How To Raise a Super Kid

Articles

Parenting
Pregnancy

Table of Contents
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Introduction of the book
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click to see front and back cover of the book

Keep Thought Pollution Away.
Use the TEENS Concept for Relaxation and Opening Communication Channels.
Use the Oronizer to Effectively Organize Information and Improve Retention

Smartness

Smartness We hear quite a bit about smartness, and how this kid is smart and the other kid is smarter. Very dangerous use of the word smart, because many times the opposite is implied, with defeating results. I believe everyone has the same level of smartness; however it shows in different areas. For example a kid in a class could be very good in math, so all the class thinks they are smarter, and another kid who is not as good in math will automatically think the opposite and think within themselves that they are dumb, although this second kid could be very good in drawing, but no one thinks of drawing as a criteria for smartness. The end result for a scenario like this is that the kid that is better in drawing, think they are dumb, and the kid who is good in math thinks they are smarter, and sometimes it gets to their heads, with long term negative effects for both kids. Unfortunately this is a common mistake, teachers and educators and parents alike get trapped into, and what makes matter worse, is the comparison between the kids, and between the brothers and sisters that follows. Very damaging implications result from such a wrong understanding. What amplifies the wrong understanding is the use of smartness by advertising companies, to imply that if you are smart you will buy their product, and since everyone likes to think they are smart, they buy the goods advertised, regardless of its value to them, they buy to confirm to themselves that they are smarter.
 

 

 I always tell kids, we are all the same level of being smart, the only difference between me and them is that I know more than them, and the key is just more knowledge, and it has nothing to do with being smart. If we are not careful and correct this wrong understanding, we could be labeled dumb, in the kids' perspective as we have little knowledge when it comes to playing video games. I hope you see the value in what I am writing here, and correct any wrong use of the word smart for the well being of your children. You should prepare your kids for this wrong understanding of smartness, explain to them with examples how some children are called smarter just because they know more, and other kids are called the opposite because they know less, because there is the danger when they don't understand a topic quite readily as others, they might think within themselves that they are not smart, and that in itself will create a mental block for life against this topic and could spread to other topics as well. Probably this is the reason why you see kids in higher grades with poor results because they labeled themselves not smart and they are living up to their mind's expectations. The reason why some kids understand topics more readily than others, and other kids don't understand topics as readily as others, is the way their senses work. The five commonly known senses are Taste, hearing, vision, smell and touch, I say commonly known, because I am sure there are more senses within each person, but they are different from one person to another.

Most helpful customer reviews from amazon.com

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
The more times change the more they remain the same..., September 14, 2006
By Alexis Schulman "vetkahuna" (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews

Oro Selket is truly a modern day Dr. Spock. His no-nonsense approach to modern life's incongruencies and his deep respect and admiration for children makes this book a breath of fresh air among the over-psychoanalized child development books riddled with untested theories that abound in bookstores today.
This guru puts it simply: love your children, teach them well, interact with them at their level and encourage them to learn at their own pace.