Raising a Smarter Baby

Albert Einstine had Aspberger's syndrom. It's a form of autism. Funny how back then it wasn't an offical diagnosis. Look at his biography, he didn't speak till 3!!
Talk to your baby, encourage your baby and love your baby. It's in God's hands after that.
I have an autistic son, his IQ is higher than most kids I know and he is only 3!!
Love is my answer, love and engage your child.
BTW, I had a text book pregnancy and still had a child with autism, so you NEVER know.
Good Luck
N.

E.,

I believe (no take into consideration I am a little biased :) ), that my 14 month old son is LEAGUES ahead of where he should be mentally, and we never gave him any extra suppliments. I believe to some extent that wisdom can only be taught by supplying good habits and lots of love. Genetics has a huge part to do with intelligence, so there is only so much you can do... God is going to supply the rest. I don't believe it matters what suppliments you give you child, he will be as smart as he's going to be and you need to let him know that you love him not matter how smart he is. If you place too much pressure on him, it may make him resentful, and not want to learn.

I tend to agree with what everyone else has been saying. The main work of brain-building, I think, is already done. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids can't hurt, though. Most importantly, at this point, are you reading to her? Talking to her? Exposing her to new learning/growing opportunities? Is she spending time with other children? Her brain is as big as it's going to get, but this is the time when neural pathways are being formed and pruned if not used. So help her use them!

I would start by feeding her foods that are healthy for her and contain DHA. I have a one year old and she loves fish and probably eats it once or twice a week. I would research other foods that are healthy and contain the DHA she needs. (It would be my understanding that there suppliments out there because we are not eating enough of the foods that natuarally contain this suppliment.) And speaking from an educators point of view, the most important thing that you can give your child is experience and background knowledge. Reading to your child and working on letters, numbers, and vocabulary building skills will help your child more than you know. Also, give your child as many experiences as you can, background knowledge is so important. But most importantly, don't overdo it. Your child is who he/she is. Don't push them to the point that they will hate learning.

I honestly think the best way to raise a smart child is to encourage communication and learning together. I guess I can see how some supplements may work, but teaching your child things has other bonuses besides just being smart. Interacting with your child and bonding, putting them into a preschool program or some type of activity outside of the house to interact with other children. Why feed your baby a bunch of pills? I would use that as a last resort, try everything else first. Just my opinion! Good luck!

I am sorry for being so negative, but this is ridiculous. I have a child with special needs. He most likely will not be a genius. He is five and we are trying to teach him to walk, talk, feed himself. There are so many more important things in life. There is no miracle pill that is going to make your child a genius. Just like there is no miracle pill that is going to make the piece of missing chromosome grow for mine. We need to love and nurture our children. Encourage them to be more and teach them from the start. I am not saying your child won't be highly intelligent. I am just saying focus on what he is doing now and encourage him to do more. There is no easy solution for parenting.

I didn't read through all the posts but I agree with the ones I did read. Raising a smart child is all about being her teacher at this point.

Although I do think you're taking this thing overboard. I think you're putting too much pressure on wanting her to be smart when you should just be concentrating on letting her grow up in a nurtring enviorment with a lot of options. Leave books and toys around for her. Encourage her to speak and preform actions by mimicking you. These are the best ways to raise a smart child.

I honestly don't think what a child eats or drinks has anything to do with how smart they are. I breastfed my daughter until she was about 9 months old at which time she stopped on her own. She wouldn't take formula so we switched her to whole milk. I fed her Gerber's baby food and Gerber's Graduates until she was old enough to eat table food. She eats whatever we eat...chicken, pork, turkey, salisbury steak. All her veggies and fruits. And snacks, of course. We don't give her anything special.

My daughter will be two in a couple of weeks and she is way ahead of almost every other child I know her age (and being nursery coordinator at church, I know a LOT of kids her age). How did she get so smart? I'm a SAHM. I spend a LOT of time with her teaching her various different things. She counts up to 15 so far, knows her ABC's, sings a lot of different nursery rhymes and other kids songs, speaks in sentences (and does so quite clearly). I think the only thing that a child really needs to grow up smart is to have parents who spend good quality time with them and love them. It seems to be working for my daughter...and I have another on the way so we'll see if she (it's another girl) will prove me wrong or not...

I don't know much about brain foods except that I know there is absolutely nothing better than breast milk for brain development. I am actually surprised that as a biologist this was not your first option. Other than that, I would say read, read, to your child. I have an almost 2 year old that we have read to since infancy. By 6 months old she was turning the pages and pointing to objects. Today, she speaks in sentences and has most of her books memorized and gobbles up others. We are not super driven for making her smarter but I do see a difference between those that were read to alot and those that were not.

well, don't get offended but i doubt einstein's mom was chasing him with dha stuffed products.
this is the first time i have heard anything like this. i'd be afraid i am loading up my baby with unnecessary stuff that will harm her in the long run so yeah i'd tell your boyfriend to get a hobby :)
just my opinion
vlora

I don't think the food the child eats has all that much to do with whether or not she is smart. The biggest difference I see in children is the amount of time that is spent talking to them, reading to them, etc.

