As parents, our main concern is to hope that our child grows up safely and healthily but let's be real here, all of us would also want our child to excel in school too. Though having good grades is not the end all be all for kids, it is definitely an invaluable advantage to possess.

 

So how do you quantify smartness? Well sadly as of now there isn’t a complete, foul-proof way to ‘rate’ your children’s overall smartness, however statistically, we can gauge how smart a person is by looking at his IQ (intelligence quotient), which has proven to a reliable way to determine human intelligence. Even though one’s IQ score is susceptible to genetic variations, it is important to note that environmental factors such as education and nutrition also have a big impact on determining your child’s IQ. Here are 5 proven ways that we can follow to improve our child’s brain development.

 

Feed Foods High In Omega-3 Fatty Acids

 

 

We usually associate omega-3 with heart disease but do you know that omega-3 fatty acids are crucial nutrition for brain development? [1] Research founded in 2004 has suggested that increasing the intake of dietary omega-3 fatty acids or DHA during the early stage of childhood does correlate with the better cognitive ability [3]. DHA is very important for the developing brain especially during the first two years of life, and compare to the rest of the body, the brain and nervous system contain very high levels of DHA [2].

 

So what sort of food contains high DHA and omega-3 fatty acids? In general, fishes such as mackerel, salmon, and sardines contain high omega-3 fatty acids, hence for children above the age of 1, it is advisable to supplement their diet with fish oil [4]. As for vegetarian alternatives, chia seed is also high in natural omega-3 fatty acids and is also rich in manganese, selenium, magnesium, and few other nutrients [4].

 

Read Them Stories

 

 

Reading is one of the best ways to promote a child’s brain development, even before your child can recognize letters or words [5]. Reading is a good way to kick start language and communication skills, repeating the same book with pictures and also further builds recognition between the words you speak and images on the page [5].

 

The Power Of Playing

 

 

Most important of all, the best way to cultivate positive brain development for children is to interact with them, and what better way to interact with your child than playing with them! Examples of good activities for children include singing nursery rhymes, building blocks, and playing houses. Like reading storybooks to them, singing songs encourages language learning, and playing with constructive toys like blocks encourages imagination [6]. Toddlers at the age of 1-2 are innately curious and as parents, we should foster that curiosity and encourage them to explore their surroundings in order to stimulate their senses. Children, regardless of the situation, will always be an irreplaceable part of the family, hence parents should not forget that their top priority is to ensure that their children's health is always in good condition.

 

Ensure Your Child Gets Complete Nutrition

 

Karihome goat milk children formula is the only goat milk formula that contains clinical proof that it is able to provide complete nutrition and support the growth of children in Malaysia [7]. In addition to the complete nutrition, Karihome also contains natural omega-3 & omega-6 fatty acids and fortified with DHA & AA which is another form of omega-3 and omega-6 fats. Hence it is able to fulfill the required nutrition that children needs and nutrients needed for brain development.

 

 

Building Strong Foundation For Children

 

 

 

 

Goat milk by nature is also high in nucleotides and sialic acid, which are core nutrients that modulate and regulate our immune system. This is especially important for children as getting sick for them often result in missing classes, which is never a good sign. Check out our article on how Karihome supports a healthy immune system and related customer testimonials.

 

 

Reference

[1] https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/raise-iq-smarter-children-improve-performance.html#:~:text=Talk%20to%20them%20and%20read%20to%20them.&text=Playing%20simple%20teaching%20games%20along,as%20you%20can%2C%20he%20adds.

[2] https://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20040716/pregnant-omega-3-essential-for-babys-brain#1

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4404917/

[4] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-omega-3-rich-foods#7

[5] http://helpmegrowmn.org/HMG/HelpfulRes/Articles/HowEncourageBrainDev/index.html

[6] https://www.cgbabyclub.co.uk/toddler/years/1-2-years/your-toddlers-brain-development-1-2-years.html#

[7] Tannock, G.W., Lawley, B., Munro, K., Pathmanathan, S.G., Zhou, S.J., Makrides, M., Gibson, R.A., Sullivan, T., Prosser, C.G., Lowry, D. and Hodgkinson, A.J., 2013. Comparison of the compositions of the stool microbiotas of infants fed goat milk formula, cow milk-based formula, or breast milk. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 79(9), pp.3040-3048.