Smart Baby: Nature or Nurture? How to Raise a Smart Baby

Have you ever heard babies described as sponges? If you have, then you know that it is because they soak up anything and everything that goes on around them. We don't give babies enough credit. We think their so cute because everything surprises them and everything can easily draw their attention. In reality it isn't just that the bright toy or the chimes singing in the wind are pretty look at, but that your baby is learning at a speed that we could not even comprehend.

It's not that your baby as a short attention span, all it means is that your baby has extracted all that it can learn from that object and is simply moving on to the next tool available for learning. Human beings are born with an innate thirst for knowledge not because it is what makes us human, but it is what let's us evolve. The same goes for children.

Between the ages of 3 months and 6 years is when your baby has the strongest desire to learn. Children love to learn. Not because they want to be geniuses, or because it is pushed on them, but simply because it is required for their survival. By the time your baby is 6 years old 70% of their brain will be developed and that number will go up to 90% by age 10. Think about it: a baby is born into a completely alien environment to which he or she must adapt to in order to survive. How do they accomplish that? By deciphering and decoding their environment in a process we call learning!

Your baby has to learn about gravity, hot and cold, depth perception, friction, weather, sound, light and dark, colors, etc. In other words, they must use all of their five senses to gather as much data as possible from this alien environment and transform it all into knowledge and on top of that they have to learn to communicate. That's nothing short of a miracle!

Not a Lot of Time? Make Teaching Your Baby
More Organized and Accessible!

Some people say let children be children, let babies be babies. Now, while I understand what they are trying to say, meaning we shouldn't force things on them as if they were adults, however, I don't think that's the real message behind that saying.

The American Association of Pediatrics, or the AAP, has shown that the best way to stimulate your child's brain is by interacting with your child. They suggest things like singing, reading, talking, listening to music, and playing. Singing and rhymes help to learn sound patterns.

The Everyday Classroom: while your going on errands, making dinner, cleaning or whatever activity talk to your baby, discuss what you are doing, have a conversation. Also make sure to incorporate core skills include potty training and shoe tying. You'd be surprised how many kids are sent of to school without being able to perform these tasks.

Reading is not a subject, it's a brain function.

Keep in mind that simply reading books won't make the connection between the word and the meaning. Babies need the written word and an image to fully understand the image. Bring the meaning behind the word to life for your child. Imitate actions. Teach words, phrases, whole stories and include the written word in print. Follow up read story about the word to discover new connections to the world around them.

This is not about teaching your baby everything before they get to kindergarten. It teaches that everything has a word. It makes your child comfortable with the idea of words as a part of language and communication. Exposing your child to the written word also speeds up the transition to reading.

See How You Can Spend More Quality Time
With Your Baby Rather Than Peparing Lessons!

Some say that programs that claim to teach your baby to read are only teaching your baby to memorize. Well, first off it is true. At first, the baby is simply memorizing the word. However, there is a simple truth that is skimmed over and brushed off to the side: all learning begins with memorization. Have you ever had to learn second language? If you have, then you'll remember that your first exposure to the language was one word directly translated to your primary language.

Ex. Spanish to English

gato = cat
casa = house

Then come the flashcards. You write the foreign word on one side and its corresponding meaning on the other side and you "learn" to associate the two words together. Once you have successfully done so, you can say that you are learning a foreign language.

If you really immerse yourself in the language and you practice (especially with native speakers), your memorization will become second nature and eventually you'll be able to "think" in another language where you won't have to translate in your head, you'll simply know the meaning. And this applies to anything you learn, whether it is mathematical equations or biology terms.

The reason most foreign language classes don't begin with things like the alphabet or numbers is because they are trying to provide an avenue to express yourself and your surroundings. They are trying to give you meaningful information that you are more likely to use. However, flashcards get a bad rep because people say that it is information that is simply crammed into your brain for the short term and then is later discarded. This occurs when the learning is done purely with the left brain.

The left brain learns in a slow, methodical way which means that it will discard information that it no longer uses. Ever wondered why you can't remember all that stuff you learned in you high school Spanish class even though you were so good at it back then? It's because you stopped using it and it got discarded. You're left brain was just making more room for the new information.

However, babies learn differently than you or me. At that stage in life, babies are relying heavily on their right brain to process all of the information around them. This means that babies are learning by taking in the bigger picture and what's learned by the right brain is never discarded.

Discover the Easiest Way to Expand
the Learning Opportunities of Your Child!

The most spoken language understood around the world is the language of Math. Now, most people don't think about it because people have an inherent fear of math. Whenever it comes to math, most people would rather run the other way. So when the idea of teaching your baby math is even mentioned, most would crack a joke and dismiss the whole idea as completely insane.

But math is a language. It is a language that we speak all the time and may not even know it. We speak it when we guesstimate how much groceries will cost, when you balance your child on the see-saw, when building a gingerbread house, when you recreate the leaning tower of Pisa with the dirty dishes, it really is everywhere.

The truth is that teaching math to your baby is not about complicated formulas and calculus. Instead it refers to teaching the reality of quantity and the meaning behind the symbols. Teaching your baby math helps develop a mathematical brain that will understands the concept of addition and subtraction or multiplication and division. Your baby has the ability to understand the reality behind the number 75 versus 76 and what that actually means in terms of quantity.