This year we were asked if we would consider pushing our daughter up a grade. I think her love of learning stemmed more from the interaction she receives than the foods she ate.

I see that you have a very strong desire to give your child the best start in life. Of course, we all want the best for our children! However, I caution you against pressuring your child, and I also caution that it's very hard for pressuring parents to know that they are pushing their children.
I am the legal guardian to a 17 year old Korean boy. He has lived with our family since he was 14. His parents are very involved in his life, but live in Korea still. Joel also is very active in his Korean church. (There is so much more to the story, but that's the basic setup.) I know it may sound like a stereotype, but I have to say that from my experience, there is a lot of pressure to succeed academically in Joel's culture. Now that he is a junior in high school I see lots and lots of problems. He is beginning to burn out and is often very stressed. He is also very afraid of failure. His self-confidence is low, and he does not try anything unless he feels sure he can succeed. As a result, he's missed a lot of great opportunities, and he just doesn't get the "joy" part of life. Of course, I know that this is not the scenario that every academic achiever or every Asian child goes through, but I've seen it happen a fair number of times.
My background is Italian, on the other hand. I was raised by immigrants in a household that was always wild and full of noise. Plenty of love and plenty of activity. La dolce vita! Play was almost more important than work in my house. As a result of all that fun and love, I believe that my confidence was rock solid from the start. I've had a great life full of lots of interesting things, and also full of joy over all the simple mundane things.
In my opinion, rather than worry about DHA and how to have a gifted child by kindergarten, just engage your child. Your child WILL pick up vibes from you which will tell her that you want her to be a certain way. She may feel pressured by that. Just love her, have fun with her, expose her to all sorts of enjoyable experiences, encourage her curiosity and a love of learning. If she grows up to be confident and finds learning to be fun and not a chore, she'll succeed no matter what.

E., what's going on with your boyfriend that he has such needs for your child to achieve? I commend anyone that wants the best for their baby, but the best doesn't always mean being an overachiever. Success is defined many different ways. Pressuring a child or having standards set too high can negatively affect a child into adulthood. My daughter is 17 months old and labeled advanced by her pediatrician. We have never supplemented her, my husband and I feel that it is not needed and also not natural. I was in gifted programs all throughout my childhood and adolescence and my mother never supplemented me, as a matter of fact my diet was poor because of my single mother's empty pocketbook. Genetics, nurturing and quality time are what will help to develop your child, not only intellectually but emotionally. Encourage your boyfriend to shift his focus from meeting an intellectual bar that he has set to nurturing a balanced baby.
As far as her physical health and well being is concerned overloading her with unneeded supplements can actually be detrimental, as I'm sure you already know. Balanced diets with whole wheat products, dark green leafy vegetables, eggs and fish including omega-3s, limited juice, berries, (try to get as many colors a day as possible in her diet, that helped me to know she had a balanced day) will provide her with everything she needs. Also, try to integrate as many organic and all natural products as you can, I know they are expensive but the more we all purchase them, the higher the supply will be and lower the cost will become. The benefits of the higher cost will be priceless - knowing that you are limiting the chemical intake for your precious baby.
Very best of luck to you and your family.

There are plenty of toys and games that can stimulate your baby's brain. Did you try Leapfrog? My daughter loves those toys! I wouldn't load your baby up with supplements. There are computer games and Dvd's all geared to increasing your child's brain developement.

If you're interested in doing what's best for your baby, minus breastfeeding which you've decided against, you'll want to be sure you provide her with a good pro-biotic and a QUALITY Cod Liver Oil (Carlson Labs or Radiant Life). In fact, everyone should be taking both of these, young and old.

Congratulations on your little one. And good for you for wanting to do what's best for baby.

I think that all humans need DHA all their lives. It's just that it's become a "supplement" and not a normal part of everyone's diet because of our extremely unhealthy modern American diets. Big tangent so I won't go there. ;) Fish is probably the best source as far as regular table foods go, but she may be too young to start fish. I didn't start my daughter until she was 2. DHA can be manufactured in the body from EPA, but if you're not getting that either, you can't. The wikipedia article is a good start for those posters who aren't familiar with this vital bit of nutrition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docosahexaenoic_acid

I also agree that building a strong connection with your child, helping her to be as emotionally fulfilled as possible, will in turn lead to her being as smart as she's inclined to be. I'd focus more on making sure she's as happy as possible though. I would also suggest absolutely no screen time (tv, video, or computer) until after age 2. Even so-called "educational" programming is harmful to brains, especially developing brains. http://www.tvturnoff.org/research.htm is a good resource.

And I also think that your boyfriend needs to get to the root of his issues. It may not be damaging to her right now, but it won't be too long before she's old enough to understand and be pushed in other ways to overachieve, and it will be very detrimental to her emotional wellbeing. Does he see a therapist? That might be a good place to start.

hi E. i have four children three are in school they are all in the gifted program because they are advanced for their age. i didnt give them any special kinds of food all i did was love them , spend time with them and played with them. i bought alot of educational toys from leap frog and v-tech. At your babies age you may want to start buying blocks and build with her and puzzles their are plenty of baby toys out their also that help encourage learning while playing (baby einstein) has some toys out. Please encourage your child but dont overwhelm her she is just a baby let her be one. A very important learning tool is to read to your child everyday. She will be fine no matter what her iq level is. Sometimes people expect to much from their chldren and as they grow older they feel insecure because they feel like they are not living up to your standards. Good luck and just enjoy your beautiful daughter tell your boyfriend to relax. Steph

There are two things that go in to a smart child: genetics and nurturing.

