Let me ask you a few questions. Did you eat a lot of fish as a kid? One study showed that children who got enough fatty acids successfully passed different tests and even had a higher IQ! Did you learn to juggle? According to another research, juggling is a motor skill that can increase the volume of grey matter in visual attention areas of the brain by 3%. Maybe you also speak foreign languages? Well, chances are, you actually are among the super-intelligent, and you have your parents to thank for that!

- A toddler’s vocabulary corresponds to the number of words they heard in the first few years of their life. Therefore, with each book read, a child’s vocabulary increases and their language skills improve.

- Active communication is a great base for a child’s emotional development, and it helps them build language skills. So, if your parents involved you in conversations and asked you open questions instead of yes-no ones or statements, they did the right thing!

- This might seem like something insignificant, but background noise, like a TV always running, makes it difficult for the child to distinguish between sounds they need to perceive and unnecessary ones.

- Children who learn a musical instrument for three years develop skills that aren’t necessarily restricted to the musical sphere. For example, studying music improves memory.

- Linguist Dr. Thomas Cooper claims that studying foreign languages for two years as a child actually influences standardized test scores. In fact, each extra year adds more points to the test.

- When parents stimulate their kids’ curiosity, it sparks interest in science and problem-solving.

- Trying too hard to make a kid a genius ASAP won’t get a parent anywhere. In fact, forcing children to do what they don’t want to will likely make them hate it.

- Video games benefit healthy brain development! It’s true for games that require planning and problem-solving to move from level to level or help creative self-expression while customizing your character.

- If your parents encouraged you without setting the bar too high and let you know they’re still proud when you did just okay is the right way to go.

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