Help children increase brain power

Schools are now closed and children are just beginning to enjoy a well deserved holiday.

When I was younger, I always looked forward to the December holidays for two main reasons: one, I did not have to revise for any examination as the following term was a new class and I could thus play till I dropped. The second reason, it was festivity time which meant lots of food and a probability of being bought new clothes.

During the long holiday, our creative juices seemed to work overtime and some of the things we engaged in almost drove the old folks to committing homicide.

Years later, having brought up my own children, I now realise how stressed parents get during the long holidays, as they try to keep their children constructively engaged and away from mischief.

Children are easily bored by routine. In my humble view, parents can use these holidays to make some very fundamental gains in their children’s lives.

Taking them for tuition may be not be the most popular or best ideas of engaging them in a way that will produce quantum growth. There are many other options that are fun and useful. A personal development programme taught in a different way from the traditional school approach can be very beneficial both academically and in building the character of your child.

Having worked with thousands of children over the years, I have learnt that many a time, the society — parents, teachers, peers etc, can set up children for failure in certain areas of life or in totality. This programing can be detected by way of examining belief systems of the child and/ or those who are of major influence to the child, for example parents and teachers.

By the time some parents bring their children to me, they are desperate. In most cases, their children are usually at the bottom of the class and other than performing poorly academically, their self esteem is rock bottom.

In many of these type of cases, the child’s IQ is low and therefore doing the traditional thing— remedial classes and holiday tuition is like putting expensive jet fuel into an ordinary car and expecting it to move at the same speed as a Formula 1 car.

Fortunately, you can help your child increase the brain power.

For many years, it was believed that we have a fixed IQ. Science now has disapproved this theory with the discovery of neuro-plasticity.

Academic performance

Essentially, the brain is a muscle and by doing certain designed exercises one can increase the neuron connections within the brain leading to a higher IQ and better academic performance as well as other areas of life.

In my continued fascination with the power of the brain, I came across a very fascinating technique for increasing brain capacity and enhancing the creative process.

Using this technique alone during some of my programmes has seen some D students turn into A students. I will share some of the insights and techniques you can use to increase your IQ or that of your child in my next article.

The author is a life coach and founder of Peak Performance International- a human potential development firm. Send your comments to coach@peakperformance-int.com