowing how to find them. So, don’t always answer your child’s questions right away. Instead, teach them how to find the answer on their own by using books and the Internet. Additionally, teach them how to differentiate between a reliable source and an unreliable one. This skill is bound to come in handy, especially once they enter college and are expected to do their own research. So, practicing it while young would definitely benefit your child in more ways than one.
Encourage them to think critically
Instead of asking your child yes-no questions, ask them questions that will make them think. For example, instead of asking them whether they’d like to go shopping with you, you can ask them what would happen if you didn’t buy groceries that day. Moreover, when talking to them, try not to use too much “baby-talk”. It doesn’t matter if you use a word that they don’t understand yet – it will make them think about it and eventually figure it out through context. Making them wonder about your questions will eventually lead them to develop some answers on their own, which will become more reasonable and logical in time. In short, logic develops over time, but it’s never too early to start encouraging your child to think for themselves.
Raising a genius is a task that requires patience and dedication, but it’s also a task that can greatly improve the quality of your child’s life. So, make sure to start early, and your child is bound to become above-average sooner than you might think.