My son was diagnosed as being "gifted" at his 18 month well visit. At the age of 2, his intelligence was at a five year old level.

Genetics plays a huge role in smarts...but nurturing is the most important. READING to your child from the very beginning, which we did two to three times daily. Having a chalk board and making shapes at around 10 months is something that we did. Every day we would make a different "shape of the day" ...my son knew 7 shapes by the time he was 11 months old, and recognized several letters of the alphabet.

Having a cheerful disposition with your child's learning...being animated while reading...creative play...and exposing your child to a wide variety of scenrey is key also.

One of the key ways that children are found to be intelligent at an early age is that they have much higher verbal skills than other kids their age. This however, should never be a generalization...it is just one of those things that pediatricians look for in noting if a child is gifted w/their intelligence.

I have read up a lot on this because I want my son to use his "gift" for good things in life and to apply himself in the best ways for his development.

Don't stress out over the milk. Loving your child is the best thing you can for them. READ READ READ...tons of books is fun and a great way to bond with your child.

Take care and good luck...I am sure your child is next Einstein!!

Please, stop this. This isn't how to make a smart kid. This won't accomplish anything.

First off, I think the body can synthesize DHA from other nutritional substances anyway, if it's that stuff they started putting in formula four or five years ago. If you read the fine print on the formula container, it will say this. So there is actually no need to buy extra-expensive formula, you can feed him the regular stuff (although if you could breast feed, that would be better, but not every woman physically can).

My firstborn is in the gifted program and my youngest is amazingly bright and I didn't give them any magic brain food either. I just read to them and love them.

You can't "make" a kid gifted by feeding him the right foods, anyway. My sister and I ate the same foods growing up and I was gifted and she wasn't. The truth is that people with Nobel prizes argue about what constitutes intelligence and how to create it in children, but I think most mothers figure out that kids are who they are almost in the uterus. A good mother allows her kid to be the best he can be. He's not a blank slate you can fill in the blanks in. You can't make a short kid tall -- although you can feed him good, healthful nutritious food. You can't take a small, slender girl and turn her into a linebacker for the Miami Dolphins. And you can't mold a kid's mind with the right chemicals.

You will not raise a gifted child by making him a project. You will raise a highly neurotic child. By allowing him to be him, and giving him a lot of cool things to explore, and reading to him and caring for him, you will allow him to become comfortable in his own skin, form loving relationships, and be the best he can be -- gifted or not. That is your job.

Meanwhile, thank heaven the Baby Einstein folks never actualy raised Albert. They probably would have destroyed him.

Your boyfriend *is* going very crazy with it. Totally overboard. Help him find a hobby. Meanwhile, you, take your baby. Put him in a sling, and carry him with you everywhere you go. Give him lots of affection and security. Take him to cool baby places. Mostly, give him cuddling and affection. Also, have I mentioned, hold him a lot? Talk to him. Be with him.

Will this make him gifted?

Oh, probably won't make a bit of difference, but you will raise a happy secure kid.

DHA is naturally found in breastmilk. Since I was unable to breastfeed as long as I wanted I did spring for the DHA formula. If it's in breastmilk I very much believe it's something my child is supposed to have. Nature knows what it's doing.
Now that my daughter is on table food I make sure to offer foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Atlantic salmon, Pacific cod fish, and tuna are some of the best food sources. The FDA recommends 2 servings per week. Nuts, seeds, wholegrains and dark green, leafy vegetables also contain DHA, but in much lower amounts. But we don't just stop at DHA to give our daughter the best start.
I offer my family a primarily vegan diet for health reasons. We do eat organic poultry, fish & eggs. We drink mostly soy & rice milk, but organic dairy makes it's way into the house sometimes. I'd suggest you research everything you put in your body - bath products, cleaning products - things that we should be able to trust contain some truly scary things. My husband was diagnosed with depression 5 years ago and the difference in him since I changed the things we eat and products we use is just amazing. I really feel we're all happier and healthier.
And most of all: Attention is the number one thing your child needs to become a strong, intelligent, loving person. Follow her lead and she will naturally learn so much through play! Involve her in what you're doing be it exercising, cooking, cleaning, reading, or balancing the checkbook. Some of the most basic things are so much fun for my daughter. Good luck!

Hi,

everyone else has said it pretty well, but--what you want are long-chain fatty acids in general--so ground flax seed, fish (but watch out for mercury), supplements etc--but mainly, teach your child to eat well--as organic and unprocessed and colorful as time and money allow--

and READ READ READ and talk, talk, talk. Blocks are good--no TV, just one-on-one--

oh, and also learning to play by one's self is the single most important thing for building an "internal voice"--and developmental psychologists think that that is the single most important factor in learning to be "articulate"--to talk to yourslef.