Our advice to boost your child’s intelligence

How does a child’s intelligence develop?

Good news, those who argue that intelligence is built at any age, not just 0 to 6 years old, are right. ! The development of intelligence is determined both by genes et by the experiences provided by the environment. All the experiments carried out for twenty years on babies confirm this. : children are born armed with knowledge and have all the learning mechanisms needed to develop their brains. Provided, of course, that we give them the opportunity.

Intelligence is not just IQ

Intelligence isn’t all about the Intelligence Quotient, or IQ. There are several intelligences that are just as important for success in life. ! It is great to promote intellectual awakening, but a child must also learn to develop common sense in order to understand and deal with the various situations of everyday life.

He must also develop his emotional intelligence (QE) to learn to express, interpret and manage their emotions, their social intelligence (QS) to learn empathy, the sense of contact and sociability. Without forgetting his physical skills !

In short : to be resourceful and physically well in his body, to know what one feels and to succeed in forging good relations with the others, it is as essential to become a fulfilled person as to shine by his knowledge and his relevant reasoning.

To boost your child’s emotional intelligence

Help him deal with his emotions. If he is angry or crying, do not try to silence him, let him express his negative emotions, even if they are hard to bear. Don’t let his sadness, fear or anger infect you, be empathetic, contain him, hold his hand, hug him and talk to him in loving, reassuring words until the crisis subsides.

Put his feelings into words. The range of your child’s emotions is wide : anger, sadness, fear, joy, tenderness, surprise, disgust… but he has trouble identifying them clearly. Name his feelings, show him that you take into account what he is feeling. Question him : “You were really angry (or happy or sad or scared) earlier, why? Ask him what he could have done or said to prevent this from happening again.

To boost your child’s social intelligence

Teach him how to make friends. Making friends, cooperating, saying no without being aggressive, you can learn. When he is in conflict with another, invite him to express his point of view and put himself in the other’s shoes to understand his own. Don’t make him give in if it doesn’t feel right. When he wants to play with children he does not know, explain to him that he must first observe them, then come up with new ideas for play.

Teach him good manners. To live harmoniously in society, there are basic rules that everyone must follow, including the little ones. Teach your child to respect others, to always say “thank you”, “hello”, “please”, “sorry”. Teach him to wait his turn, not to push, to ask rather than tearing hands, to listen without interrupting, to help the little ones. Do not let him behave like a child king at home, because his authoritarian despot side will not make him sympathetic to others, on the contrary !

To boost your child’s logical / linguistic intelligence

Feed his intellectual curiosity. Offer your little one a rich and stimulating environment. Make him want to read with picture books, books that tell the adventures of his favorite heroes. It’s never too early to give it a taste : concerts, puppet or theater shows, exhibition of paintings, sculptures. Bet on simple board games : 7 families, Memory, Uno, etc. And later, more complex, like chess. Do not over-stimulate him with so-called “educational” games and mini-lessons galore, also know how to let him play alone and contemplate the world around him.

Stimulate his language. Immerse him straight away in a “language bath”. Enrich his vocabulary by using precise words (not gimmicks, widgets or “baby” language…). Keep sentences short and clear, adapt to their level of speech and comprehension. If it’s too complicated, he will drop out, if you interest him, you will give him a taste for words. If he’s looking for his words, lend him yours : “Is that what you wanted to say?” “. Answer his questions precisely – even the most disconcerting !

Boost your child’s kinesthetic intelligence

Boost their physical activity. Give him the opportunity to move as often as possible. Play with him ball, ball, cat and mouse, hide and seek, race. Play snowshoes, kite, bowling. All these games also develop his intelligence! To do gymnastics and teach him the different parts of the body, play “Jacques a dit ! ”. During the holidays, take walks, limit tablets, computers and mobile phones as much as possible. Opt for active leisure activities, such as building a cabin, gardening, tinkering, fishing …

Develop fine motor skills. To refine his gestures, offer him embedding games, construction games, puzzles, plasticine. Have him draw, color and paint. You can paint with a brush, but also with your hands, feet, sponges, spray and lots of other accessories. This will make it easier for them to learn to write.