How To Bring Out the Genius In Your Kid
Get kid-friendly activities sent to you!
Get the Best Family Activities
REALTED: Find Schools In Your Area
What else matters when it comes to success?
Social Intelligence is really important. The abilities to get along with others, work as part of a team, and communicate well are integral to success. Also stick-to-it-ness. The school system may not cater to creativity, but it’s good for teaching discipline and the very valuable ability to finish tasks you don’t necessarily like doing. Focus and trying again when you fail go a long way.
So what is the real advantage to being a traditional genius? Is there one?
Here’s a well-kept secret: Many people with super high IQs don’t go on to produce or achieve anything particularly special later in life. It’s not synonymous with long-term success. Some such children have bizarrely superior ability in one area, but many don’t achieve success as adults. That genius levels out.
It’s also not a guarantee of getting into an Ivy League school, believe it or not. They generally have a rubric that caters to an incredibly narrow group: those with high IQs, without any learning disabilities, and who are high achievers across the board. If you’re exceptional in math but weak in English, you probably won’t get into Harvard.
If a parent isn’t sure what a child’s special strength is, what’s the best thing to do?
Let the child be exposed to as many experiences as possible, within your means, of course. Museums, shows, art exhibits, travel—those are formative experiences that stoke the imagination. Also, build downtime into your child’s schedule. That doesn’t mean video games. Unstructured play, especially outside, breeds creativity and self-discovery.
Sign up for our newsletter to receive more articles like this.
