8 easy ways to raise a genius in Nigeria

According to child development experts and neuroscientists, the brain develops quickest during childhood. It is critical in the intellectual development of your son/daughter that you train them in the way you wish for them to go.

Now, you may not be a genius but, if you are willing to be the parent of a genius then here are ways in which you can achieve that:

1.    Let your child see you doing smart things. Kids learn by modelling adult’s behaviour.  If he sees you engaged in reading books, writing, making music, or doing creative things, he will imitate you, and in the process make himself smart.

2.      Allow your child to get bored. According to Julia Robinson, Education and Training Director of the Independent Association of Prep Schools, it is okay for your child to get bored.

Learning to be bored is part of preparing for adulthood. Your child should learn to enjoy “quiet reflection” instead of forcing him to fill his days with activities.

3. Talk to your child using words and descriptions beyond their appropriate age level. They may not understand at first but the more you use the same word in a similar situation, you child will learn the context of its use.

4.   Read to your child. Your child’s brain would start to work on connecting ideas and stories with compatible information. Reading to your child, as early as infancy, develops an inquisitive child. Their brain learns to crave more information and instills the desire for more awareness and understanding.

5.   Engage your child in music lessons. Learning music employs the use of their eyes, ears, large and small muscles and adaptive learning cognition skills. Parents should do well to incorporate music lessons into their child’s every day routine. This musical learning ability facilitates the habits of a genius in the making!

6.      Allow your child to think and solve problems by himself – Avoid always solving problems for your child. Instead offer him hints on how to solve the problem himself. For example, ask him leading question like “have you done something similar before, what did you do?”

7.       Give your child a growth mindset. According to psychiatrist Joe Brewster, kids should be encouraged to see learning as the process of becoming better at something, instead of having a fixed mind-set of his intelligence. When your child fails, he should see it as an opportunity for growth, instead of seeing himself as a failure.

8.      Allow your child to take risks and fail. Kids who don’t take risk and experience failure or pain like falling off a bike or losing in competitions can develop low self-esteem and phobias, discourage creativity and learning for themselves.

Also, do not rescue kids too quickly. Let them solve problems on their own so they learn from their experience.