Growing the Whole Child

Raise a Smart Kid Who Loves to Learn from AhaParenting.com

Most people believe that intelligence is static; either you're smart or you're not. But it turns out that intelligence is like a muscle: it can be developed with use. Stanford researcher Carol Dweck explains that students who believe they can "get smarter" by challenging themselves are more effective learners. Students who hold the more conventional view -- that they're either smart or not, which is known as a "fixed" view of intelligence -- worry that they might look dumb if they make a mistake, so they shrink from learning anything new.

  So our goal as parents is to raise kids who believe in their ability to build mental muscle. 

Although intelligence is often equated with scores on IQ tests, most scholars now believe that IQ tests assess only part of a person’s intelligence. Traditional IQ tests basically measure the child's retention of verbal and mathematical knowledge. Unfortunately, this limited dimension is then equated with the child's intellectual potential.

Experts also question the obsession in our culture with pushing children to read or achieve academically before kindergarten age. Toddlers and preschoolers have other, more critical work to do, from building with blocks, to playing with rhythm and color, to learning how to get along with their peers. Research shows that these activities provide the foundation for later learning, from math skills to reading.

As Albert Einstein said, "Play is the highest form of research." 

Even imaginative play, which builds self-discipline and social skills, makes a fundamental contribution to later academic success. Verbal and Logical Intelligence actually begin with talking and wondering, when kids participate in thousands of everyday conversations about life. There's also a great deal of research pointing to "emotional intelligence" as a critical component of school success. If you can't manage your impulses and use your executive function to focus, it doesn't matter what your cognitive potential is. Creative and imaginative play--both alone and with other people--develops these skills.

Dr. Howard Gardner describes different kinds of intelligence that are important in human functioning, all of which kids need an opportunity to develop: 
• Verbal Intelligence
• Bodily / Kinesthetic Intelligence
• Logical/Mathematical Intelligence
• Musical Intelligence
• Interpersonal Intelligence
• Intrapersonal Intelligence
• Visual / Spatial Intelligence
• Nature Intelligence
• Existential Intelligence

As long as your child has the opportunity to play and structure her own time--instead of spending all her time on academic pursuits and screens--she will naturally explore most of these areas. Our job as parents? Encourage our kids’ natural curiosity and interests, from dancing to reading to drawing. And make sure our kids know that it’s intellectual lifting that builds brainpower. Discomfort while learning is to be expected. Learning new things is hard, but your child can do hard things.