What is the best way to nurture my child's intelligence?

Question

I would like my 2 year old to reach his full potential in every way - including academically. Are there any pearls of wisdom out there which will ensure that his intellect grows to its maximum?

Answer 1

One of the best best best ways is to TALK to your child.  I see this mentioned here and there occasionally, but not often.  For 3 yrs now I've lived in an area with [to be kind] dramatically under-educated youth.  One HUGE thing I can put my finger on is that they are lacking knowledge that is mostly attained by having parents talk to them.  [Also of course are the things mentioned by the other posters!]

Expose your son to a wide variety of activities and situations; my goal is for my kids to be well-rounded, so we do a lot of different things, and they know a lot about a lot of subjects.  Many other kids we know only know about one or POSSIBLY two topics, and that is all they are interested in and participate in.

Answer 2

With rare exception, keep him away from the television, especailly as a baby sitter. Use the computer instead. Use youtube to find videos on almost every subject and attitute. The people above provide great answers. Follow them.

Answer 3

Imaginative play at this age is best. As much outside that is possible.  Here are a few things to supplement that...but play at this age is most important!   Read  and sing songs.   Listened to language cds in the car or at home.  Do flash cards and work books when if he wants to.  Lots of art--coloring, painting, playdough.  Always speak to him with a large vocabulary.  Never dumb things down.  If they need more information they will ask.  Talk to him all the time telling him what things are and how they work.  You will be amazed at how much they pick up and retain at such an early age.  Take him to museums and other cultural places.  Get in a homeschool group and let him socialize with other kids of all ages---he will leatn so much from other kids as well.

Answer 4

Let him play!

The more nature and natural items you let him interact with, the more he will develope his imagination and creative learning.

The more you DO for him, the less he will have to DO for himself.

Finger Paints are wonderful for a 2 yr old.

Things they can pull around behind them.

Digging in the yard.

Eye hand Coordination Activities.

Singing and Dancing with him.

*******Sit down and READ to him EVERY night.

Choose 3 books, and Make sure you read at least ONE****

Most importantly-- consistancy and structure.

they need to know their boundaries and limits.

NO is not a bad word

IM me for more.

Music and Movement teaching math skills!

Finger painting is Eye hand coordination (prewriting skills)

Story Telling helps with attention span

Do lot's of Finger Plays and Patty Cake, get his hands a clapping!  

Hop, and Jump.........and leave him be when he gets frustrated. Let him cry it out!!

Answer 5

1.   Give him toys that require him to actively play and use his imagination. For example; toy cars that have to be pushed along the floor rather than ones where you just turn them on and watch them go, blocks to build many different things out of rather than a completely pre-constructed play town, crayons and paint, playdough, balls of various sizes, a sandbox or sand-table and lots of containers to fill and empty, puppets...you get the idea.   Give him lots of time to explore with these toys, and get down and play with him too, especially if he doesn't have older siblings playing with him.

2.  Read to him.  Picture books, point the pictures and talk about them, read the story too, but don't be so eager to push on to the next page that he doesn't interact with the book.  Let him point to the cow and say "Moo", and ask him if he likes the red car or blue car better.  Really get involved, use different voices, and read to him with expression.

3. Turn off the T.V. and put on a music CD.  Sometimes classical, sometimes a children's song CD that the two of you can dance with.

4. Do finger plays with him, nursery rhyme type of sing song poems with hand motions, like "Itsy Bitsy Spider".

5. Talk to him about things, go outside and point out things he might otherwise miss, how the grass grows in little hollow tubes, how the bird grips the wire with her feet, how the spider has 8 legs and the ant has six, etc.

Answer 6

read to them everyday

Answer 7

Let them explore and give them tools.

When I was about 5 I was playing with stereoscopics (you know, like the now obsolete GAF Viewmaster viewer) and found I could project the images with a flashlight.

This "discovery" lead me to postulate I could make my own photographic enlarger with a magnifying glass when I was 14, which I did.

As James Burke would say, it was a CONNECTION

That's how the intellegence process works.  You make connections.

You demonstrate how a battery and wire gets hot when you connect them and nearby a magnetic compass turns away from north and points to your wire, so you make a connection and postulate that electricity and magnetism have a common thread.

It takes exploration and tools.

The mind does the rest of the work.

Answer 8

I see you've already received some great suggestions!  Promote a love for books.  My daughter's love of reading allowed her to learn so much on her own without realizing what was going on.  Sports are great for children of all ages, be it learning things solo -- bike riding, roller skating, swimming -- or joining a team -- softball, basketball, soccer.

Answer 9

Yes, let him be a child, and follow his lead as to when to include, or introduce extra activities.

You read to him every day, and let him color, play with play-doh, lego's, blocks, and other items that will help him with practicing skills.

Count, eat, and sort out M&M's together, bake cookies, play ball, go for long walks, and point out things for him to investigate, visit a children's museum, join an art class, or play group together, and so on.....

A good book for you to consider reading would be Better Late Than Early, and Home Grown Kids both by Dr. Raymond & Dorothy Moore.

Then another thing to consider would be that there are several different styles/types of intellect, and often parents equate intellect with book smarts, nothing could be further from the truth.

A well rounded individual will develop many combinations over the years, and as he grows, and matures different paths will emerge.

They learn by doing, and gain experience as time goes on.

For a child/young adult to reach their full potential they should be allowed to follow their interests, built upon their strengths, and be allowed to do this at their own pace, and not be placed on a generic path, or on a time schedule developed by someone else; that is the key.