Thursday, April 25, 2013

America's Intelligence Lag - Part Two


The next item on the list is to “junk the junk food.” A study published in the Journal of Epidemiological Community Health showed that kids that ate the most processed foods, with a lot of convenience food, fat and sugar, had IQ scores that were 1.67 points lower than kids that ate better. Honestly, it’s a good idea to stay away from all of the junk food anyway because it is not good for you at all. Eat some fruits and vegetables. Your cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, weight, and mind will thank you for it.

According to a University of Toronto study, music lessons boost brain power among six to eleven year olds. They thought it might be due to the fact that the music lessons expose the children to experiences that help them in other areas. Some of the children were also enrolled in drama lessons, but they didn’t seem to have as great of an effect as the music lessons. It never hurts to try! Even if it doesn’t boost their IQ, they still learn a new skill.

The next way to increase intelligence was to eat omega-3-fatty acids. If you don’t know, these are found in fish and other types of seafood. Studies showed that pregnant women that had over 1,000 mg of the DHA omega-3-fatty acids, gave birth to more intelligent children.

The next method seems a bit obvious but I’ll share it anyway. Interactive reading, i.e. having kids read and asking questions, boosted their intelligence. So, instead of just reading Green Eggs and Ham, tell your kid to wonder about how likely green eggs are or how cool it would be to eat with a goat.

Again, another obvious one; enroll your child in preschool. Note that it is pre-SCHOOL, and school is usually for learning. So yes, enrolling your child in preschool will increase their intelligence.

Last but not least we have eating breakfast. As I learned from the Mini Wheat’s commercials; eating a healthy breakfast, especially with fiber, “keeps ‘em full and keeps ‘em focused!” A study done by Harvard Medical School gave breakfast to elementary schools in Maryland. The state assessment test scores rose, and tardiness and suspensions fell. So, before you let your kid leave, shove some cereal and juice into their belly and they’ll be good to go!

I don’t know if these will really work, but hey! You’re the one that chose to read this blog post anyway! (411)

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