Intelligence – inherited or developed?
Is a baby born with certain abilities or can the intelligence and ability of the baby be increased significantly?
It has long been believed that the key milestones like walking, talking and reading in a child’s development are achieved automatically as a result of time and /or the baby’s genes. This theory dictates that every child will walk at age one like clockwork due to a built-in mechanism — rather like an alarm clock set to ring at twelve months and trigger the ability to walk. Like at one, a child will walk, by two the child will talk, by the age of six the child will read and so on and so forth.
It is said that at twelve months of age the average child will walk. But is this a cause-and-effect relationship? Is it the passage of time that has brought about this new ability? If this is so, we must ask why some children learn to walk early and some late?
But many a times these do not happen according to the average timeline and sometimes it happens faster or before time in certain kids and it is delayed in many others. Extensive research conducted by studying the environment of kids where the milestones were achieved before, the conclusion was made that these milestones were not triggered automatically but triggered due to the right stimulating environment in which these kids developed. This environment thus enabled these kids to walk and talk and excel in many other things, much earlier than their peers.
Better opportunities allows a child to achieve his potential. The process of growth and development is a product of the amount of stimulation in the child’s environment. It is not determined by a pre-set alarm clock or superior genes.
Stimulation and Opportunity are the basis for brain growth.
The brain grows by use, not automatically at a particular time.
This theory proves that the brain can grow at a faster speed by increased stimulation at any point in time, at any age. The first 6 years of life are crucial to brain growth, essentially being fastest in the 1st year (evident from the way a newborn’s vision grows in the first year). A newborn human baby, like other little species, is practically blind. He can see only light and dark, with only a light reflex. The significance of gaining the ability to see earlier is far greater. Imagine being in an environment that does not provide appropriate and useful stimulation, especially when the brain is growing at its fastest rate. The baby is trapped!
When we provide the perfect stimulation to the child, he gains the ability to see weeks or even months earlier. This allows the baby to have the wonderful opportunity to break out from his ‘prison’ and observe everything around him!
Thus begins a happy cycle of events, each one touching off yet another spark, each spark igniting yet another new ability.
Once he can see, he begins to understand more easily what we are saying to him. When he can see space, his need to move increases greatly and he tries harder to move and moves more. This movement both stimulates his sense of touch and also develops vision further. His increased movement helps his chest to grow and as a result his respiration improves. This better respiration allows him to make sounds more easily so he can communicate his needs better.
Remember – Stimulation, done on purpose, and not by accident greatly affects the child’s cognitive skills, grasping power, attention span, concentration, reading skills and much more! It is never too late to start!
The more the brain is used the more it grows, and the more capable the baby becomes. This is the very definition of using the brain.
For more information, please check out – https://www.iahp.org/the-creation-of-ability/