How to Raise Responsible Kids

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Hi,
My friend attended her eight years old son, Alex, year end prize presentation was astonished to see that her son was getting the top position in the entire class. But, the unexpected was yet to come! There was a new honorary award instituted to recognize the most helpful and considerate kid who helped other kids in their studies as well as other school related activities. It was Alex, all the way again on tops! The Head Mistress and the class teachers recognized his helpful and responsible behavior.

Now the big question is how did Alex become so responsible and helpful to others? His parents never had any answers. There was a good streak of positive characters in Alex's parents which they never understood in the first place. In reality, from my personal observation, Alex's parents were unwittingly teaching him the best possible mannerisms and a responsible behavior. In fact, there was a silent reinforcement of good behavior in Alex's personality as he was growing up.

Developing a responsible behavior in your kid is a tough task and long drawn act. A kid who has exemplary characters of responsibility and discipline will also be neighbor's envy but parent's big pride! All the best!

Thought for today:
"It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere. " - Agnes Repplier

Best Regards,
Andrew Loh
Andrew Loh
Publisher & Editor, BrainyZine
andrew @ brainy-child.com

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Helping Your Kids to Develop Responsible Behavior

Parents can be good teachers as well, apart from being very good guides and mentors. There are a number of good issues and topics that you can teach your child as a responsible parent. However, nothing could be as important as teaching your kid good mannerism and an exemplary sense of responsibility.

Q1: I have identical twin boys that are 2 years 9 months. Does it follow that if one is gifted, the other will also be? I do spend time with them on learning (seems to be when they are best behaved), but my observations include:

A: It is highly likely that if one of the identical twins is gifted, they would be as well since they share a 100% of their genetic material. Basically, the description shows that they have most of the traits of gifted children, so you have lots to do! You are on the right track just by observing and being aware of their gifts... Continue to read Dr. Sandhu's answer on Nurturing Gifted Twins here.

Q2: I'm a new educational psychologist and have a couple of questions about WISC IV assessments. Hope you can help! How soon after a child has been assessed can the WISC IV be used again to reassess? Also, I have heard that you have to administer the complete WISC IV for it to be valid (i.e. that you can't use a few subtest just to get an idea as you can with the BAS II). Is this correct?

A: For readers not very familiar with the WISC IV (revised in 2003), this is actually an updated version of the previous test - the WISC III that tests IQs of children between ages 6 and 16 years 11 months. This test consists of 10 core subtests with five additional subtests. All of these are summed up to four indexes which makes the full scale IQ (FSIQ) which ranges from 40 (lowest) to 160 (maximum score) ... Continue to read Dr. Sandhu's answer on IQ Testing: WISC IV here.

Discipline for Life: Getting It Right with Children
By Madelyn Swift

To those of you just opening this book and meeting Madelyn for the first time-breathe a sigh of relief. There is much common sense and good advice here: there is much caring, love, and respect in these words; and most importantly, there is Madelyn's wisdom and her faith in you. Believe in it. Believe in your own ability.

It is a very refreshing breath of air to hear Madelyn speak and then to read her book. This book should be read by everyone in the nation. It is also a book that can tell you why discipline is so important and critical in your kid's life. It also tells you how you can change the life of your kid to achieve better things in life and succeed in all stages of activities. A must read book!

Who's In Charge Anyway?: How Parents Can Teach Children To Do
By Kathy Lynn and Barbara Coloroso

What do you do when your toddler throws a tantrum every time you go to the grocery store? How do you handle a teenager who wants to stay all through the night? And, how do you teach kids to be polite? Experienced parent and workshop leader Kathy Lynn has written a reassuring and helpful book for every parent.

Her underlying message is that parents play a key role in raising children with high esteem, solid character and independence, but parents could also use a little guidance too. Each chapter tackles a common parenting issue with practical advice and a question and answer.

Infant feeding 'may affect brain'
BBC News Feb 20, 2008

London researchers found preterm babies fed enriched formula milk in their first weeks consistently outperformed other premature babies in IQ tests. Their latest study, published in Pediatric Research, shows the benefits continue into the teenage years. It also found a particular part of the brain is better developed in those given the enriched milk.

Smart Kids: High Protein Adds Points to Your Child's IQ
WDDTY Feb 21, 2008

A nutritious diet can make your baby smarter, a new study has discovered. Babies who are given a high protein diet in their first four weeks have higher IQ's by the time they reach their adolescence. Researchers have discovered the special diet also changes the structure of the bring. It increases the size of caudate nucleus that is associated with higher intelligence. The caudate nucleus has its main growth spurt during the first four weeks following birth.

Playing, talking, reading stimulates baby's brain
ContraCostaTimes Feb 20, 2008

An infant's brain is primed for action. It is more active than an adult brain, and it uses more energy. Soon after birth, billions of brain cells -- called neurons -- begin to connect with each other to create faster and more-efficient pathways within the nervous system. Each individual neuron can make as many as 15,000 new connections. The process kicks into high gear as soon as infants begin to interact with their environment.

Parenting Class Improves Children's IQ
School Library Journal Feb 21, 2008

Children whose parents took an eight-week class in communication and child rearing techniques showed a notable improvement in their cognitive abilities, says preliminary result of brain research by University of Oregon scientists. Twenty eight low income preschool children ages three to five took brain scans and standardized IQ tests and language exams. All fourteen of those whose parents had attended meetings devoted parenting training showed an average of a six point improvement in their IQ scores, while 14 control group children whose parents received no training showed no significant changes.

Study shows stress affects brain growth
The Sydney Morning Herald Feb 18, 2008

CHILDREN who suffer deprivation in early life show altered patterns of brain growth by the time they are teenagers, according to research that documents for the first time measurable physical effects of poor parenting and unstimulating home lives.

Breathing dirty air may lower kids’ IQ
Daily Times Feb 18, 2008

Kids who live in neighborhoods with heavy traffic pollution have lower IQs and score worse on other tests of intelligence and memory than children who breathe cleaner air, a new study shows.

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