Encouraging Curiosity in Your Child

One way to increase your kid's intelligence is to encourage them to become more curious about life.
Once you get a clue about the kinds of things that your child is interested in you can encourage them to pursue those activities.
For instance, if your child has a noticeable interest in listening to music then it is a good idea to buy a musical instrument. This will help that child understand that he or she can create music as well.
If your child has a great love of drawing you can buy crayons and a paper pad so that they can explore that talent. This helps your child understand that exploring the creative realms that the brain is capable of does not have to be a big chore.
If your child loves to read then make sure that he or she has that library card as this is one of the strongest indicators that he or she could do very well on a test. Reading out loud to a very young child is also a very good idea when it comes to enhancing intelligence.
You should also not overlook the value of exercise when it comes to mental development. An activity like running enables them to make decisions at the right time and also develop hand and eye coordination. This works because when it comes to mental development a healthy body can inform the mind as much as the mind can inform the body.
Playing video games is also a great activity, especially ones that demand that your child use logic and make fast decisions. Video games are good for the reflexes and also help your child strategize.
As long as the activity is constructive you should allow your child to do the thing that they most want to do because this inevitably helps them develop their cognitive abilities and concentration.
Don't overdo it!
Everything in moderation also applies to being attentive to your child. Paying too much attention is the equivalent of being a meddling stage mother and if your child picks up on this you could run into some trouble. Kids that feel mauled by too much attention may start pushing you and the brain enhancing activities that you are trying to promote away!
In your enthusiasm to help your child you need to make sure that you do not overwhelm him or her. Do not ask him or her to do too many things. It is okay to introduce them to a few things at a time and gradually tries to figure out what it is that your child enjoys doing most.
Even if you think you pushing a lot of activities on your child for the child's own good realize that you may be setting the kid up for failure. The kid may take on the activities to try and please you and then become depressed when he or she cannot keep up with your demands.

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DHA Improves Intelligence

You can improve your child's chances of scoring well on an intelligence test by supporting their brain with a proper, nutritious diet. In fact there are certain foods that are known for helping enhance mental abilities and development. Cutting down on foods that are unhealthy for the brain can also help enhance mental performance.
If you take the advice in this chapter then you may find that big changes in your family's diet are called for. However it is worth it when you consider that your child's future is at stake. Also keep in time that your entire family might become a bit sharper if you stick to this diet and that if you have any elderly people in your family that they might actually become a bit sharper by sticking to this diet.
Add DHA to your diet!
The main nutrient that promotes intelligence, memory and clarity of thought is called DHA. It is now well established that this nutrient is not only good for mental development but also for your eyesight. It also reduces your chances of having a stroke or developing heart disease which is excellent in terms of the longevity of the health of your child.
Your body does not produce this substance naturally so you have to get it from foods. This means that your body has to convert vegetable based fatty acids like Flax oil into DHA. The body does not do this easily which is why many people are actually short of this nutrient.
DHA is found in the Omega3 fatty acids that we find in fish and fish oils and it is therefore crucial that your child get enough of these acids so that their mental abilities are optimized. The notion that eating lots of fish is an old wives tale is not a myth at all!
Chances are that your children are not getting enough of this nutrient. The average intake of DHA by three year old children in North America was discovered to only be 19 mg a day. This falls way short of the 300 mg a day that was identified as being needed by a targeted scientific group to improve mental acuity. This is also the level needed to support developing fetes.
The American Food and Drug Administration say that the requirement for DHA is not as high. The suggested dose is about 2 grams of fish oil ever day. Many nutritionists and doctors suggest that this amount should be much higher. Many believe that the optimal dose is 5g a day. You can see how only getting about 19 mg day is nowhere near enough to support mental development and how not consuming enough could definitely hurt a child's learning abilities.
Knowing this the obvious conclusion is that the first thing you can do to enhance your child's academic abilities is to simply review their diet and make sure that they are getting enough DHA to eat.

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