The idea of quantity existed centuries before its numerical counterpart. An abacus, or counting frame, is generally made of a wood frame usually bamboo and beads sliding on wires. This tool dates back to before 1387 AD and is still widely used by merchants, traders and clerks in Asia and Africa. The use of an abacus is employed to teach Chinese children quantity and it's one of the reasons they are so good at math.

While you could take some raisins and teach quantity in an edible way, a better, more productive way is to use flashcards with red dots. Again it's not about teaching your baby everything he or she needs to know, but instead to expose your baby to the world they live in and all of its ideas.

Teaching Your Baby Basic Life Skills
is as Easy as 1 2 3!

Encyclopedic knowledge is about expanding your child's universe. A well balanced child is the product of a joyous, productive and loving environment. It is true that the brain grows by use, however, it is also known that the best way to learn is by actively participating, which is best achieved playing and discovering with your child.

Connecting them to the world they live in is one of the best gifts your child can receive. And the delight it brings your child to be able to recognize their own universe nurtures self-confidence and self-esteem.

Now you don't buy some fancy program in order to teach your baby. Picture books don't help your baby with the visual recognition of the word because a) the size of the word is too small for your baby to see and b) your baby is distracted by all the colors and pictures to make a clear connection between the word and the meaning. You could, however, make the flashcards yourself.

Remember, the key to learning a language through the ear is loud, clear, and repeated and through the eye is large, clear and repeated. Your flashcards should be at least 10x10 inches (longer if needed). A white background with red letters serves best since we are predisposed to have the color red grab our attention better than other colors.

Some experts say write in all lower case because our written language uses more lower case letters vs. capital letters. Others say that if you are teaching words that are always capitalized like the days of the week, then you should write these in their proper form. I believe either way, your baby will reap the benefits.

But don't forget to make it large enough for your baby to see, which experts agree is about 4 to 5 inches tall. You might want to add some pictures to your flashcards to stimulate the connection between the word and its meaning.

Bring the World to Your Baby
with the Click of a Button!

Raising a smart baby isn't just about teaching your baby, but it is about learning together with your child creating a stronger bond of not only love, but respect for each other: as a parent and as a child.

It's not about testing your child, they'll get plenty of that later on. Instead you will be the one being tested. Your patience, your perseverance, your attitude, it will all be tested.

There is no bragging, no trophies, no "keeping up with the Joneses", no smarter than. There is no preconceived schedule for success. No fixed time frame.

Teaching is a lot like love. It's about giving and not expecting anything in turn.

We live in exponential times. A person who reads a newspaper for one week can gather more information than some of our predecessor could in their entire life time. There is no possible way for you to teach your child all there is to know.

Teaching is a gift. A gift of time and love. A gift of finding joy in learning. A gift that enables your child to forge their own path, shape their own destiny.

Indirectly hinted by the Shichida method, there are different types of intelligences. Some people are better at some than others. In the end, a happy, well adjusted child has more to do with a self-confidence than intelligence.

Finland is considered to have the world best educational system (and it's not the most expensive either!). While it is true that children there do not start going to school until their about 7, most babies get put into nurseries at about 9 months. The nurseries are very much Montessori-like in the sense that they aim to teach the babies about the world around them by making it available for them to explore on their own terms.

Even after a child has entered the official schooling system, these schools keep the true essence of teaching alive. Children do activities and homework, but they are never flat out tested or even graded until about fifth grade. This allows the child to develop their own self-esteem and self-confidence to the point where they don't lose their joy for learning as other kids might when they get discouraged early on.

There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge has to do with knowing specific information about something.Knowledge is acquired through experience. It is basically the product of what we call learning.

Intelligence is the capacity to acquire and apply knowledge. And genius is someone with extraordinary intellectual and creative power.

Wisdom, on the other hand, is applied knowledge. It is the product resulting from "knowledge, understanding, experience, discipline, discretion, and intuitive understanding, along with a capacity to apply these qualities well towards finding solutions to problems"(Wikipedia).

As mentioned earlier the learning curve seems to have exponential growth in the early years in life, but then tapers off and becomes more of a flat line. Wisdom, however, is slow in the beginning and then slowly increases throughout one's lifetime.

Feeling Overwhelmed?
Start Here!

The more one learns, the more one understand, and the more one understand, the wiser one can become.

The requirements for learning:
-ability to take in facts
-ability to store facts
-ability to retrieve stored facts as useful knowledge
-ability to combine facts and knowledge to discover new facts
- ability to use facts, knowledge and laws successfully to solve problems of increased importance

To create a learning environment one must:
-provide huge number of clear facts
-present facts frequently to ensure storage
-provide opportunity to retrieve facts for useful purpose
-sets of related facts to combine and print in greatest number of useful ways
-opportunity to solve problems of increased importance

Children are funny. When you ask for them to show you something, they don't. But if you leave it in their hands they'll be itching to show you what they've learned and how proud they are of themselves.

All your child really need is your Love and your Belief. Add a little playfulness for good measure and you'll be amazed at the results.